Feel like dirt. Need advise, please help.

[F.N.]

I recently graduated from nursing school and started working two months ago. It started out great but went downhill quickly from there. Thinking about work now makes me feel sick to point where I can't do anything except cry all day on my days off. I cry on my way to work and even pray that I get into a car reck so I don't have to go. I work with very sick patients and have lost a few during the two months I have been working. I have supportive co-workers but I feel alone due to the heavy patient load and feel like I'm drowning. I would rather be happier dead than being a nurse anymore. I want to leave nursing and the healthcare field for good but with no experience and too much student loan debt, I feel trapped. Please help me, are there any non-health related fields that I can use my nursing degree for? I would be ok with getting a lower salary. I need to leave nursing because what I'm feeling is not normal and I've never felt so depressed. Thanks in advance for all your help.

[readyforachangenow]

Sorry to hear about your experience. It sounds like go me you just need to find a new setting. Don't give up on nursing just yet. Are there any other areas you are interested in?

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

Please visit our forum: First Year After Nursing Licensure Many of your feelings are experienced by new nurses during the first 3-6 months of career...there are many supportive threads there.

Hang in there new Grads and New Nurses it does get better..I PROMISE

Overwhelming job stress, please discuss with your PCP or consider calling your Employee Assistance Program (EAP). Talking about your feelings with an objective observer can make a big difference...you do not need to go through this experience alone.

Wishing you better days ahead.

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

Talk to your manager or educator. They can't provide support if they don't know what is going on.

[llg, PhD, RN]

Definitely talk with a couple of people about your distress. First, you need to talk with someone about your suicidal feelings and general emotional distress. Is there an Employee Assistance Program (EAP) where you work? Do you have a clergyman, PCP, or some other counselor that you can talk to? You need some help to get you through your immediate crisis that has you praying for a car accident or feeling that you would be better off dead.

Second, you need to talk with some people about your career options. As previous posters have said, feelings of discouragement and of being overwhelmed are common in new nurses. You are not the first (nor last) person to experience this. Explore our forum for new grads ... talk with a trusted mentor, educator, or manager at work ... etc. They may be able to give you some practical advice on how to improve your current job situation. That will buy you some time to explore other job opportunities if you decide that is the direction you want to move in. But you won't be able to make a good decision until you deal with your current emotional state. Please seek help for that right away.