i just couldn't face those patients today. i called off .. just the thought of going to work gave me a panic attack. i don't know why i feel this way. but sometimes i do. sometimes work is just to much to handle. what do you do to calm down if you are stressed before you walk in the door? i tried deep breathing, but hiding under the covers seems more appropriate at the time. lol anyway thank you for letting me vent. i have a yellow stripe down my back these days.

That's why they call 'em 'mental-health' days---if you don't take one once in awhile when you really need it, you're less able to roll with the punches of the average day at work.

However, if you find this need is becoming more frequent with time, and particularly if you hyperventilate just walking in the door, then it may be time to re-examine your job and consider another area of nursing. I have been there, done that, and every time I reached the point where I felt I'd explode if I didn't take at least one mental health day per month, I knew it was time to look for another position.

The job I hold now, in fact, is the first and only nursing job I've ever had that I wasn't sick to death of after a year or so; in fact, I've been there almost 2 years and love it more all the time. But I didn't find it until I'd been in health care for nearly a decade; sometimes, it just takes us awhile to find our niche, a position which helps us to thrive and become better nurses and better human beings.

I empathize AND sympathize with you, kizzykatlove. You have a lot of company out here; you're not the first to question your choices, nor will you be the last. Best of luck to you as you consider your options.

oh this just happens once in awhile... i have been at my job for 3 years.. but i do need a change .. i need to really look into other options..i have been a nurse for 21 years and i think i'm getting to old for the riggors of med surg. last week we had a pt who attacked another pt w/ a knife...luckily noone got hurt..thank you mjlrn

You are most welcome.

I'm not usually good at admitting defeat, but Med/surg got too stressful for me, both physically and mentally, in the last couple of years that I was there. I was 46 when I left, and I'd spent most of that last year bouncing in and out of the ER, doctor's office, immediate care center and the hospital with one ailment or another. Didn't realize it was stress-related until I had a minor nervous breakdown in my nurse-manager's office and took a leave of absence that same day. And you know, I've missed maybe a total of six days in the 20 months I've been at my current job, as opposed to six WEEKS the last year I worked Med/Surg.

Now I'm almost 49, and I'm healthier than I've been in years, and happier than I've ever been. I don't often say the word 'never', but when it comes to working Med/Surg, it's the operative word in "I will NEVER work Med/Surg again". Not if I can help it, anyway. LOL

mjlrn.. yes med surg is soo stressful.. i am 40 and have been doing it a long time.. i am due for a change.. but i am not sure where i love postpartum and may go there... i appreciate your support , you made me feel alot better, i may be able to face work thusday.. lol.. give yourself a hug for me

Gotta love those mental health days. I have taken a couple this year and it was because I knew my going into work would be problematic for me, the staff and the patients.

In one of my jobs, I started getting a migrane as soon as I pulled into the parking lot @ work, and it lasted till I drove out of the parking lot. When deep breathing and positive thoughts did not help, I knew it was time to search for another job.

Hope your mental health day did the trick..

I am taking a mental health day today.

It is the first time in my life I have done it (I am 40). I thought I would feel guilty but I don't. Usually when I think about taking a mental health day, I tell myself no, I can go to work and do my job. Yesterday was a rough day, I had a crappy assignment which I took personal and I knew I would have the same assignment today. I decided to take the day off, I felt a little under the weather too. I used my mental health day to think about my job. I decided that I was taking crappy assignments too personal. In our unit the newbies have to pay their dues with crappy assignments. It might not be fair, but it is what it is so I just need to deal with it and bide my time. Besides, there are 3 other nurses getting ready to come to my shift, so I won't be low man on the totem pole anymore.

I hope that things are getting better for you!

Some times you just need a day or two off. However if you get migraines or start vomiting just at the thought of going to work, that is a major problem(one of my staff was doing just that, before she quit). And I'm thinking going out on a stress disability leave is not a good thing. So just take your occassional MH days and relax!