[Tinkerbell2]

Wow !!! I am amazed that everyone is so open about their mental "issues".
I have been suffering with depression and anxiety for years, and have occasionally experienced manic symptoms. I have only been diagnosed with depression in the past. Although undiagnosed, I also believe that I have Adult ADD. Looking back on the past difficulties during my childhood years in school, I believe that I have always had it, but a diagnosis of ADD was really rare when I was growing up. I have been so afraid that I would not be able to even make it through nursing school with these problems. After reading the entries under this formum, I have new hope.

I have taken some of the pre-req's for nursing school, and even had to withdraw from a local nursing school due to illness and stress. I have heard so many horror stories about that particular school ( example: "they eat their young" ) For years they were the only nursing school in town, but now they are getting some competition, so hopefully they will be forced to drop the advasarial approach. I am now awaiting for the local community college to start their program. They have a huge new campus so I hope that it will be soon, while my pre-reqs credits are still transferrable.

[zoeboboey]

Originally Posted by Tinkerbell2

Wow !!! I am amazed that everyone is so open about their mental "issues".
I have been suffering with depression and anxiety for years, ... the advasarial approach. I am now awaiting for the local community college to start their program. They have a huge new campus so I hope that it will be soon, while my pre-reqs credits are still transferrable.

Hi Tinkerbell -

Yeah, I was surprised too! Like I said, there are at least a half dozen threads like these!

Ya wonder - are there so many because nursing aggravates our illness? or is it because people with our illness are more likely to be caretakers/caregivers?

anyway, if YOU have a diagnosis of mental illness, or learning disability, that is documented, you may want to contact your disability organization (would that be ADA?) to see if you need or can have accommodations to help you through. Of course you then have to weigh whether they truly WOULD treat you fairly at the school, regardless of the "law". Nursing school is a very spooky organization, well, I'm not saying it right. Let's just say they seem to have an independent governing system ... most nurses from my era anyway had to go thru a very interesting initiation to pass muster - not unlike Simon on the American Idol show - you are what they like, or (shrug)...

All right, I am meandering. Just wanted to say hi and that it is possible that you will want to explore having some accommodations to facilitate your learning.

xo

[Tinkerbell2]

Originally Posted by zoeboboey

Hi Tinkerbell -

Yeah, I was surprised too! Like I said, there are at least a half dozen threads like these!

Ya wonder - are there so many because nursing aggravates our illness? or is it because people with our illness are more likely to be caretakers/caregivers?

anyway, if YOU have a diagnosis of mental illness, or learning disability, that is documented, you may want to contact your disability organization (would that be ADA?) to see if you need or can have accommodations to help you through. Of course you then have to weigh whether they truly WOULD treat you fairly at the school, regardless of the "law". Nursing school is a very spooky organization, well, I'm not saying it right. Let's just say they seem to have an independent governing system ... most nurses from my era anyway had to go thru a very interesting initiation to pass muster - not unlike Simon on the American Idol show - you are what they like, or (shrug)...

All right, I am meandering. Just wanted to say hi and that it is possible that you will want to explore having some accommodations to facilitate your learning.

xo

Hi Zoeboboey
Thanks for the advice. I may have to check into that. I would not trust the "nursing school from Hell" with any information about a mental issue. They would try and use it against me, (ex: tell me that I couldn't possibly make it through nursing school with my "issues", or worse). Obviously,from reading the postings, people with mental disabilities can make it through nursing school and become nurses.

I have also been told, in the past (from a therapist) that I am co-dependent.
Aren't co-dependents supposed to be good caregivers ?

[Rita Marie]

Originally Posted by Severina

I would like to know how other nurses have coped with their own illness and their nursing careers. Severina

Wow! You are awesome! Coming to terms with a mental illness is difficult enough, but I feel that those of us who have problems with depression, anxiety, PTSD, etc... put ourselves though a lot more because "we should know" better. It's funny, but it feels like other health care workers look at us differently if they know we have a mental health problem. Patients are usually grateful that someone is there with them speaking the same "language" that they speak.

There are so many roles that RNs can fill in nursing and health care, and I admire you for finding the spot that you are well equipped to handle and that you do it so well. You are a great example. Thank you for your post! :hatparty:

Rita

[zoeboboey]

Originally Posted by Tinkerbell2

I have also been told, in the past (from a therapist) that I am co-dependent.
Aren't co-dependents supposed to be good caregivers ?

Yeah, I have that codependency too although I've worked hard to handle it in a healthier way.

In an UNhealthy codependent it's called careTAKING - more like we "take" hostages, or let others "take" from us. When it's healthy, it's careGIVING, we give our love, time and energy voluntarily!

That's really simplifying it, LOL ... but it works for me! A more detailed view (don't take this SUPER seriously, there are lots and lots of wonderful qualities in a caretaker - but it can harm the caretakER and the caretakEE if we are not careful!): Just watch out and don't take on these characteristics if they aren't yours!


Profile Of A Professional Caretaker
by Thomas Wright


1. Caretakers have usually grown up with a strong parental injunction "Don't be selfish." Consequently, they go through life masking the self-concern. They turn all their attention to the concern of others and largely ignore their own emotional needs. They live in constant fear of being seen as selfish.

2. Caretakers are usually lonely and emotionally undernourished. They operate in an emotional trade deficit. They give enormous amounts of compassion to others and never get enough nurturing in return. They have many friends but few intimate, nourishing relationships.

3. Caretakers are alway subject to depression as a result of their stroke deprivation. This stroke deprivation results largely from the caretakers, unwillingness to receive compliments or care from anyone else. They are afraid to accept care from others for fear it would jeopardize their role in life.

4. Caretakers are predictable, steady, useful and safe. They are sensitive to the needs of others. They are also boring ! They are not particularly enjoyable because they only smile and rarely laugh. (A spontaneous, raucous belly laugh is of great thereapeutic value)

5. Caretakers have such difficulty remembering names, even the moment after an introduction. They are so preoccupied with their own self-consciousness (How am I doing?) that they don't pay attention to other's.

6. Caretakers wear a sweatshirt with a message on both front and back. On the front we see, "How am I doing?" On the back we read, "Try harder!" All emotional transactions of the caretaker are designed to gain approval.

7. Caretakers are usually very harried. they over-commit their time and over-promise themselves. They are usually running late because they cannot break away for fear of encountering disapproval.

8. Caretakers are afraid of their own anger as well as the anger of others. They avoid conflict at all costs and direct all their anger toward themselves where it is safely converted into depression.

9. Caretakers are only able to excerise assertiveness when they are attacking social injustice or acting as advocates for their clients. They rarely asert themselves in direct self-interest.

10. Caretakers are almost paralyzed when it comes to asking for what they need emotionally. they would rather withdraw or pout, than ask to be nurtured.

[Rnannie94]

Originally Posted by trulie.julie

Hi! I'm trulie.julie and in the summer I will start taking my prerequisites for nursing school, hoping to attend next year. I'm glad I found this place and I have a very serious question. I have struggled with depression and anxiety my whole life and have been medicated for the last 20 years. The meds I'm on are Wellbutrin, Effexor, Klonopin .5 and Ambien. When I go to take my drug test are these going to show up and disqualify me from even trying to become a nurse and if I tell the testing nurse what I am on, will that also disqualify me? If necessary I would get off the klonopin and Ambien but they have literally been life savers for me and I'm at the most "normal" I've ever been in my whole life. No one in my life even would have a clue I'm on psych drugs. Sorry this post is so long..I was just wondering if anyone here has any advice. Thank you so much in advance

Julie, it is absolutely necessary that you tell the testing nurse what you are on. And bring proof of the prescriptions. You will be more likely to be disqualified if you try to hide what you are on. If they suspect that you are taking medications not prescribed... trouble! I do not have a psych situation, but I do have fibromyalgia. The treatments for fibromyalgia entail the use of antidepressants (to help restore levels of Serotonin), antianxiety meds (to aid in sleep), anticonvulsants (to help with nerve pain), and sometimes narcotic or nonnarcotic pain medications. Even tho the situation is different, many of the treatments are the same. And, due to the constant pain I was in before I was diagnosed and treatment began, I was depressed, moody, and generally just plain miserable. Like you, the meds have been life savers.

Good luck in school! Don't be afraid of holding back on your dreams!

[Rnannie94]

Originally Posted by CelticBombshell

Throughout my teen years I was very depressed but unlike most people with depression instead of being mopey and sad, I became angry and violent. When I finally was ready to face up to the fact that I had a problem I was put on Prozac and I thought that was that. BUT what I didn't know was that I wasn't just depressed I was Bipolar, it turns out many, many people are misdiagnosed because most only go get help for the depressive side and don't explain the whole picture to their doctor. Also being only on a drug like prozac can make you cycle more rapidly.

In Aug of this year I was finally properly diagnosed by a psyciatrist and was put on Lithium and Prozac. They help alot and I am almost normal, the only thing is I still have anxiety problems and a very hard time sleeping. I stay up for days sometimes and then i sleep for days as well. I am hopfully going to acheive my dream of becoming a midwife, before i'm 30. I have basically flunked out of school twice due to the fact that I start my classes and do well but then I get depressed and loose momentum. Do any of you have any ideas on how I can make the third time a charm?

I have just moved home to stay with my mom so that I can get my life together and hopefully learn to control my MI if not overcome it completly. Also as I am still young and hope to have kids someday in the near future. Do any of you know of a bipolar medication that is safe for during pregnancy. My step mother stayed on her meds while she was pregnant with my half brother and now he is having alot of developmental problems that could be atributed to the lithium and all her other meds.

One more question and then I'll give it a rest. Have anyof you heard of Meetup.com it is a site where people who share the same interests and.or problems can get together and chat and even meet in person. I was wondering if any of you would be interested in starting an group for people in the medical profession with mental illnesses? Anywho let me know and I can set it up as I belong to a few other groups in my home town.

Celtic Bombshell

I don't know of any meds for bipolar that are safe to take during pregnancy. However, I do have a cousin who is bipolar and got off her meds during her two pregnancies. It took a while, but for some reason during pregnancy, she seemed to stabilize even off her meds. My aunt talked to her MHMR case worker and she said that many bipolar women stabilize during pregnancy, tho starting out may be difficult. And she needed to restart on her meds immediately after she gave birth (tho it unfortunately took a while to get them going thru the state -MHMR).

[dharma143]

Originally Posted by Macy1103

Hello Everyone,

I have been viewing the different threads at allnurses.com for the last 2 years. I've learned alot about the nursing field and some of the in/outs and gripes that accompany and field, not just nursing. Right now I'm in my last semester of pre-nursing classes, before clinicals. I have hoped and prayed for the last 2 years for someone (above) to give me a "sign" that I should pursue nursing for my career. The thought of being a nurse almost give me "chills", in a really good way. My mother, 2 grandmothers, and aunt are all RN's and I look up to them so much. My husband thinks I have a "calling" to be a nurse, as he would put it...and my family thinks its the best career fit for me. I am currently an administrative assistant (A.A. Business Admin) for a large company and am miserable.

Which brings me to the reason for my post. I also have severe anxiety, generalized anxiety disorder, and suffer from panic attacks, which are treated with Ativan PRN (yeah, my first nursing term!!!!)...I have taken SSRI's etc.. before...none seem to help enough to override the side effects (weight gain, lack of desire for intimacy) to keep me on them....but I wonder if I will be able to "keep" it together in the nursing field. I also have a hard time sleeping...I take 3 mg ativan to go to sleep....I worry about having to work 3rd shift and being really out of sync with reality. I would LOVE the 3-11 shift or any combo of 2nd shift..i just don't think i could do the overnight thing..i mean physically..without being so "out-of-it" i would probably end up in the hospital or worse....

So basically, I'd great to read this post and it's what has prompted me to finally register and post a reply myself. I know from reading your posts that some people take ssri's...which one's work and do you notice the side effects?..And do you think "condition" would interfere with my career as a nurse. Do you really have to be tough as nails?....Any information from anyone interested in helping me on the quest would be appreciated in the utmost. I think becoming a nurse will do wonders for my being..I want to find my niche' , too!!

i've taken SSRIs for a couple of decades. i've worked PM shift & flourished on midnoc!!! may be worth a try?? a sun or full-spectrum light is great! i have had a hard time d/t the weight gain issues...but stick /c it considering the alternative???? best of life to you!

[Severina]

Originally Posted by zoeboboey

I called the (I think) ADA when I started my last job (Maine). They said that I did have to disclose to employee health what meds I am on and dx. But that the hospital isn't allowed to discriminate based on mental illness.

But how could you prove that they did not, if they don't disclose the reason you (anyone) were let go.

Another thing - you can apply for unemployment insurance, don't they have to disclose why you were fired in that instance?

That is sooooo stupid. They cannot discriminate based on MI blah blah blah. Who do they think they are kidding? All they have to do is come up with some other "legitamate" reason for letting you go and deny that it has anything to do with MI. Its as simple as that.
I for one would cover my a**.
Companies discriminate any way they want to in spite of the "law". You can't prove a thing.

Severina

[zoeboboey]

Originally Posted by Severina

That is sooooo stupid. They cannot discriminate based on MI blah blah blah. Who do they think they are kidding? All they have to do is come up with some other "legitamate" reason for letting you go and deny that it has anything to do with MI. Its as simple as that.
I for one would cover my a**.
Companies discriminate any way they want to in spite of the "law". You can't prove a thing.

Severina

So someone having an employee health exam, what should they do? What should they put on the form? that they are not on meds?

I agree, they have ways around the law...