How to Cope With Job-Related Anxiety

Nurses Stress 101

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I am wanting to become a nurse in the future - at the moment, I'm applying for a CNA program and if that works out, I might look into going back to school to become an RN later on down the road. However, there's a problem that I suffer from -- very bad job/school performance-related anxiety -- and I'm worried about how this will affect a career in nursing and how to deal with it.

I was homeschooled my whole life, so I feel that's part of the culprit; without having the necessary life experience most people have, I tend to get very nervous and anxious in new situations where I'm expected to perform to a certain standard. It's even worse in situations where the stakes are high or the person training me is angry, difficult or judgmental - I become scared to death of messing up, things not working out and looking like an idiot to others. It's so bad that often I start to get BAD anxiety symptoms -- sweating, shaking, feeling sick to my stomach and like I'm about to pass out, etc -- and my brain shuts down as a result, causing me to make stupid, careless mistakes left and right that I wouldn't normally do if in my right state of mind.

For those who have suffered from similar problems before, how did you cope with it and what advice do you have to offer me? I'm looking into different types of coping techniques, etc. that could possibly benefit me. I realize the best way to get over it is simply experience - but it's hard to get that necessary experience when no one wants to give me the chance after I get too nervous and mess up. I've also considered anti-anxiety medications such as benzodiazepines, however 1. it's hard for me to get to a doctor due to lack of money and insurance and 2. my husband is leery of me getting on such medications due to their high abuse/addiction potential and other risks.

xtxrn, ASN, RN

4,267 Posts

My suggestion, take some college classes that you enjoy- sort of no pressure classes (though you don't want to fail d/t cumulative GPA). Get your feet wet. And get some success under your belt....go from there-- one step at a time, and only focusing on the tasks at hand :up:

:hug:

Siddhartha

43 Posts

Specializes in Geriatrics, Pain, End of Life Care.

Another possible is to volunteer at a Nursing Home/Hospital. Would give you work place exposure, without the "job" demands, while also helping the community you would work with in the future.

Specializes in Psych, Med/Surg, LTC.

Like others said, take some easy classes to start. I was a nervous wreck in nursing school all of the time. It gets better once you settle into a job. Those feelings do decrease after the first 6 months to a year.

Guest717236

1,062 Posts

At the college, see if they have a student mentor program. You can

get together with a tutor who can help you with not only the material,

but ask you questions on the material so you can feel more comfortable with interacting with peers in a school setting.

At some point in nursing school, either class or clinical most students have

increased anxiety so you are not alone.

Check out student health office at school, they may have a sliding

scale fee if you need to see a NP or MD

Additionally, there is usually a counseling center, they offer support to

students as well in a group, individual or class topics setting so

that is something to look at for support as well.

Best wishes to you!

skittlebear

408 Posts

OP, first of all (((Hugs)))! I know what your going through and it isn't easy by no means. I am an LPN. I've had anxiety issues in the past before nursing (mainly in my teenage years). Once I became a nurse though and dealt with the tremendous amount of stress that nursing entails, guess what? My stress and anxiety crept back up. I felt I needed SOMETHING to cope, so my doctor prescribed me xanaxes. Um, I wished she never did. It helped me at the time but I felt myself depending on xanaxes more and more. Two tabs qd turned into 3 tabs qd. You get the picture. My anxiety actually became much, much worse. No one could tell that I was on them, and it actually helped me cope...but soon I was taking up to 5 a day. That's a lot!

I finally and very PAINFULLY tapered down from xanaxes. I now take 1.5-2mg daily and I have since switched jobs. My new job doesn't entail as much stress as my old job and it doesn't pay as well either. I'm much happier though...physically and emotionally. I'm not saying that benzo's are bad, just tread very, very carefully. Sometimes they cause more harm than good. I had more anxiety tapering off from them than I ever had in my life. Oh, and I was never going to get addicted to them. You never think you are, until you need a higher dose to keep the anxiety at bay. Sorry I'm rambling. I just wanted to share my experience with benzodiazepams. I don't like them! One doctor was appalled that I was prescribed so much Xanax. He even went on to tell me that, that's what he prescribes little old ladies who are about to die! That's a little extreme but I'm just sharing my experience.

The best thing you can do for yourself is talk with a psychologist, take anti-anxiety antidepressants, exercise, get plenty of rest, and have a full check to make sure your anxiety isn't an underlying medical condition.

Good luck!

redge03

16 Posts

Specializes in Skilled Nursing/ Long Term Care.

I can empathize with you. However stay away from meds at all cost, trust me on this. They can make your anxiety worse in the long run. Between stress, anxiety and meds my hormones were all messed up. What has helped me is some simple meditation and yoga, nothing fancy. You can find both free online. Volunteering as previously mentioned is a very good idea, rewarding in manys ways. You also need some self confidence. Try this website, I get a lot of free stuff from them.

http://www.learnoutloud.com/Free-Audio-Video/Self-Development/Emotional-Development

A link I got from there.

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=worry+wellness&aq=f

Give it a try, you would be amazed!

Hope this helped and good luck!

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