Nursing & Depression

Nurses Stress 101

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  1. Nurses and Depression/Anxiety

    • 401
      I think the incidence of depression/anxiety is higher in nursing than other professions.
    • 264
      I feel depression/anxiety has interfered with my job performance.
    • 260
      I feel nursing has played a part in my depression
    • 23
      I feel administration is as supportive to nurses w/ depression/anxiety as w/ other diseases

460 members have participated

While visiting in the lounge one day, we discovered that every nurse there was on an anti-depressant.

I have had 'Treatment Resistant Depression' for about 20 years--as long as I've been a nurse. Now I am totally burned out, on major meds, and am seeking disability d/t depression/anxiety.

I beleive years of long hours, high stress, high expectations and little appreciation (from management, not patients) has contributed to this.

How many other jobs consider you a tratior b/c you call in sick? And trying to get off for a sick child is an unforgivable sin. How many other jobs want you to work overtime on the days you are scheduled, call you at all hours of the night or day when you are off, first pleading w/ you to come in, then laying a guilt trip on you if you say "NO!" And let's not forget the mandatory inservices and CEU's that take time away from your family.

If any profession should understand the importance of the individuals' physical, mental, social and spiritual self it should be nursing--after all we are taught in nursing school about treating the patient as a whole, not just a disease! Why don't we treat our staff the same way.

Anyone out there in the same boat?

chiddin' :-)

yep, had trouble with that love yourself thing along the way.....

it is a necessity, though.....

Mario,

you are right :-)

and mjlrn97

"I just wish people would get over the idea that it is a weakness to take a medication that restores the equilibrium to the chemical soup that nourishes our brain."

you are so right on.........keep speaking out..........

micro and out.......

luv to all,

more love to others,

and most love to me,

:) :) :)

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

Re LionessRN's discussion of withdrawal from AD meds: You are not alone! I am absolute *hell* to be around on the rare occasions when I run out of Paxil; I feel off-kilter, I lose my balance, go numb around the mouth, and it's almost like my body doesn't even really belong to me. And emotionally, I'm a train wreck: once I went without my meds for 3 days and found myself screaming at an employee in the Safeway because they didn't have the particular chicken strips I wanted!! After that I've never allowed myself to go without for longer than a day, but my family always seems to know when those days happen because I guess I'm more volatile when I miss even one dose. I really don't like the idea of being dependent on this medication, but I hate those surrealistic physical sensations I get and I hate my unpredictability even more (to say nothing of what my husband and kids have to go through when I miss my meds). So it looks like I'm stuck. But as I said in a previous post, if my brain is missing something it needs to function properly and the means to supply it are available, I'm taking it!!

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Originally posted by micro

and mjlrn97

"I just wish people would get over the idea that it is a weakness to take a medication that restores the equilibrium to the chemical soup that nourishes our brain."

you are so right on.........keep speaking out..........

:) :) :)

mjlrn97

i repeat myself

keep speaking out.........

you rock.

micro and out:p

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Originally posted by mamabear

This might be slightly off the topic, but what the hell:

I've been on sick leave since the end of July. I had the poor taste to have two seizures at work, literally knocking myself senseless. Once I was cleared to return to work, I had an attack of pancreatitis that put me in the hospital for 11 days.:o To add insult to injury, I had an ERCP, after which I had ERCP-induced pancreatitis and hemorrhaging (1500-2000ml). I'm still waiting to return to work, and I'm so damn depressed I can't hardly stand it:crying2: All the antidepressants and talk therapy in the world don't seem to be putting a dent in this:o I haven't considered suicide, thank God: I think I'll stay around out of spite;) But sometimes I have all I can do to drag my butt out of bed.:confused:

well girl, i don't know if this will cheer u up...but if it makes you feel any better - i thought my life was pretty crappy until i read what has happened to u. i can sympathise with why u feel so low...u have been through hell. depression on top of this just to cap it off as well- sounds like u have got the package deal. unfortuantely, there is no one fix all - i only wish there was!!!.medication can help - but may not be the only answer for u. take every day or even every part of the day just one step at a time - BE KIND TO YOURSELF IN EVERYWAY POSSIBLE AND STUFF WHAT OTHERS THINK. your entire life has gone through a very traumatic experience and u need to give yourself time - this is a reality. do you think that perhaps your depresseion may actually be part of a grieving process related to your situation? i'm not a psychologist but i wonder if that could be at the root of this.

all ican suggest my friend is that you hold onto and use those people who give u strength and get rid of/ignore the negatives in your life - a metaphorical life enema !!! . whilst you are feeling like crap - feel proud of yourself that the old and true u is still dragging her butt out of bed...you still have the strenght and determination to carry on and for that (even though i don't know you ) i am proud of you and wish you well. regards ruthless

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Originally posted by Kikumaru

The other day was doing some registry work at a major hospital in Riverside County. The nurses I worked with were very nice, caring, and we all worked as a team. I truly felt sorry for a nurse who had a confused, hallucinating patient, who, according to the daughter "never acted like this before." The daughter showed up on the floor acting hostile, agitated, and downright uneducated in her approach to problem resolutions. Now, bear in mind, this is a family member who may show up on an every-other-day basis, becomes verbal and leaves after one hour. Her comment, upon entering the room was, "This isn't like mom. She's gotten worse. I'm not leaving until I know what is going on." The nurse, hearing this, came into the room and began to ask questions and speaking professionally to the family: 1) Hi! I am the nurse who has been assigned to your mom and she arrived about two hours ago. I understand you are concerned about your mothers condition. What was her previous behavior? 2) You feel it may be the pain medications causing her to behave like this? Let me try to reach the physician and we can discuss her situation then you can speak to him and express your concerns. 3) Is there anything that I can further assist you with in order to resolve any problems you feel we're not addressing? During this entire conversation, the dominant, non-professional family member became loud, obsessed and potentially dangerous. Wonder why nurses are leaving......let the family care for them. Anyway, back to the antidepressant issue, after assisting this nurse with "satisfying" this family member and patient, she stated she might need to speak to someone and get some time off or end up on medication, like the rest of some nurses she has worked with on occassion.

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I found this story interesting and sadly one that occurs more than it should. I had a coworker being reamed out by an irate physician the other day. It had to do with a lab error. The charge nurse heard the abuse the nurse was taking and stepped in. He assured the physician how sorry he was and it will never happen again, blah blah, blah ..... I butted my two cents worth in and looked straight into the doctors eye and said "and people wonder why there is a nursing shortage". All too often we take this, but to have your superior condone it is unacceptable. I see this happen everyday with unhappy "customers" and it breaks my heart. Sure they will turn around and give you "it's good customer service spiel", but what about us? We are dwindly in numbers and deserve a little customer service ourselves. Depression in nursing? Not shocking, it's wonder our suicide rates aren't higher. We are definately a special breed.

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Thanks, ruthless, for your compassionate reply. I have been told, more times than I care to remember, to "just snap out of it", or asked what did I have to "be depressed about":( That's like asking what does so-and-so have to "be diabetic about". Unless you've been there, or have a family member/loved one with major depression, it's hard to comprehend how crippling a disease it can be.:o

I was diagnosed with major depression in 1992. After taking half the meds in the PDR, I finally got lucky with Effexor XR 150mg and Remeron 30mg.;) The meds don't make every day perfect; sometimes I have really crappy times and even really God-awful times.:imbar But, more often than not, the neurochemical soup in my brain is up to par.:)

As they say in the various Twelve Step programs, "this too shall pass", and it does, and it will.:cool:

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

Mamabear, you really said it. Life is far from perfect, and the meds don't change that; what they do is make it possible to deal with the problems our messed-up brain chemistries have gotten us into. They clear the fog out of our heads so we can get on with the work of becoming who we really are.

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"They clear the fog out of our heads so we can get on with the work of becoming who we really are."

mjlrn97.........keep posting

micro

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Specializes in LTC,Hospice/palliative care,acute care.

Regarding the use of antidepressants and their side-effects I am currently adjusting mine.After reading my post on the "clumsiest moment" thread a little light bulb came on in my hard head.I have had many more falls since going on the zoloft and continuing the welbutrin...AI don't recall actually feeling dizzy-or tripping..Just one second I am standing and the next instant the ground is getting really close to my face very rapidly...So-I am going off of the welbutrin...I hope that helps because the zoloft has been such a great thing for me...Anyone else notice this type of symptom? Dizziness is noted as a possible side effect-but I have not been....just can't stand up....Also I am glad that the threads dealing with this subject are running on here-if it helps one person get some help for themselves it is worth baring our souls here....I am not so sure that some people will ever accept depression for what it truly is-the posts containing ignorant remarks continue...The same songs over and over on the radio are "depressing"..or a massage will pull you out of it...you are weak....you are doing it to yourself in some way...It's no big deal.....Hopefully these people will never have a significant other with this problem---I feel sorry for the s.o. if they do.....

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Specializes in LTC, assisted living, med-surg, psych.

Hopefully, they will never have to deal with the problem THEMSELVES. These folks are, in my experience, the ones who are most likely to come to a bad end, because they refuse to acknowledge that they HAVE a problem. You can't fix something if you don't know it's "broke". I know a lot of people in my age group (40-something) and older who were raised in homes where you kept a stiff upper lip, presented a good front, and never admitted to any kind of weakness. God forbid the neighbors should find out we weren't perfect!! But depression, or any other mental illness (there, I said it) isn't something that goes away just because we ignore it out of fear, or shame. I think we would have fewer suicides if only mental disorders were treated like any other kind of illness in this society.......!

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Specializes in cardiac ICU.

I love this thread. We are not alone. :cool:

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