Prayer being disrupted by obsessing about work

Nurses Spirituality

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Specializes in NICU, Peds, Med-Surg.

Hi, I am really struggling with this! When I leave a stressful shift at work, I TRY to relax and pray on the drive home, when I get home, BEFORE work the next day, etc. And even during the RARE quiet times AT work (for example, when I'm in the lady's room and/or during a stressful moment with a coworker, the boss, or patient...I'll try to take a deep breath and pray. It has become SO difficult, though!

I just had three very stressful shifts, and I'm now on day TWO of being off.....:laugh: Trying to read bible passages, trying to pray, yet I keep thinking of the horrible things I saw during my last 3 shifts!!! ONE thing that does block out all of that is MUSIC!!! I especially love to listen to Matt Mauher's (sp?) "Lord, I Need You"..... I also LOVE to watch Joyce Meyer's show, and I can usually always stop thinking about work during those times.

Anyone have any advice about how to keep from being distracted and thinking of stupid WORK issues while praying and reading scripture, etc.... That is driving me crazy! :roflmao: God Bless All of you!

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one name Jesus, say it out loud :) Praise him with your voice thats is one of the reasons you have one to speak blessings...I cant tell you exactly what to do because the Lord works in numerous ways which are greater than mine, but Im just sharing what he has shared with me and what has worked. Worship in spirit and you'll be automatically connected in prayer, when I pray it can sometimes need a jump start to shake me out of the flesh its almost like i have to pray to pray as silly as that sounds. sometimes i prep to pray by speaking blessing over the area that Im at declaring it a place set apart to give glory to God by words of praise and whatever comes out of my mouth directed by the spirit aslong as its flowing out of my mouth even as low as a whisper theres power. Theres power because just as God formed the earth that was previously void through words so is life and death in the power of the tounge by faith speak when its time to pray. Maybe try praying out loud against distractions ask to receive a clear mind Christ centered if its the Father's will it will be done God bless

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Specializes in Psych ICU, addictions.

I would give yourself permission to think about work. Seriously. Sometimes you just have to let yourself dwell on something for a bit before you are able to get it of your mind.

Set aside 10 minutes (or however long you need/want) and tell yourself that you can ruminate about work for those 10 minutes, but after that you're not to think about it anymore for the day. Then take those 10 minutes to think all you want about work without guilt...and when the time is done, make it a point to stop any work thoughts in their tracks and change to another subject. It may be difficult at first to do, but persevere.

Try it and see if it helps.

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I'm a new nursing student, so I cannot relate directly to your work struggles, however, I understand what you are going through. Sometimes I lie awake in bed for hours because I can't get life stuff out of my head. Have you tried writing? For me, writing in a private journal is really helpful. I can write all of my feelings, get my thoughts out of my system, and then finally breathe. I know for a fact that you can't just push your thoughts and feelings to the side; you have to work through them and pray about them, or you'll drive yourself mad.

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Specializes in Gerontology, Med surg, Home Health.

I, like you, tend to bring my work stress home. I have a hard time turning my mind from work to something else. Whatworks for me is singing....Amazing Grace, How Great Thou Art, and, if I'm really feeling in good voice, Ave Maria. God knows what you're thinking.

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Unfortunately I have no different advice but wanted to let you know I will be praying for you.

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Specializes in NICU, Peds, Med-Surg.

Thank you, everyone!! (( hugs )) Cape Cod Mermaid....this morning, I started singing "God, How I Need You"...a recently discovered FAVORITE song of mine by Matt Mauher (sp?)..and it does help! :) I have A LOT more on my mind now with a CPR/ DNR issue the other night, plus, wondering about some other issues where I know I'm doing what's RIGHT for the resident, but I am starting to ponder over a recent issue and can see where I could MAYBE get in trouble.

AshleyV and KBRobinette....thank you also! :)

wordsofmymouth....I do write things out, you're right---it HELPS!!! After my horrendous shift Sunday, I hadn't slept in 27 hours so I wrote out my ENTIRE day from work, especially because my boss asked me why I was there so long. Oh my goodness, it was about 10 pages!!! (I did use a pretty large font, though...LOL!) Oh, and I know you probably didn't mean to journal about what I did all day at work...LOL...I am also going to write about all the emotions/ feelings, etc...and get them OUT! I also honestly realized the other day that my work stress has gotten to be so overwhelming at times (mainly because I am so SAD for some of the residents!!!), that I also need a good CRY!!! Oh, a good cry for me is VERY cathartic....I haven't cried in a long time though......I actually prayed Sunday and asked the Good Lord to bless me with a good cry. I trust in His timing, so if it doesn't happen, that's fine.

Meriwhen....Oh, how I NEED to do that! I actually tried that this morning (after LOTS of prayer!!!) , and I also LOVE a book my sister gave me called "Jesus Calling" that has daily devtionals....but I was STILL obsessing about work, so I got a mindless celebrity gossip magazine to read! :) I also started scrubbing my house---cleaning can work WONDERS!!! :yes:

I need to keep praying more today, because I started having thoughts of what if my D.O.N. and/or Admin. get FIRED because of things I've charted, the CPR debauchle the other night, etc. And trust me, this is NOT paranioa or over-worry. I recently was reprimanded by my DON for not charting that I called the family about a skin tear....She was SO stressed out over that and another "TAG" for a CNA not doing peri-care and another CNA not doing mouth care, and said "Admin's name and I are gonna LOSE OUR JOBS!"

Then I started thinking, if this family of the deceased decides to sue or State gets involved, I could maybe lose my license...which I could handle (I hope). But then I thought, what if I'm arrested? I'm honestly too afraid to do any googling about it right now, but maybe I should. I don't know if nurses can get arrested for not starting CPR soon enough?

Oh dear, time to pray some more....thanks everyone!

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Perhaps you're preoccupied with this because you need to be for some reason. Perhaps God wants you to talk to Him about it! After all, He invited us to cast our burdens on Him, for He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7, Psalm 55:22).

If you need to, ramble to God about what's worrying you. Ask Him for guidance, advice, and His presence, but don't try to make yourself stop thinking about what's worrying you. Just involve Him in your stream of consciousness and you might be surprised how things change for you. Trust me--if He listens to my ridiculous ramblings on a regular basis, He'll hear yours, too. :-)

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This happened to me in the past. What helped me was attending yoga meditation sessions.

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Specializes in MDS/ UR.

Perhaps you need to consider some kind of counseling or professional evaluation/help to evaluate or manage this in addition to what you are doing now. What you are describing sounds like it is magnifying greatly.

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