Anxiety

[Ioreth, ADN, RN]

I'm a very good student. I have managed to get As in classes that had a failing class average. I tend to test fairly well with a minimum of test anxiety. I'm actually enjoying my classes and what I am learning. In short, I know I can do this. I know I can get into nursing school, through nursing school, pass the NCLEX, and get a job shortly after. I do (and expect to continue to) work my tail off to get these grades and I don't mind the hard work. I have no illusions about the nursing profession either. I expect it to be challenging, stressful, engaging, and stretching my abilities. This will be hard, but I know I can do it.

But...

I can't get rid of that nagging "but...". Every semester when I register for classes I purposely look for some of the more challenging professors because these professors have a reputation for being very effective teachers despite their hard as nails style. I always spend a few days dithering and worrying that I will fail the class, even though I've made good grades so far.

I haven't yet worked as a CNA and my nursing school requires that I keep the certification active at least until nursing school starts. It is up for renewal very soon. Employers in my city are well aware of this and there are many that would hire me quickly and let me work for even the short time required to renew the certification. I'm not even looking, and I need to soon. That nagging "but..." has got me worried that I won't be able to find a job in time to renew my certification, I will be a horrible CNA and get a bad reference when I start looking for an RN job later, or that I will start failing out of my classes once I start working.

Even though I don't think I have an idealized fairytale of nursing that I've seen in some of my classmates, I'm worried that I know nothing about what I'm getting into. I've talked to friends and family members that are nurses in various specialties. All of them say that it would be a good fit for my personality and that I should do well. But... What if I get into an RN job and find out that I hate it. What if (God forbid) I mess up and someone gets hurt because of me.

These worries aren't stopping me from moving forward. However, it would be nice to shut up the worrywart part of my brain so I'm not wasting energy on them. So I'd love to know... how do you deal with stress and anxiety during pre-nursing, nursing school, and beyond?

[HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD]

What if you became a structural engineer and you may have made a calculation error that could cause a bridge collapse? What if you became a lawyer and failed to remember an important precedent that could have won a case? What if a tree branch falls on your car when you're driving home? What if a lightening strike conducts through your wiring and electrocutes you while you're eating breakfast? Attacked by a rabid squirrel while taking out the trash?

Yep - they're all possibilities. But it's obviously a waste of energy to worry about things that are very unlikely to happen. If you find yourself getting trapped in this type of generalized anxiety on a frequent basis, it may be time to seek some qualified help, especially if it is interfering with your ability to focus on really important things in your life.

Trust yourself. You're smart and capable. If you make a bad decision, you'll realize it and take appropriate action. If you find yourself in a bad place, you'll what's needed to fix the solution. You've got this.

[BrendanO, MSN, RN]

I found meditation and mindfulness exercises really helped me with generalized anxiety.

Honestly, if you eventually find that bedside nursing is too stressful for you, there are LOTS of other positions that an RN/BSN can get you into--research, public health, teaching, healthcare management, etc. You won't know until you spend some time in the hospital, so find yourself CNA work soon, and try to find ways to shadow RNs in other units besides the one you work in as CNA. Worst case scenario, you absolutely hate every second you spend in the hospital, and you never apply to nursing school. That's hardly a life-ending tragedy, just become a biology major, go into medical device sales, and make a fortune.

Deep breaths, you got this!

[Ioreth, ADN, RN]

I'm pretty certain this isn't generalized anxiety. It isn't interfering with my studies or keeping me from moving forward in my nursing prerequisites. I don't get anxious about other aspects of my life. Mostly I'm just worried about what I don't know. I love what I am learning in my classes, but the more I learn the more I realize I don't know. It's overwhelming at times. I'm also frustrated that I don't think I have a good idea of what nursing is, and I probably won't really know until I'm doing it myself. BrendanO is right though, there are many, many specialties so if the first job doesn't work out, I can go into a different specialty after a few years as a floor nurse. Thank you HouTx also for your voice of confidence. :)

I suppose I'm looking for just general information on what is effective for others in dealing with stress. I know the stress isn't going to go away. I'm OK with a stressful job. At least once I'm working I don't have to run circles in my head playing what if games.

So keep the ideas for destressing coming!