Anxiety and doubt

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So I keep having a lot of anxiety over nursing school. I'm in my second semester, I finished my first semester with a low B. I really want to be a nurse, I have since I was about 15-16 years old (I'm 28 now). The problem is, I have my good days where I'm like I can totally do this only a year left after this semester. But I have days where I question every aspect of my decision to become a nurse. I think WTH am I thinking? I can't do this, I'll never learn this! So many people fail what makes me so special that I think I'll be one of the few to make it all of the way? I feel like things move so fast that I'm not really KNOWING a subject before it's time to move on to the next subject. Is all of this normal? Or am I nuts?

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I am in the EXACT same boat as you! I guess, all we can do is take it day-by-day.. it's hard, I know. In the end all we can do is our best and the rest will fall into place.

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I am in the EXACT same boat as you! I guess, all we can do is take it day-by-day.. it's hard, I know. In the end all we can do is our best and the rest will fall into place.

Yeh it's rough and I hear it all of the time that I'm not crazy everyone feels like that, but it seems like most of my classmates have it together...they just spout off info like it's nothing sometimes..I'm not there yet. Maybe they are just better at hiding their insecurities than I am? Not yet this semester bc it just started but last semester I spent so much time crying! I made it through the semester kicking and screaming!

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I feel the exact same way! One minute I feel good and the next I wonder what I was thinking getting into this.

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Specializes in Trauma, Teaching.

This is an excerpt from a guide I give my dosage calc students:

"THOUGHT-STOPPING TECHNIQUES

Some students have difficulty stopping their negative self-talk. These students cannot just tell themselves to eliminate those thoughts. These students need to use a thought-stopping technique to overcome their worry and become relaxed.

To stop your thoughts in the classroom or during a test, silently shout to yourself "Stop" or "Stop thinking about that." After your silent shout, either relax yourself or repeat one of your positive self-talk statements. You may have to shout to yourself several times during a test or while doing homework to control negative self-talk. After every shout, use a different relaxation technique/scene or positive self-talk statement.

Thought stopping works because it interrupts the worry response before it can cause high anxiety or negative emotions. During the interruption, you can replace negative self-talk with positive self-talk statements or relaxation. Students with high worry anxiety should practice this technique three days to one week before taking a test. Contact the campus counselor if you have additional questions about how to reduce test anxiety/negative self-talk statements."

REFERENCE:

Paul D. Nolting, Ph.D., Math Study Skills Workbook, Your Guide to Reducing Test Anxiety and Improving Study Strategies, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company.

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Specializes in public health, women's health, reproductive health.

It's totally normal. I am in my third semester and I certainly have my moments and so do my classmates. I've had to learn to talk back to myself. For instance, instead of reminding myself that so many people fail, I remind myself that so many people make it. It's true! If they can do it, I can too. This is the way I get through sometimes. I'm certainly not just saying, "Don't be negative" (which I happen to think is one of the worst things to say to someone who is struggling). I think it's okay to feel down, uncertain, confused, anxious...all those things are normal. I think it's important to acknowledge those feelings. Not everything is going to be rosy. Let's face it, nursing school sucks sometimes. In order to make a situation better, you have to see it and feel it as you do. Then you can figure out how you are going to adjust or rethink things or respond in a way to make it better.

I also want to say that, in a way, it's good to always be a bit uncertain. I've seen complacency sock people in the face hard. Stay humble, ask questions, work to the best of your ability and remember this is your time to learn. You can do it!

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It's totally normal. I am in my third semester and I certainly have my moments and so do my classmates. I've had to learn to talk back to myself. For instance, instead of reminding myself that so many people fail, I remind myself that so many people make it. It's true! If they can do it, I can too. This is the way I get through sometimes. I'm certainly not just saying, "Don't be negative" (which I happen to think is one of the worst things to say to someone who is struggling). I think it's okay to feel down, uncertain, confused, anxious...all those things are normal. I think it's important to acknowledge those feelings. Not everything is going to be rosy. Let's face it, nursing school sucks sometimes. In order to make a situation better, you have to see it and feel it as you do. Then you can figure out how you are going to adjust or rethink things or respond in a way to make it better.

I also want to say that, in a way, it's good to always be a bit uncertain. I've seen complacency sock people in the face hard. Stay humble, ask questions, work to the best of your ability and remember this is your time to learn. You can do it!

yeh the teachers want you to "think positive" but it never works (for me anyway) seems like if I go into a state of I'm totally getting an A on this exam it blows up in my face. That's not even nursing school tests, just tests in general. Put always being on the scared side works out better (maybe thinking I'm going to fail makes me study more? Omg the exit HESI exam last semester was terrifying! People that took it before me were coming out crying. It caused them to fail the semester when they did well most of the semester. Me on the other hand didn't do the best I had 4 tests and the grades I got were 87%, 77%, 73% and I think an 82%. So this scared the heck out of me for the HESI. I bought the elsivir practice HESI and did that exam so many times bc the teachers didn't even know what to tell is to study and you had to get an 850 to pass a 900 was recommended and I got a 1028 which came out as a 92%! I was super shocked! I was one of the higher grades in my class on that

But other than testing I get really anxious at clinicals, I haven't had a clinical yet this semester but last semester was so bad. Everything was so disorganized! Half the time the hospital didn't know we were coming, the nurses were not welcoming at all bc they didn't know we were coming so my clinical group was so behind on things and that scares me for this semester bc we didn't do much last semester and we will be expected to be up to speed..

i will NOT give up I will fight through these feelings but most of the time (in my cohort) I feel like I'm alone, I feel like everyone has it so together except for me. But than again I've lived with bad anxiety my entire life and my dr is I will to do anything to help me. I'm waiting until I can go see another dr and hopefully a new one will atleast try to help me out with that.

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