Anxiety/Hyperhidrosis

Hi,

I too have gotten through my first four weeks! I did have one bit of stress, but it all worked out.

I'm a high strung person. When I'm sitting down, my foot always has to jiggle. I jump from 0 to 100 in the blink of an eye. I do/did have poor body image. This is me.

(Actually it's more like I jump from 20 to 100 because I don't think I'm ever at 0 haha)

First thing I did is to cut out caffeine nearly completely. It makes me jittery, nervous, and cranky.

I also exercise regularly because, and I know it sounds silly, but I can feel the endorphin difference when I don't.

I also learned how to accept myself. This one has no secret key to unlock it's door. It just will unlock when you like yourself more than you care about what others think about you. Other people who see you aren't focusing in on the faults you are about yourself. Most people who see you aren't thinking about you at all, but about their own weaknesses, problems, etc.

I know it's easy to say these things but then when you're in the situation your familiar feelings and worry makes you forget that no one is judging you in the way you're judging yourself. You could wear something so you remember, like a blue bracelet or something like that.

The more you sit in nursing school though and have those teacher check off encounters, the easier it will all get. You'll get desensitized to it, you'll start thinking clearer, and all those social anxiety thoughts will decrease. Keep writing here :)

Oh also remind yourself that not everyone has to like you and that's fine. Some people are really turned off by me, then others are amused by me, then others genuinely like me. My teachers know I'm high strung. They like me because I show respect to them in every way, and try hard in my work. Let your teacher know you're nervous. You can be an excellent student nurse even with some nervous energy because you show them you know how to focus through that. It becomes a strength, not a weakness.

I have hyper hydrosis and anxiety (and some other stuff, too)

As far as the glove issue, once I became a nurse I was able to relax enough to put on gloves without too much difficulty. Using a size larger helped.

As far as being nervous at clinicals, I am, but I carry myself well, I try to project confidence. Most people say they think I am confident. Nope, sometimes I just fake it till I make it! My clinical instructor could tell I was nervous tho, when she took my pulse during sim lab-110! I hate that my pulse races like that.

Regarding sweaty feet- I make accommodations for myself. Thick socks, rotate shoes to avoid odor, etc.

You can get through nursing school and work as a nurse with anxiety. I think plenty of nurses have challenges with this. However it would be useful to learn ways to curb excess anxiety, as nursing is a field that one can always find a reason to worry about something, I think.

Hey,

I've been a nursing student for about a month now also. I can definitely relate to your social anxiety. I got to be besties with anxiety from the age of 14. It's a struggle everyday.

My advice would be don't let your social anxiety hold you back from attending class. Even if you don't have class that day, go out anyway. Go out everyday for at least 5 minutes. This has really helped me get into routine, at the same time it's kept my anxiety at bay. Honestly until about a month ago i'd only leave the house if I had errands to run or would see my bestfriend about once a month or so.

It's just helped with the anxiety in general. Give yourself a break though. Try to give yourself a break.