Anybody else??

Hi everyone-I'm wondering if anyone else has the same issue as I seem to. I work a day/night shift, and find that on the days that I'm scheduled to go in at 7pm, I get depressed and feellike something is wrong. BUT - I almost always have a great night, and it is sooo much more peaceful on the unit than on days. Why am I feeling like this when I end up having a good shift? Anyone else feel like this? Any suggestions?

You are not alone. I've had that experience working both nights and days and I know others who have talked about having those feelings. I think our job is so stressful and the shifts are so long and that is where it comes from. You realize you could have a really bad shift and let's face it, it will be 12 hours long. I've been off for 3 days now and work Fri/Sat and am already getting somewhat of a headache dreading working. I love my job and the people I work with but maybe it's called burnout? I don't know. I have heard alot of other nursing talking about it. I work days so it's usually that they don't sleep well during the night when they know they have to work the next day.

I am still relativley new to the nursing game but before a shift I used to feel anxiety about things that could go wrong, wich nurses I was working with, which floor I could be pulled to ect... Now my husband prays out loud with me before every shift for my patient to remain stable, for there to be enough help and resources around me, for God to help me with the difficult situations and answers, and for people to see the light of God in me and be calmed by it. I don't know if you are a prayer or not but after a prayer like that with someone who believes in me and God's power I am usually in a good mood when I go in and my anxiety stays down and even if things get a little hairy it always works out ok.

I actually feel the same way you do, but it's when I have to work days. I seriously consider calling off every single day that I have to work daylight. I'm ok once I get there, but it's always a major struggle to do so. I think since our sleep schedules are so balled up when we rotate, we're constantly fighting our natural body clocks. (Or else we don't have a functioning body clock because we flip/flop so much.) I worked daylight the last week and a half and haven't gone to sleep before 1:30 am. I know I have to be up before six, but I just can't sleep. I think I'm going to have to take 1 tab of Benedryl if I'm not asleep by 11pm the night before I work. I do that if I can't sleep after working @ night and have to be back in by 7P. I slept today for twelve hours before I even got up to pee. Probably because I got that much sleep spread over three days before last night. :icon_roll

Even if you love the peace of night shift and sleep well during the day...

...it always seems to be a bit depressing going in to work when everybody else is just getting home to enjoy their evenings. It's even harder to go in at 11pm, when everybody is getting ready for bed! So yeah, it's normal to feel a bit down on the way in to a night shift.