Anyone else pre nursing & dealing with depression?

OHN19 · Feb 9, 2017

Everyone deals with depression differently. I don't know much about OCD and anxiety other than what school has taught me. I do know that most schools are willing to accommodate you if you have special needs. If you have test anxiety talk to an instructor and see if they can help you out or let you take the test privately.

Another thing that most Nursing students forget to do is take time to take care of themselves. Go out and have some fun with your friends every once and a while. If you get a break from tests for a week or two try to take it easy on studying. Maybe its the monotony of studying that is doing it to you. Change your study style and see if that helps.

The only advice I have for the depression is to keep pressing on. Everyone gets in a funk sometime. Just keep trying as hard as you can and all will be well in the end.

ItsThatJenGirl, CNA · Feb 9, 2017

My school has free mental health support, maybe check into that?

Aside from that, I use the techniques that I was taught in therapy to help me get through the hard stuff. Meditation has been a huge assistance, too. If I'm studying and spacing off, it's a good indicator that I need to get up and move around, move onto another topic, or approach my studying in a different way. With my anxiety it also really, REALLY helps to make lists so everything I have to do is there, concrete and I can check things off as I complete them. It gives me a sense of control that being in school sometimes takes away from me.

Best of luck to you. You can do it.

maria1315, BSN, RN · Feb 11, 2017

Everyone deals with depression differently. I don't know much about OCD and anxiety other than what school has taught me. I do know that most schools are willing to accommodate you if you have special needs. If you have test anxiety talk to an instructor and see if they can help you out or let you take the test privately.
Another thing that most Nursing students forget to do is take time to take care of themselves. Go out and have some fun with your friends every once and a while. If you get a break from tests for a week or two try to take it easy on studying. Maybe its the monotony of studying that is doing it to you. Change your study style and see if that helps.
The only advice I have for the depression is to keep pressing on. Everyone gets in a funk sometime. Just keep trying as hard as you can and all will be well in the end.

I study when I have tests and when I don't. For example, right now in anatomy I took my exam two weeks ago. We just finished the endocrine and are starting the digestive system which is the second topic for our next exam. I'm studying my butt off even though I don't have tests. I feel like if I don't study every day, I won't do good. And then my anxiety freaks me out.

ilovebirds · Feb 11, 2017

Definitely look into mental health services at your school. They tend to be free, and often are extremely helpful!

Personally speaking - if my anxiety is really acting up (and I can remove myself from the current task) I take a break and listen to music and move around. As for depression, I think about what graduation will be like and passing NCLEX etc. - that normally lights a fire under me to get stuff done.

You might want to talk to your professors about this so accommodations can be made if needed.

Good luck - you can do this! :)

chrisRN180, ADN, RN · Feb 11, 2017

I literally have those same diagnoses' ocd, depression, and anxiety. i totally know where your coming from, i do the exact same thing where if i dont study every day i begin to freak out, i study every day as if the test is the next day even if its not for weeks, and if i dont i begin to feel guilty. im sure you know how the ocd works, its not always just things like checking the door is locked over and over, or repeating things multiple times in a row like most people just assume. the ocd is occurring in your thoughts, obsessive intrusive thoughts like "if i dont study every day i will fail and get kicked out of nursing school" or "im out with my friends, which means im not studying, i cant hang out with my friends or i will fail". everyone has these thoughts , but people like me and you just have trouble switching them off, much like the person who checks the door lock over and over cant switch that off. this is what leads to the anxiety, and those long periods of anxiety can easily make a person depressed. i could be way off but what your describing sounds alot like this, and im not trying to pretend im a doctor here but this is literally identical to my life so i have alot of experience with it. and with all that being said heres what i do to manage it, not just for nursing school but for life in general:

- speaking with a therapist in the times im having flare ups of my condition (its more intense at times of course, and some weeks seem almost like its non existent at all) but yeah a good therapist helps alot, having someone to talk to helps so much, there also trained to teach you techniques to deal with what your going through and believe me they help. and i know you said your insurance is an issue but my therapist i speak with is over skype(sounds weird but its actually very convenient for a busy student) and its only 40$ a session which is dirt cheap for an hour of a professionals time.

- take at least one day a week to indulge 100% into a hobby that pry's your mind completely away from nursing. for me im into cars, yesterady i spent 10 hours straight in my garage and that 1 day a week totally refreshes me and lets me feel less anxious about my work load for the upcoming week.

- caffeine... i dont wanna assume your like me but i drink alot of coffee and when i have a flare up of these obsessive kind of thoughts the caffeine accelerates it. as a nursing student the need for coffee is real but remember it will accelerate these thoughts as well. when i have a hard week where these conditions are flaring up i avoid anything but water.

- my meds help me tremendously, this is obviously something you need to consult 10000% with a psychiatrist. i take lexapro and when i started it helped curve these obsessions alot.

- remember your long term goal. what seems to help more than anything now a days is thinking about how rewarding it will be to help kids just like me. ive spent days in the ER for anxiety and depression before i got professional help, nothing fuels me more than to think about the good i can do for someone who was in my situation. this is the reason that i (someone who worked as a carpenter for 8 years) decided to go to nursing school. it eases my anxiety when i think about why im doing all this in the first place. let these conditions make you stronger not weaker!

i hope this helps you in some way!

Zmast89 · Feb 14, 2017

I can't speak to the issues of your clinical diagnoses, but you should be encouraged by your work ethic. Your studying your ass off because you care. I used to see so many people in Anatomy and Physiology classes that had " C get degrees " attitude. I doubt any of them will make it in a credible nursing program. I got A's in all my prereqs and I sometimes wonder if I should studied studied harder for when I am expected to apply my knowledge in nursing courses. I know I can get episodes of anxiety sometimes, but nothing extraordinary.

Good Luck :)

maria1315, BSN, RN · Feb 15, 2017

Thank you!

maria1315, BSN, RN · Feb 15, 2017

I'm trying to go to the doctor soon to get new meds and hopefully a new therapist so I hope my insurance doesn't fail me. I'm stressing myself out so much, I have zero social life right now and I miss my friends.

GrumpyOldBastard, MSN, RN · Feb 15, 2017

Work hard to get this well managed and stable before starting nursing school. Generally, nursing school will make most mental health problems WORSE. During nursing school, continue to actively manage your mental health. Generally, it is best to continue taking any psych meds that you were taking before nursing school. Nursing school is a terrible time to stop taking psych meds!

maria1315, BSN, RN · Apr 23, 2017

So my anxiety has taken a liking to attacking my schooling I keep thinking I'm not good enough to be a nurse. I'm planning to apply to NYU but my GPA this semester is probably gonna be a 3.5 This is my first year of college and have one more (two semesters) until transferring and I'm TERRIFIED. I'm volunteering in the ER and might get my research paper published by my professor but I still feel like my grades are terrible. I was sick with a terrible UTI and then kidney infection so my last test in micro was a B (not too bad but i've gotten A+ in all my tests until this one) and I've been beating myself up for it. Any tips on how to stop being so hard on myself?