...Depression

leslie :-D · Jul 7, 2008

if you're truly in your first yr as a nurse, then yes, many new nurses feel as you do.

you should read 'first year of nursing' forum.

many frantic, frustrated and downright unhappy vents.

if this depression starts affecting your homelife, you really should see your doc.

hang in there, honey.

it gets better, i promise.

leslie

Kevin0507 · Jul 9, 2008

it is a tough job to start out in. when i first started i was in a catch 22, i wanted to work all the time, but i really sucked at work. ex: when i was at work, i was uncomfortable bc i didnt know any answers, but when i was at home i wanted to be at work...

abbaking · Jul 10, 2008

Depression is very universal to most people either male or female. I am not ashamed to admit that I am a guy with Depression. There is a common misconception that depression and crying is a "Girly" problem and that guys need to suck it up and show no emotion. God gave us tear ducts for a reason. Sometimes a good cry washes the soul.

If you feel that you are seriously depressed to the point of self-harm or harming someone else, seek medical advise from a psychiatrist or a mental health specialist immediately. Many hospital emergency departments have crisis intervention centers staffed 24/7. There are some psychiatric hospitals that have walk-in crisis intervention wards. In any case, seek help IMMEDIATELY if you are feeling suicidal.

Good luck

Thunderwolf, MSN, RN · Jul 13, 2008

Depression and being absent/without/away from work....can be a very common experience for many men...especially so if one's self image revolves around what we do. Men for the longest time have defined themselves by their occupation....ie, "Hi, I'm Joe, and I am a plumber." This is also why, for many men, retirement is often looked upon as something of dread...causing lots of anxiety and often depression. Knowing this....it is important to not totally base our self concept solely on our work....but to begin adding more to ourselves thru other endeavors....be it hobbies, organizations, socializing, et cetera. When we do this, we can not only enjoy and identify with our world of work, but also come to look forward and identify with our leisure activities as well. Many folks make the mistake thinking that a career is based solely on a job/profession....a career is "a balance" of both work and play....which are both just as equally important to our mental health and happiness.

Hope this was helpful.

SteveNNP, MSN, NP · Jul 13, 2008

Do you work night shift? I find myself in the doldrums on my days off, especially during the fall/winter months. It usually stems from my perpetual fatigue, (doesn't matter how long I sleep) not seeing my friends too often due to working weekends, nights after they get off their 9-5 jobs.... I think it also has to do with not getting enough light exposure in the winter. I go to work and leave work in the dark, and then sleep through the light of day....

It got to a point last winter that I was seriously considering job change, or asking my PCP for an antidepressant Rx. I was always cranky and feeling blue. What helped was "scheduling" time to go out and see people, even in it meant weeks ahead of time. It meant getting outside for at least a few hours doing yardwork or going on a hike. The rush of endorphins really helped. I also made sure I squeezed in a vacation as often as I could. It usually meant working 4-5 nights, off for 7-8, then back on for 4. The stretch off was enough for my biological rhythms to reset.

If you feel your symptoms are more than you can manage, by all means seek help from your PCP. There's nothing wrong with it....Hope things look up for you, friend!

silentRN · Jul 13, 2008

I work day shifts. I find myself cranky and blue all the time too. I'm pretty good at restraining myself so that I don't lash out at people and realizing that they haven't done anything wrong and I shouldn't be mad; it's just the emotion I have. I worked night shift for the last 5 years while I was going to school and so on. But now I prefer to work days because the day staff are better cohesive with each other and people actually laugh and aren't so bitter. I hate giving shift change report to night shift especially. But anyways, I just feel that I live a boring life and there's just really nothing interesting about it. I moved out here to Tucson not knowing anyone because of work. My friends live about 4 hours away, which isn't bad but my car is a trustworthy car (it broke down last weekend), so I can't make the drive up north; which is all up hill from here. Basically, I'm stuck here until I can afford to buy a new car. I know some people from work but me being surrounded by women, all I hear about is talk about boyfriends or family so on so on...it would be nice to just to have a real conversation with someone which isn't superficial :uhoh3: . I think after awhile it just all builds up. I'm out here alone, the only people I know here are through work which they all seem to have their own lives going on, it's a scourched desert here; I miss the Pine tress from where I lived!

I think once I get a new car I won't feel so trapped here and I can go where I want :bowingpur

-David H.

SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN · Jul 13, 2008

I have suffered from depression and anxiety since childhood. So do my dad and brother, but theirs manifest as anger.

Talk to your PCP. Men are humans, too.

:)

silentRN · Jul 13, 2008

I have suffered from depression and anxiety since childhood. So do my dad and brother, but theirs manifest as anger.
Talk to your PCP. Men are humans, too.
:)

Ya I agree with you, men do display their depression different than woman do. I don't think getting on a pill is always the answer. When I'm depressed it rolls in and then rolls out. It isn't contineous, just comes in waves. I saw my PCP last summer about it and he just told me I should get out and excersie blah blah blah...I looked at him funny because I'm 200 pounds of basically solid muscle. I've been exercising for 4 years now consistantly. I think PCPs tend to look at one's age and think there's no way he can be in his 20's and depressed. But, when it was all done and over he finally gave me a prescription. The problem is it made me feel like I was in an euphoria :coollook: and in a sense, a type of manic. I realized it and got off that crap after spending a couple grand! I'm not bipolar by the way because I know that's what probably just popped into your mind. But in the end, I was fine and I went a year without being depressed. But lately I just got a bout of it :crying2: , but I'm fine now. I've realized that with time it goes away. Sometimes you just feel like you're in prision but without the bars. It's not a fun feeling :banghead: . Anyways I'm off to the gym for my prescribed dose of pumping iron from my old PCP.

-David H.

SteveNNP, MSN, NP · Jul 13, 2008

Just sounds like a case of the blues. I've been there. I moved 800 miles away from a job I loved going to and coworkers who were like family, to attend grad school. While work is ok, it's not the same. I do not have any meaningful relationships there like I used to. I miss my old friends, going out, knowing where all the cool places to go are, the weather, and the list goes on. It's amazing how alone and lonely someone can feel sometimes. There are times I too see what seems like everyone around me enjoying their lives, spouses, children, free time, and I get jealous/down. I know that it will happen someday. But in the meantime it hurts sometime...

SuesquatchRN, BSN, RN · Jul 13, 2008

Ya I agree with you, men do display their depression different than woman do. I don't think getting on a pill is always the answer. When I'm depressed it rolls in and then rolls out. It isn't contineous, just comes in waves. I saw my PCP last summer about it and he just told me I should get out and excersie blah blah blah...I looked at him funny because I'm 200 pounds of basically solid muscle. I've been exercising for 4 years now consistantly. I think PCPs tend to look at one's age and think there's no way he can be in his 20's and depressed. But, when it was all done and over he finally gave me a prescription. The problem is it made me feel like I was in an euphoria and in a sense, a type of manic. I realized it and got off that crap after spending a couple grand! I'm not bipolar by the way because I know that's what probably just popped into your mind. But in the end, I was fine and I went a year without being depressed. But lately I just got a bout of it , but I'm fine now. I've realized that with time it goes away. Sometimes you just feel like you're in prision but without the bars. It's not a fun feeling . Anyways I'm off to the gym for my prescribed dose of pumping iron from my old PCP.
-David H.

Actually, nothing "diagnostic" popped into my mind. I know that emotional states are highly personal and unpredictable, not to mention difficult to stick in a tidy little box with a bow on top.

:)

I just came back from a run in the hideous humidity. But I feel good. However, I'll take my Lexapro later just to make sure it isn't just the endorphins.