Help will I ever get well!!!

[nebrgirl]

prior to starting nursing school, I was pretty darn healthy. And I'm sure I still am, but I'm suffering from that psychological problem with thinking I have all kinds of diseases since I started school....I've thought I've had gout, ovarian cancer, uterine cancer, COPD, body lice, heart problems, lyme disease, (just to name a few). I'm sure this comes from spending entirely to much time thinking about "what's this a sign off...." evertime I have a brief ache or pain, spot or itch. I understand this is a common occurance for nursing students....but when will I get over it? Really it would be comical if I didn't waste time worrying about it.

[CHATSDALE]

this is more common among students than nurses because students spend a whole day [or several] studying about one disease process while nurses are presented with different syndromes going from one room to the next

very few nurses die off psychologic illnesses, welcome to the club

[gonzo1, ASN, RN]

What ever we were studying at the time I was sure I had it or was coming down with it.

After you graduate and get a job you will be too busy to think about being sick.

Get well soon

[mesmerizex]

hahaha i can relate to this, im sorry but its really funny when i was still studying i feel the same way too everytime i feel sick i get paranoid about it.

[*LadyJane*]

LOL, Yes, have had a little bit of this, but those thoughts are usually pushed away when I think of all the reading/studying I need to get done before (insert any deadline here). This is normal to some degree. I know that medical students quite often have this same problem....

[CalicoKitty, BSN, MSN, RN]

I'm sure I was having a stroke and going deaf 2 nights ago. I haven't even started nursing school. I stared at my eyes in the mirror immediately upon arrival (just to make sure the pupils were dilated equally).

[SeychelleRN]

Brings back so many memories:lol_hitti:lghmky:

NCLEX and job hunting always seemed to cure these ailments fast.

[sweetsounds]

I call this Marcus Welby Syndrome (disease of the week.)

I guess you have to be old enough to understand the reference.

[BrightEyes]

Sorry to tell you but it honestly never does get better. Been at this 20 years and to this day it can't possibly be a simple headache but most definitely a brain tumour!! It's a standing joke at our house. :)

[classicdame, MSN, EdD]

I worked with eye surgeons many years and we saw all sorts of accidents. Our inside joke was we were afraid to take a bath with a bar of soap as it could be used as a projectile.

[rita359]

I find I do this more when reading or studying about a particular disease. When you are actually working with many patients in a job you won't have time to reflect on your having these diseases, just helping each of your patients. I don't think it ever goes away completely but it sure does not rule your life unless you let it. If you have always been healthy, when this kind of thinking starts stop and remind yourself that you have always been healthy and didn't worry about this or that disorder until you began reading about it. Remind yourself that healthy is your norm.

[pink85]

This is so funny! I am having the best time reading this stuff because I can so relate. When I was in nursing school, many years ago, psych was the worst! I would be driving home from clinical trying to make sure I was not hearing voices! Also, I had everyone in my family diagnosed with some sort of psych d/o. Now, anytime I have a patient and they tell me some sort of symptom they have and it is something that I have experienced recently I think I could have the same thing they are in the hospital for! Then there is my poor teenagers. Whenever I come home from work and start telling them about something they should never do, because we get a 16 yo MVC or something, they ask, "OK mom, what kind of patient did you get at work today???".