Going through a divorce and in second semester of nursing school

[hypo19]

Hi there!

I am freaking out this semester. I just moved out of my house and into my best friends house like one week ago...I have a six-year-old daughter and am in the middle of a divorce. I am trying to keep it together for her and to do well in nursing school. I am suffering from severe anxiety which I have meds for but I just don't know what to do. I hate how much time this is taking away from my kid because I have to study, I am constantly thinking I am going to get kicked out of the program...six people just got kicked out two weeks ago so that has really made me freak out even more. I know I can do this and would even like to apply to med school someday or ARNP school but I don't even know how I am going to get through nursing school. I am constantly feeling like any day is my last day there. I need to have confidence...I have never had them talk to me about my grades or anything like that...they are all passing grades but I have no motivation to study anymore and feel like I concentrate too much on the "what ifs" and don't know how to get that out of my head...I have to succeed. I am so scared that I am going to let my anxiety get the best out of me and end up failing out. I can't let this happen. My good friend was one of the one's that got kicked out which is making things even harder. I just feel so alone, new house, my daughter is trying to adjust and I feel like a bad mom because I cannot make it easier on her because of stupid school. I just don't know what to do.

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

Moved to our General Nursing Student forum for peer support.

[JBudd, MSN]

take advantage of the counseling available to students; I can't think of a school that doesn't have some type of support or counseling department. My school refers students when we think they are particularly stressed out, without waiting for the student to fall apart first. Take advantage of the resources available!

You and your daughter are going to continue having rough times... just be sure to take time to love on her every day a least a little. {{{{{Hugs}}}}}

[amj82]

Hi! Sorry to hear that you have so much going on. I can relate to how you are feeling. I am in my second quarter of nursing school. Since day one of my first quarter I have had so much stress in my life. I called off my wedding, moved, and had some other personal issues going on. It was one thing after another. I also have no experience in nursing, so the stress of clinicals and studies made things worse. I felt like giving up so many times but pushed through and managed to keep my grades up. I know it is hard but just think about how good it will feel to accomplish your goals and have the future you want. That's what has helped me, I think of how good it will feel to graduate and be able to put LPN or RN behind my name. I felt like I never had time for anything else so I started making a schedule. I set times to study and times for social life/family time as much as I can. I try to study a little bit every day (1.5-2 hours) because it's less stressful than trying to study for 20 hours on the weekend before an exam. Plus if you study longer than 2 hours your brain quits soaking up information anyways. Seems to do more harm and cause more stress. Maybe try to meet with a group to study before exams too, even if just for a few hours right before. The most important thing that has helped me recently is making time for myself a few days a week. I started working out 3 days a week for 30 mins. It's not much but it helps to have that me time. Just something you enjoy or something that relaxes you. Of course time with your daughter also :). Sorry if I am rambling. We had an advisor talk to us about this stuff a few weeks ago and it has really helped me a lot. Stay strong, you can do this and it will get better!