How many of you are on prescription drugs for anxiety, depression, mental health?

roser13, ASN, RN · Oct 11, 2009

I am on a prescribed antidepressant for anxiety. I was 40 when I became an RN and within a year of starting my med/surg job, I was suffering anxiety attacks for the first time in my life.

The anxiety centered around getting to work, receiving report on 5 - 7 patients, plus an LPN's 5-7 patients, then being prepared to receive anywhere from 1-3 admits during that shift while discharging 1 or 2. It made me insane that I sometimes didn't see some of my patients until 2 or 3 hours into my shift.

Unfortunately, that first job seemed to set a precedent for anxiety with being a nurse, even though subsequent positions have been so much more manageable.

dannyc12 · Oct 11, 2009

When I started doing my prerequisites for nursing school, a sociology professor asked that exact question of my class. To my (then) amazement, an alarming number of my classmates raised their hands. Maybe 35%.

I am 42 and during my first trip through college, this question would have been answered with a classfull of blank stares and the people on meds sure as hell wouldn't be raising their hands. The difference, to me, seemed to be a destigmatization of using the drugs and a sharp increase in their prescription in the last 20 years.

Last week during a lab checkoff, one of my fellow students happily said, "I didn't take my Adderall today so my lab partner would have an easier time counting my pulse!"

I wonder if this type of poll can answer your question because you seem to be focusing on nursing school stress as the cause for the meds. However, so many people are like you who have previously taken these so it is difficult to tell if school is the cause. If you worked at a gas station and had a crappy manager, you might be just as influenced to look at prescriptions.

The fact that you have all As and a B may be ammunition for you to keep things in perspective. Those folks in your class with two kids, a job and are barely hanging onto a passing grade while putting out their very best effort may have more reason to be stressed! Not trying to minimize your feelings, just perhaps put them in perspective.

For what it's worth, yes it should be this hard. But you are succeeding so keep it up.

This is a good, difficult question with no easy answers.

Good luck,

dc

Halinja, BSN, RN · Oct 11, 2009

Nursing school is very hard. It will, all on it's own, cause anxiety. So will nursing. You have patient's lives in your hands. Having said that...I wouldn't have made it through nursing school without antidepressants, a very good friend, and a very good counselor keeping me sane.

mamamerlee, LPN · Oct 11, 2009

The real question here is "Is there anyone out there who is NOT on some type mood-altering substance?" Nearly everyone I work with has been on or considered some type of substance. Not funny - life can be really difficult at times.

BTW, this includes those people who have a glass of wine, or a beer, or even a cigarette when they get off of work or get home.

NYRN08 · Oct 11, 2009

I am not on any kind of prescription drugs for anxiety, depression or mental health?? I didn't realize how many of us are on them until an poster brought it up.

RNKITTY04 · Oct 11, 2009

I started on an Anti-anxiety during my 3rd month of Nursing school and now here I am 5 years later, still on meds just a higher dose.

CLC172 · Oct 11, 2009

No prescription meds for me! I did have a serious bout of depression and anxiety after my first semester of nursing school. I was working full-time(with an hour commute to and from work), while trying to manage serious money problems, family problems and financial problems, as well as grief over losing my older brother to a prescription drug OD, at the same time as attending nursing school at night, getting all A's and B's. I was falling apart inside but everyone thought I was holding it together on the outside. I even had daily thoughts of suicide, but I was afraid to kill myself over what it would do to my daughter. It was a horrible, stressful time.

I needed to step away from nursing school, and underwent intensive cognitive behavioral therapy. Thankfully, I found a great counselor. Had I gone the medical route, I would have been prescribed meds pronto, which is what I did NOT want. Within just a few weeks of therapy, the suicidal thoughts slowly drained away, and the depression eventually melted away as I learned what my issues were and how to deal with them. It took over a year, though.

I was lucky to have a supportive family, and I ended up being able to save enough money for me to quit my job and go back to nursing school during the day. Many of my family members have been on antidepressants/antianxiety meds and I wanted to avoid it. I would never judge a person for being on them, but do think our society is really quick to prescribe a pill over trying out other natural remedies first. I think drugs should be a later therapy, after others have proven not to help because all drugs have side effects and some of those side effects are very dangerous such as suicidal ideation. That is what scares me.

I wish you the best and you need to do for yourself what you need to do in order to cope with life's stresses. And yes, nursing school really is that difficult and stressful for just about everyone! It's not abnormal for you to be feeling the way you are. Great job on holding down all A's and B's!! It's not easy!

MauraRN · Oct 11, 2009

Nursing school instructors, in large numbers, have a tendency to be abusive, at least that was my experience. I have a BA in Political Science, and my previous profession, before nursing, involved attorneys, litigants, and all sorts of irritated people. Even with that backround, I was shocked by the viciousness of some in nursing. No wonder so many of us began needing meds during nursing school. You are not alone, and the stats don't indicate that. It is a wonder that so many of us stick with it.

chenoaspirit, ASN, RN · Oct 11, 2009

I went on antidepressant and antianxiety drugs when I was in my 3rd semester of nursing school and it saved me, literally. I am still taking them as a nurse, I have been on them for years now.

sistasoul · Oct 11, 2009

I graduated in May 2008 from a Community College for my RN. During the last week of school one of my fellow students did a survey asking how many people were on anxiety meds or who had been belittled by a nursing instructor. 50 percent of my class said they had been prescribed anxiety/depression meds and 20 percent said they had suffered abuse by an instructor.

I tried Celexa twice but found it just made me sleepy and numb. It did help for a time but I was so tired all of the time and I found I just did not care about anything. I would rather have the anxietry then to feel nothing at all. Nursing school is the hardest thing I have ever done any it is extremely stressful. Over half of my original class did not graduate. To be fair, I am prone to anxiety and depression. As a nurse on an ortho/stroke floor it is extremely stressful. It is stressful because of the time constraints and never feeling you have enough time to do everything. I love bedside care but the time constraints and charting make it stressful. I am not on meds now and have no plans of going on any because I do not like the way they make me feel. I try to look at things in perspective and exercise. Exercising helps with my anxiety.

I talk to other nurses on my unit and most think it is extremely stressful. I don't know how many are on anxiety/depression meds.

sethmctenn · Oct 11, 2009

I'm taking L-tyrosine (for energy, thyroid support, and dopamine), 5-HTP (for serotonin), and fish oil. It has made a world of difference for me!