Nursing with Depression

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide · Mar 14, 2016

Hello there, and welcome to Allnurses!

I'm sorry you've been so ill. I've battled depression since I was a little girl and know how bad it can be. At one point a year and a half ago, I was even hospitalized. I've also been put out of work by my psychiatrist and made to stay out for several weeks, and it was tough going back. But it can be done as long as a person is stable.

Unfortunately, you don't sound very stable to me and I'm hearing a lot of worry and indecision in your post. Given a choice, I don't think you want to go back yet, and you ought to listen to your gut instincts. Most people go back to work too soon after a mood episode and it rarely serves them well. It seems to me that you could use some more therapy, if you're not already getting it, as well as medication management (again, I'm assuming you have a mental health provider and are on meds).

You can recover from this and go back to work, but when you do, I suggest that you do NOT share with your co-workers or managers that you have been off work from depression. Not everyone is judgmental, but some still are despite the efforts of many to de-stigmatize mental illness. I myself got badly burned from disclosing my own bipolar illness to my employer several years ago and will never do it again.

Best of luck to you. Please keep us posted as to how things work out for you.

poppycat, ADN, BSN · Mar 14, 2016

I agree 100% with Viva. I have never disclosed my mental health diagnosis with any employer. Unfortunately there is still much stigma attached to mental illness.

Would it be possible for you to get on short-term disability through your employer? I did that at one job years ago & my doctor wrote up the paperwork in such a way that the employer didn't know it was for depression. At least if you had that you would have a chance to get yourself stabilized without being totally without income.

Please keep coming back here, also. There's lots of support here from people who know what the struggle is like.

badmanRN · Mar 14, 2016

Thanks for the replies. Unfortunately my employers already knew about my anxiety and depression. I have worked there for almost 7 years (mostly as a phlebotomist) before I became a nurse.

I return to my PCP this week to see if I am at a point to return to work, but I am unsure. My symptoms, although improving, are still severe.

I am worried about going back to work to soon as I work in an extremely hectic med surg with tele unit and normally have four patients. I feel pressure to go back but I also don't want to go back too soon. It's a delicate balance and I'm not sure I'm ready for that balance.

Penelope_Pitstop, BSN, RN · Mar 15, 2016

. I return to my PCP this week to see if I am at a point to return to work, but I am unsure. My symptoms, although improving, are still severe.

Do you have a psychiatrist?

And have you ever considered attending a day program at a mental health facility?

badmanRN · Mar 15, 2016

I do not have a psychiatrist at this point. My PCP and I agreed on medical management. There is an IOP at the hospital I work at but I am not a candidate because I am not a danger to myself or others. I have been looking in my area for counsellors but mostly have been getting voicemails.

Penelope_Pitstop, BSN, RN · Mar 15, 2016

I do not have a psychiatrist at this point. My PCP and I agreed on medical management. There is an IOP at the hospital I work at but I am not a candidate because I am not a danger to myself or others. I have been looking in my area for counsellors but mostly have been getting voicemails.

Are there other behavioral health hospitals nearby? I have done IOP a few times and I've never been a danger to myself or others.

badmanRN · Mar 15, 2016

I haven't found any. I work for a large rural system and they have bought up all the hospitals in the area and those not associated do not have a behavioral health department. At this point I don't know that I could afford an IOP. I have already burned through my PTO and am looking down the barrel of unpaid time so I need to be back to work within the next two weeks or so.

Long Term Care Columnist / Guide · Mar 15, 2016

If your medication regimen is more than an antidepressant or two, you'd be better off getting a referral to a psychiatrist. Most PCPs are not qualified to diagnose or treat serious mental illnesses such as major depression, bipolar etc. Finding a therapist is a good idea too. I was lucky, I had a p-doc who also did therapy---one-stop shopping, as it were---as well as medication management. Most of them don't do all that, though, so you may need both a therapist and a p-doc or psych nurse practitioner.

Keep looking for someone who can help you. You deserve to feel better, and sometimes it takes reaching out. (((HUGS)))

badmanRN · Mar 15, 2016

I've done traditional CBT therapy in the past but it's not something that I feel works for me.

I'm just worried about going back to work before I'm ready. I want to be a good nurse. I worked hard to get to nursing but I'm questioning whether I have made the right choices. I think bedside nursing is not "my kind" of nursing and I feel stuck in my current position. I can't apply for anything new until September. I think I would love being in the OR.

mrsjonesRN · Mar 15, 2016

I've done traditional CBT therapy in the past but it's not something that I feel works for me.
I'm just worried about going back to work before I'm ready. I want to be a good nurse. I worked hard to get to nursing but I'm questioning whether I have made the right choices. I think bedside nursing is not "my kind" of nursing and I feel stuck in my current position. I can't apply for anything new until September. I think I would love being in the OR.

Do you work night shift? Nights has exacerbated my depression severely to the point that I am about to be nonfunctioning. My mental health provider even said this can happen. I am trying desperately to find a day shift position.

If you do work nights, maybe switching to days will help you.

mrsjonesRN · Mar 15, 2016

If your medication regimen is more than an antidepressant or two, you'd be better off getting a referral to a psychiatrist. Most PCPs are not qualified to diagnose or treat serious mental illnesses such as major depression, bipolar etc. Finding a therapist is a good idea too. I was lucky, I had a p-doc who also did therapy---one-stop shopping, as it were---as well as medication management. Most of them don't do all that, though, so you may need both a therapist and a p-doc or psych nurse practitioner.
Keep looking for someone who can help you. You deserve to feel better, and sometimes it takes reaching out. (((HUGS)))

Great advice!