Out of Element

[MelodyRNurse]

I am a new grad LPN, continuing my education to RN. I think I should quit. I wasnt sure to begin with if I wanted to be a nurse. I thought I would figure it out in school. Well Ive been having panick attacks since I started. I read a reply post recently that said something along the lines of... If we push ourselves through something we dont really want it will cause panick attacks. Not only that but I hate my life since Ive been doing this. I enjoy nursing as a student but I only have one or two patients at a time. I cant handle the stressors of everyday life half the time let alone the amount of stress that comes with nursing. I know there are other areas but I want to work in a hospital. In my area they dont hire LPNs in the hospitals. So its nursing homes or prisons, my only options unless I continue. Im burned out and just generally miserable to be around. I used to make people laugh. I keep trying to find excuses not to continue. I can barely survive on my salary but can barely survive my state of mind anymore either. Am I just suffering from burn out syndrome or are these signs that this might not be right for me:uhoh21:? How do you know?

[felixfelix]

I can't give you any career advice, as I'm a student, too. But I can tell you I'm experiencing a milder form of what you have...nursing school is hard, what with the workload and the psychological squeeze they put on, and it can affect one. I'm not sure what I want to do yet, either, but I think it's worth hanging in there, for.

Can you give yourself the option to just let it go? Maybe do a mental "what if I let it go, then what?" exercise. You have options...you always have options.