Post tramatic stress and the nurse.

anniev · Jun 1, 2006

oramar: I live with my husband of 25 years who has PTSD (active duty nam,CIB with numerous medals and bronze star)) I think that there is a big difference,we went many years with him trying to hold down a job but he doesn't function in society he doesn't handle crowds his reactions are extreme, he doesn't sleep at all , then maybe he will just lay in bed for days, I can't and don't want to know what he went thru, I have days I hate my job and days I love my job and many times I feel burnt out I take a vacation and get away if it was so bad I'd go into something else, but I would still be able to function. His world and the ghosts that haunt him are with him they will never leave him alone till the day he dies, If you have a chance read Veitnam Wives, helps some to understand . It is very sad it some times takes years to come out most women married to these men divorce or you learn ways to live with , I have a great man who is a hero he didn't adk to go do what he did he was made but he did what his country asked just my opinion.......... :twocents:

gr8rnpjt, RN · Jun 1, 2006

Oramar,

I believe that there are levels of PTSD, and I know what you are trying to say. I am not sure that they are one and the same, however.

I was diagnosed with PTSD, not due to one traumatic event, but from a series of very traumatic events that happened in my childhood.

When I became a nurse, I found after 2 years that I just couldn't go to work.

It was not any traumatic events, but the every day stress of working steady nights, being responsible for 16 heart patients every night, having to deal with nasty bossy snooty daylight nurses. What I felt was a feeling of dread that I felt driving to work every night. I did not feel any better driving home from work in the morning, I was going over every minute of the shift in my head trying to determine if there was anything I missed or did wrong. I hated the nursing profession, and did not want to do the job any more.

A good friend left the clinical setting to work for an insurance company. Until I heard this I did not know there were so many nurses doing this job, and in some cases they make more than bedside nurses. I thought this was right up my alley. I hated the stress of clinical nursing. I liked to wear pretty dresses and business suits. I liked the idea of steady daylight and weekends off.

I got a job for the largest insurance company in the city and I never looked back. I love going to work now.

It took me only 2 years of clinical nursing to get me to the point where I could not do the job any more. Was it PTSD? I don't think so. I think that I am not an adrenaline junkie, and I don't like the added stress. Did my previous PTSD have something to do with my burning out early in my nursing career? I believe it did. I am not one who likes surprises, change, stress, arguing, being yelled at, etc. I like a simple day with no problems or surprises. I have stress in my job but it is not the same kind of life-or-death stress I dealt with in the hospital setting.

I hope this helps.

Editorial Team / Admin · Jun 1, 2006

Have read several threads over the years where nurses announce they are leaving the profession. They sometimes go into detail about the situation and it starts to sound as if they are suffering from post tramatic stress. Most of the time they describe themselves as being burnt out. Is their a difference between post tramatic stress and burnout I wonder? In my opinion if there is it is a thin line. That leads to another question. Has anyone ever studied the two things to see the similarities and differences. Just my opinion again but I think the more sever forms of burn out are a form of cumulative post tramatic stress. The trouble with post tramatic stress is that people try to relate it to one big event when most the time it is a lot of little things.

Hello, oramar,

Here is a link from the National Center for PTSD:

PTSD is marked by clear biological changes as well as psychological symptoms. PTSD is complicated by the fact that it frequently occurs in conjunction with related disorders such as depression, substance abuse, problems of memory and cognition, and other problems of physical and mental health. The disorder is also associated with impairment of the person's ability to function in social or family life, including occupational instability, marital problems and divorces, family discord, and difficulties in parenting.

http://www.ncptsd.va.gov/facts/

And, here is a link regarding burnout:

http://www.texmed.org/Template.aspx?id=4480

Unchecked burnout could lead to PTSD. But, if recognized early on, burnout can be prevented.

Here is a link to associated problems and PTSD:

http://www.ncptsd.va.gov/facts/problems/index.html

And, I found an article in the March 2005 AJN - something in which you will be interested to read:

http://cms.nursingcenter.com/dev/library/JournalArticle.asp?Article_ID=573321

oramar · Jun 1, 2006

Three very nice responses to this post. I will reply to each. Anniev my husband of many years is an ex-Marine and Viet Vet. I finally realize there is no such thing as ex-Marine, took a long time for it to sink in. Siri, thankyou so much for those excellent articles. The one by that ER nurse name of Thomas confirms everything I put in my original post almost word for word. GR8RN, glad to hear you have job that makes you happy to go to work.