aquakenn

Don't be afraid to shop around. The best ACOA meetings are Al-Anon ACOA meetings. I learned and continue to learn a lot from the 12 Steps of recovery.

14 Traits of an Adult Child of an Alcoholic We became isolated and afraid of people and authority figures. We became approval seekers and lost our identity in the process. We are frightened by angry people and any personal criticism. We either become alcoholics, marry them or both, or find another compulsive personality such as a workaholic to fulfill our sick abandonment needs. We live life from the viewpoint of victims and we are attracted by that weakness in our love and friendship relationships. We have an overdeveloped sense of responsibility and it is easier for us to be concerned with others rather than ourselves; this enables us not to look too closely at our own faults, etc. We get guilt feelings when we stand up for ourselves instead of giving in to others. We became addicted to excitement. We confuse love and pity and tend to “love” people we can “pity” and “rescue.” We have “stuffed” our feelings from our traumatic childhoods and have lost the ability to feel or express our feelings because it hurts so much (Denial). We judge ourselves harshly and have a very low sense of self-esteem. We are dependent personalities who are terrified of abandonment and will do anything to hold on to a relationship in order not to experience painful abandonment feelings, which we received from living with sick people who were never there emotionally for us. Alcoholism is a family disease; and we became para-alcoholics and took on the characteristics of that disease even though we did not pick up the drink. Para-alcoholics are reactors rather than actors. Sound familiar? You ARE NOT ALONE!!

Hi Ella, I had a very similar upbringing. What has greatly helped my is Al-Anon ACOA (adult children of alcoholics). It doesn't matter if there was drinking or not, you will find a lot in common with others. I used to worry constantly, I had IBS, I lacked so much confidence. I also "over-thought" a lot. After being in ACOA I learned that I am not alone. I use the 12 Steps of AA (and Al-Anon) to make things right for myself. There are meetings all over the world. Shop around. It takes time to heal. If you stick with it you'll be surprised how much you will grow. Your anxiety and depression will also be more manageable. Of course, traditional therapy also works, but ACOA is free (and I believe more effective). Good luck! You can do this!

My doctor told me that he had to do that in the army. Guess he was lying, eh?

alrighty, then. LOL

thank you!!

What I have done on some of my previous posts is, (first) state that those are not my credentials and then move onto my blog.

When I was setting up my profile, those credentials came on. I couldn't get them off. Very frustrating. I tried to get them off, but I can't. I hate that they are there since it's obvious I don't have a BSN nor RN, although I do have a BS in addictions and mental health counseling. If you can help me get them off it would be great.

I have been a PCA since 2016, and an HHA since 2018. I hope to have my LPN in 2021. I am a man and that has been some stigma in my profession. The stigma comes from my senior patients, not co-workers, supervisors, etc. When I tell people my career, I am met with respect and support about going into the field, not ridicule. I have been getting much support in my nursing career. Times are changing (for the better).

Thank you for the update. Last I started Orleans-Niagara BOCES for LPN. It was supposed to start in January 2019. It didn't start until the end of March 2019. The first instructor went out on disability two weeks into the program. They could not get their SMART board to work for weeks. The substitute instructor stayed until the end of May. She only gave two to three quizzes a day! Another instructor was fired for hitting a student. The head administrator quit. Classes had to be canceled last minute at times. It happened so often that they had to take away a vacation week. Students had to be on time, not a minute late, however, teachers were exempt from such things. Before I began ON BOCES, a nurse I worked with told me to go to Erie BOCES because ON BOCES was too unorganized. I thought those problems would have been solved. Bottom line is ON BOCES is a mess. I have heard very good things about Erie 1 BOCES. I am hopeful I can succeed any pass the NYCLEX.

PS: I don't know how BSN RN credentials got added to my last name. As you can see I haven't achieved those statuses yet.

I am beginning my LPN studies and have been hearing the same. Hospitals aren't hiring LPNs any longer, and now RNs don't count for much until a nurse gets a BSN. However, many private offices and specialist's agencies are hiring LPNs. In my state (NY), counties and the state itself hirings LPNs. They have RNs that supervisor (pretty much sign off) on paperwork. There still is hope for us; the landscape is just changing a bit. Oh yeah, we are REAL nurses!

?I start on March 25th (I hope. they keep moving it forward. I am nervous, but I have to remember that I have two bachelor's degrees already, and nursing has been a calling for a very long time and I know my God has opened the doors to make this happen. I am also53, so I will probably be the oldest. But, I have found that the older I get, the more secure of myself I become. It's really true that you don't know anything (about yourself) until you're 40. Then you just keep learning. I think I relieved some of my nerves by writing this, but I am still nervous.

I also did poorly on science. I did study though using previous TEAS tests and studied the science question furtherly. From all the questions and topics that I studied, I still bombed the science portion. I wished that I brushed up on my math also. I did poorly (and math is one od my strong suit). If I had to take the test again, I would have given myself a day just to catch up on my algebra.

I don't have much background in science. I studied the ATI TEAS book, took all the practice tests, reviewed all the questions and studied further. The majority of the science section was nothing like the practice tests. I bombed it. But somehow I passed the TEAS! I am going to do a whole lot of studying before I actually begin the LPN course.