setsumas

- - Nursing isn't my first profession, but now I'm 3.5 yrs in and have since moved states away from my family and am living on my own. My first apartment complex I lived in caught on fire in the middle of the night and 33 units were lost. My parent's house flooded back home months later. Then a hurricane flooded the city I live in and I wrecked my car trying to drive to the hospital to get to work. I already had OCD (non-diagnosed, but come on - it's pretty freaking obvious to everyone, even myself) but these events pushed my anxiety into a new level I've never experienced. - - Within the past year, several people have expressed that I seemed to show signs that I need help and I should see someone for it. I've lost friendships because of this. How dare they. But now work is telling me I need to see a therapist, that coworkers are complaining that I'm angry and stressed out at work all of the time when they see me. I would welcome the therapy sessions, don't get me wrong, because I've been going through a LOT lately, and it's way more than I know I can handle. It's gotten to where I can't even sleep before a shift and I can't work out this stress I feel. But I have this uneasy feeling - being a nurse and having hospital insurance through work. If I end up getting diagnosed with a mental health issue, this may cause even bigger issues for me. - - How can you seek therapy sessions without your hospital insurance and workplace knowing your diagnoses? They would see the charge.

There are different things to talk to with different coworkers. Some cook and will bring food to share at work or talk about food all the time. Others (dear Jesus) talk about their kids in the break room during lunch every time and will show you their kids on their phone every time you walk past them. Then there's the ones that will joke and think everything about them is the most important thing going on right now. That's probably me. But I'm probably cursing and in a bad mood because nothing in the place is working, we're short staffed, I didn't sleep, and I helped a coworker earlier and now I'm seriously behind and no one is around to help me in return. Lol. But that's what team work is. When you get the hang of the job, your coworkers will start talking to you more and asking for your help "hey where is this? How do you do this? Who is that guy? What would you do if you were in this situation? Hey can you help me? Can you cover me while I eat breakfast?" "...You get BREAKFAST?!" Yep. Be super friendly to the newcomers that come behind you and build on their friendship and find one or two oldies whose work ethic and pull you like the most on the floor and friend them with goodies (candies, coffee - don't be spending too much money and time on it!) and the rest will come around. But you can't win everyone. Some people just come to work, face forward, and get out to avoid the drama. Don't sweat it. It's not you.

Are there groups for nurses who respond to disasters? Not RedCross.