Worried about PTSD

Specialties Psychiatric

Published

Hi everyone,

I'm mostly just here for moral support on this one. A few months ago while I was at work, I was assaulted by a patient who screamed racial slurs at me while getting in a few punches to my head before another staff member tore him off of me. I was cleared medically, placed on light duty for awhile, and was generally doing okay in the following weeks. Lately though, whenever a large, aggressive patient starts to scream at me, I get very tense and anxious; today to the point of nearly throwing up. I was planning on going per diem once school starts up again but I'm seriously considering quitting altogether and just taking loans so I can focus on school and my own mental health. I'm in a good place financially, the loans would be minimal for what I left of school and I would just need to figure out my health insurance. It would be nice to stay longer and graduate next year with no loans though, and I genuinely liked my job up until recently, but I don't know how much longer I can hold out.

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I'm sorry that happened to you. Are you getting any mental health help now? I would think that would be the first choice of options, before you do anything as drastic as quit your job and take out a bunch of additional loans. Best wishes!

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I'm so sorry that happened to you. I've experienced some similar things. I recently had a patient who attacked me without provocation and punched me in the face while I was walking down the hallway. I've also, even more recently, had a large male patient try to attack me because he was upset he was going to have to get an injection. I think the latter affected me more, for whatever reason, and I've been more nervous since then.

We have a program with our facility that offers counselling and other things regarding the mental health of staff. Does your facility have anything like that? I haven't gone to a therapist myself, but maybe that would help you at this point in time just so you don't have to quit your job right away?

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We have a program with our facility that offers counselling and other things regarding the mental health of staff. Does your facility have anything like that? I haven't gone to a therapist myself, but maybe that would help you at this point in time just so you don't have to quit your job right away?

^^^ This.

Depending on your place of employment, some facilities offer an employee assistance plan that offers free brief mental health counseling sessions, or linkage to free behavioral health counseling. If this incident is affecting your mental health, it would be a good idea to seek help, especially if the place where you work has been enjoyable up to this point.

Best of luck

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Thank you everyone, I really appreciate the support. I think I'm going to ask about the counseling they offer at my job. I'm going through a very difficult time right now and I'm just trying to make it through one thing at a time. My partner has been out of town for three weeks, I just had surgery yesterday to have a biopsy done for a mass they found in my throat, a patient tried to choke me the other night, and all my final papers and exams for school are due in the next 2 weeks. My friends and parents have been super supportive and I'm taking a much needed vacation in early August. This is probably the wrong place to be talking about all this, I just don't want to worry anyone in my life about all this just yet while I'm dealing with everything else.

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Specializes in CRNA, Finally retired.
Thank you everyone, I really appreciate the support. I think I'm going to ask about the counseling they offer at my job. I'm going through a very difficult time right now and I'm just trying to make it through one thing at a time. My partner has been out of town for three weeks, I just had surgery yesterday to have a biopsy done for a mass they found in my throat, a patient tried to choke me the other night, and all my final papers and exams for school are due in the next 2 weeks. My friends and parents have been super supportive and I'm taking a much needed vacation in early August. This is probably the wrong place to be talking about all this, I just don't want to worry anyone in my life about all this just yet while I'm dealing with everything else.

No, it's not the wrong place. Take some of the load off anywhere you can.

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I think it's great that you are talking about it - isn't that the accepted prevention/treatment for PTSD (i'm not a mental health person so I'm genuinely asking)? Great to hear that you have a strong support network too....so much stress is placed on nurses and other healthcare professionals to be stoic. You have so much going on right now, and it's completely understandable to reach out on a platform for peers. Sending you so many good vibes and supportive prayers!

I agree that looking into the counseling offered though your job is a great idea - while you may ultimately decide to drop work and focus on your mental health and schooling, I would take into consideration if you can afford mental health care without your work benefits, if that's what you are using (and other healthcare costs - prayers too for good news on your biopsy!). A counselor can also listen to your story with all the details we have to edit out on here to protect patient confidentiality. Take care, and do what's best for you - we're rooting for you!

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I would not feel bad about stepping away from your job for a while. I had a similar situation, I did not quit my job but I suffered unnecessarily for too long. I've since moved on from my job and I don't miss it. It sounds like you have a lot on your plate right now, and job place safety might be nice. Good luck.

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