Work anxiety

[EM4life]

Hey guys, I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels this way but I'm asking for advice on how to make this feeling go away. I'm going back to work after some time off, and I've always had some preshift anxiety but it's particularly bad this time coming off of a small break. Inevitably every time I get to work and start seeing patients this feeling goes away but damn it I hate the way it feels before a shift. There's not one thing I'm anxious about its mostly just the unpredictability of what we do.

Anyway I'm just wondering if others have similar feelings and if so what you all do about it to make it better!

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[Arcan57]

Hey guys, I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels this way but I'm asking for advice on how to make this feeling go away. I'm going back to work after some time off, and I've always had some preshift anxiety but it's particularly bad this time coming off of a small break. Inevitably every time I get to work and start seeing patients this feeling goes away but damn it I hate the way it feels before a shift. There's not one thing I'm anxious about its mostly just the unpredictability of what we do.

Anyway I'm just wondering if others have similar feelings and if so what you all do about it to make it better!

Anxiety is a legitimate and reasonable feeling when confronting what we do. When we have time to anticipate, our minds drift to the once in a lifetime catastrophes rather than our more banal day to day grind. After 2 or 3 shifts of seeing nothing significantly out of the ordinary, we start anticipating more of the same and the anxiety calms. In terms of assuaging it, I put it in the same category as dealing with the drive home after a shift that starts at 5a or trying to switch back to days after 5 overnights. I acknowledge that the situation is abnormal, that there is nothing I can do that will reasonably change it, and that I've powered through before and been ok.

 

[The White Coat Investor]

I get that too when I've been off a bit. I hear when you work less than 6 shifts a month you get it frequently-worry about not being on top of your game etc.

It's somewhat similar to the dread I get the day of my first night shift in my monthly 3 overnight shift block. It doesn't make logical sense (it simply isn't that bad to stay up all night seeing patients) but it's interesting to notice.

 

[Birdstrike]

Hey guys, I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels this way but I'm asking for advice on how to make this feeling go away. I'm going back to work after some time off, and I've always had some preshift anxiety but it's particularly bad this time coming off of a small break. Inevitably every time I get to work and start seeing patients this feeling goes away but damn it I hate the way it feels before a shift. There's not one thing I'm anxious about its mostly just the unpredictability of what we do.

Anyway I'm just wondering if others have similar feelings and if so what you all do about it to make it better!

1-No, you're not the only one.

2-It gets better with time and experience.

3-It never totally went away for me. As much as its tempting to convince oneself the job is not that stressful because it's "what I do" and "I'm trained to handle anything," there's an inevitability to some level of anxiety from never knowing what's going to walk/roll/run/vomit/bleed/or be carried through the door. There's also no way to predict what its effect will be on you.


Edwin Leap has an interesting take on it:

http://edwinleap.com/ptsd-in-emergency-physicians-all-too-real/

 

[Old_Mil]

Pre-Traumatic Stress Disorder. ..it's pretty.common. I get it worst when I am heading into single coverage night shifts in our relatively busy ED worrying that the perfect ****storm is going to hit simultaneously.

 

[EM4life]

Thanks for the replies guys, this is all exacerbated by the fact that first shift back from extended break is overnighter single coverage on Christmas eve in a busy 2-3pph ED (on nights). I know it will get better, and it's good to know I'm not the only one.

 

[WilcoWorld]

Agree with above - it's totally normal. Hopefully Xmas Eve won't be too busy. At least your 1st shift back isn't the Monday after the holiday - that's sure to suck!

 

[The White Coat Investor]

It helps to remember your training. If you had good training in a good program, you've had the opportunity to be slaughtered on shift before, and both you and the patients survive. You can handle the worst case scenario, even if you don't want to.