Nurses Suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Too
You might think of war veterans when you hear, or see, the words post-traumatic stress disorder – an anxiety disorder recognized after the Vietnam War, when soldiers returned home with symptoms of mental illness. You might also think of victims of tragic accidents, rape victims, or those who have endured any kind of abuse. What about health care workers, such as nurses? We tend to think of nurses as in control, emotionally strong, even in the face of gore and death. Still, nurses often hear others ask them, “How do you do what you do? How do you manage watching people die all the time?” But nurses suffer from PTSD too, also referred to as compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma, or empathic strain. PTSD is an occupational hazard for nurses. Fourteen percent of nurses experience PTSD symptoms – compare that statistic to the 3.5 percent of the general adult population.
Critical care, emergency room, and labor and delivery nurses are particularly at risk for PTSD, as well as those who work on rescue transport teams. For long shifts – twelve, sixteen, hours they witness an unending stream of trauma: shooting and stabbing victims, an attempted suicide victim, the deaths of newborns – the list goes one. Nurses cannot simply walk away from patients who are bleeding or not breathing. Their duty is to be wholly present – physical and emotionally – at patients’ bedsides. And since nurses are perfectionists (I’m a nurse, so I know the feeling), they might view their own PTSD as a sign of weakness. It’s easier for them to see symptoms of PTSD in others, because that’s what nurses are supposed to do – assess patients, then intervene on their behalf. Nurses, unfortunately, don’t take care of themselves.
Treatment is simpler than you might think: stretches and meditation. Researchers at the National Institutes of Health followed 22 nurses with PTSD symptoms. Led by someone trained in exercise science and martial arts, the nurses participated in a twice a week mind-body class that involved stretching, deep breathing, meditation, and balancing techniques. After eight weeks, half of the nurses experienced a 41 percent decrease in symptoms; the other half experienced only a four percent decrease. The exercises were simplified so that the nurses could easily engage in them anywhere at anytime, even during a quick bathroom break.
For more information see The Endocrine Society’s Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Volume 98 Issue 7 – July 1, 2013.
http://nursing.advanceweb.com/Features/Articles/PTSD-in-Nurses.aspx
http://www.uic.edu/orgs/convening/vicariou.htm
http://psychcentral.com/news/2013/05/30/mind-body-techniques-reduce-ptsd-in-nurses/55418.html
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