Working in a vets is a stressful experience in itself; add to that extra learning, new work responsibilities, college work, portfolios, assignments and exams, and you can see why stress and anxiety levels among student veterinary nurses are so high!

I have suffered with anxiety and depression since I was a teenager. I was fairly used to the mood swings and dealing with stress, but when I became a student veterinary nurse at age 25 there was an extra sense of pressure. I went down the diploma route, spending one of my working days each week at college. It was during my second year that things started to spiral. I had two assignments due, an exam to study for, overtime at work and I knew more assignments were coming up soon. All of this in addition to my usual workload and life stresses! My anxiety had been high anyway and I reached my crisis point. I went to my doctor after three days full of panic attacks and felt like I had broken. I was signed off work for a week and didn’t know what to do or say to anyone.

That was the moment I decided I wasn’t going to hide behind my anxiety anymore. I would no longer let it rule my life and define who I was. I sought help from my colleagues and bosses. I spoke to the head of the college, who was incredibly understanding and supportive. She was able to do a lot for me in taking away deadlines and adding in support for me. It was all down to feeling able to speak

up about what was happening to me and how I felt that I was ultimately able to change how anxiety affected and controlled me.

I would strongly encourage any students suffering to reach out to friends, family, colleagues, classmates, managers or tutors to ask for help. At the time I felt like there was nothing anyone could do, I was doomed to fail and felt like an imposter. I shouldn’t have been there and I didn’t deserve to be there because clearly I wasn’t cut out for this. But I was wrong. There was a lot that people could do and were willing to do, to help me; I had a lot more support than I thought I would get. People wanted me to succeed and wanted me to be happy.

Thanks to all the help I received, I was able to catch back up and qualify with my classmates. I am now a Registered Veterinary Nurse and you know what? I still get stressed and still suffer with anxiety and depression but having gone through the experience I did at college, it prepared me for dealing with it now. I still have my bad times and still need support from a lot of people but learning to speak up is a huge part of coping with stress and anxiety. I hope that you can find someone to confide in and seek the help you need.

Helpline numbers

•   Vetlife: call 0303 040 2551

•   Samaritans: call 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org

•   SHOUT: text ‘SHOUT’ to 85258

Author

Amy Lyburn RVN

I started working in veterinary practice in 2008 before qualifying as a veterinary nurse in 2018. I have worked in first opinion practice and referral practice. I am currently studying for the ISFM Certificate in Feline Nursing. I've always had a keen interest in medicine and since working in referral practice, I developed a further interest in Cardiology. I am now working as a cardiology nurse at The Ralph Veterinary Referral Centre E-mail: amylyburnrvn@gmail.com

Veterinary Nursing Journal • VOL 35 • August 2020 •