Might have to change career paths
I am a junior in college studying psychology, and I had hoped to go to nursing school after I graduate. When I first got out of the traumatic psychiatric hospital stay in September, I felt more resolve than ever to continue on the path to become a psychiatric nurse because I wanted to keep people from being hurt like I was. But then in January, full-blown PTSD from that stay hit. Now, I feel like even if treatment is successful, it will not mean that I will be able to reliably handle working in a psychiatric unit, which can be pretty stressful even if you don’t have psychiatric unit related PTSD. Treatment success for me will probably mean that I can handle day to day triggers, like bright fluorescent lights, without being significantly upset.
I can think of other things I want to do with my life, so that isn’t the issue. It’s just that I desperately want to help improve the lives of people with mental illness, especially those in psychiatric hospitals. I don’t know what I could do though, beyond raising awareness around this issue. I’ve also tried to do what I can to make sure the hospital I went to, or at least the specific staff members, is held accountable, though there’s only so much you can really do in that regard. It’s just tough feeling like my life is changing for reasons largely outside my control, and also feeling like my psychology degree, which is what I will most likely be completing at this point, is pointless since I will probably not pursue anything in that field now.