I don't want to be a nurse any more, feel like im sinking into being depressed.. help

[Deleted User]

Pay off your overdraft FIRST. Try and move the credit card debt to a 0% deal. Plenty of advice on this on the credit card forum. Dont worry about the student loan. It's only repayable when you earn a certain amount, by direct deduction from salary. It's written off after 30 years if not fully repaid before then. Most people don't consider it a real debt, certainly not like an overdraft or credit card debt. Try and read up about student loans on the MSE website (Martin Lewis has done good articles explaining it). DON'T WORRY about the student loan. Concentrate on clearing the overdraft, then the credit card.

DCFC79

You ask "are these bad ?" do you mean not having loans and credit cards ?

You would pay off the debt with the highest interest rate eg if the loan is the highest apr then overpay on that and just pay£1 over the min payment on the cards.

Solus

Hi Summery,

Well done on staying strong and not doing a runner at work. That could have implicated things further for you. You'll have plenty of other work options since you are qualified so it's just a matter of time with some luck in finding another role in the same industry.

Having a professional qualification will also be a relatively strong positive to have on your CV regardless of the field you're in. You haven't worked hard over the last years for nothing!

With regards to debt and savings.

1) Ignore your student loan for now as no one will be chasing this as it is repaid through employment (if you earn over a certain amount).

2) If it were me, personally I would split my income so that I can put some aside for emergencies or general expenses so you can get by with less of a struggle. The rest can go towards your debt, maybe overpaying a certain amount each month to reduce the overall bill?

It's important to save some for your general wellbeing.

3) With the left over portion of income, I'd suggest paying the minimum monthly repayments on the cheapest debt (lowest interest) and as above try paying the higher one off as quickly as possible.

Good luck!@

Shedman

You sound as if you are in a similar state of mind as somebody else I know who is also a nurse, suffered from anxiety and depression and couldn't face going back to the acute ward she worked on. Like others have indicated I also think you should go and see your GP straightaway and get signed off - she did and was off for about 3 months (should really have had longer but as less than 2 years service had only a limited full pay sick entitlement - as you've done 5 years you should be able have 6 months sick leave on full pay I think). That period of being away from the stress, being on the right meds and getting some CBT/DBT therapy really helped stabilise her. However she still felt stressed when she returned to the ward so she spoke to Occupational Health and her managers manager and, rather than lose a dedicated trained resource, they arranged for a secondment to a different team which was in a less stressful area (which she is now really happy in). I would recommend that you see what might be possible along those lines (maybe even speaking to the union if you belong to see if they can intervene and help alternatives to be considered) before you quit without a way forward as that is likely just to add to your anxieties.

As others have commented you are no way a failure as you qualified as a nurse (no easy feat as I know from helping with the coursework) and you are still young (especially in today's environment - my eldest didn't even get his first 'proper' job until 30) and could change careers / jobs and soon recover (in financial and career terms) from that change of direction.

Don't despair, help is available but you have to push hard to get the sort of help you need. You have my sympathies as your story is so similar to the person I know and I know how hard it all seems, but there is way forward even though you may not be able to see it yet

diamonds

summery1984 wrote: »

Hi,

thank you so much for all the replies, it has meant a lot! I am a qualified nurse yes rich2008, but after only five years to want to leave... I guess just disappointed in myself. (I was directionless and depressed for a long time in my twenties.) I have thought about going abroad, but not right now because my mum had a mental breakdown a while ago and lost her job, and my little brother is only 19, (my sister lives abroad) so I need to be around..

It's often not the sector that makes or breaks a job, it's the atmosphere and the co-workers
Thanks flobberchops, this is what my sister said.. it made me rationalise things a bit, it was good advice. when you feel crap you dont think rationally. My impulse is to run, i almost left work in the middle of the day last week, but was persuaded not to luckily. I will see if i can try another field or private hospital or something, anything different..

Diamonds yes, it did... that was the final straw, to be honest... We just signed another years tenancy agreement too. I'm from London and would go back and get a room in a houseshare where my friends are if we hadnt just signed that... so i am a bit stuck where I am.

Hattie yes i wont, i wont quit yet although I felt like it so so much the last few days.. I dont want to be unemployed, but this sickness wont help getting another job.

Thanks all of you for the kind replies, feel a bit better with some options. I used to love bedside care, but now when i do ward work with an agency i dont feel i can give it properly, theres no induction, some shifts i have not been spoken to by a single other nurse, just ignored. The wards are horrendous, i just can't see myself doing that any more.

I will let me GP know, I will call... Perhaps Ill see if i can get some experience in another field. Maybe nursing home nurse might actually be okay..

My debts are credit card, £2,200, and overdraft, £2,300 and a student loan of about 11k something like that. I dont have any other loans or cards.. Are these bad? i read something on here about there is no point having savings if u have debts, is that true? That made me feel like its pointless trying to save at all... Which should i pay off first?

Thats minimal! I ended up long term sick with 5K savings spent in a year and 25K in debt :rotfl: 10 years later debt free and 5K saved in a year...off £900 a month, believe me anything is possible


Talk to your agent/landlord, explain the separation and long term it may not be possible solo for you to continue renting with one wage, tell them you dont want to default so you are letting them know upfront so they can make a decision to terminate or continue, most will terminate than risk a debt due.


I last year saved and paid debts off, it is imperative to have a good emergency fund so debts dont go higher when a large bill hits the doormat


Start paying off the highest interest debt first, ignore the 11K student loan, thats not net debt after tax/wage, £4500.00 debt is nothing, you have a professional wage, I have seen those on DWP benefits with more, even double. You are stressing yourself more than work/ex...£4500 debt is very manageable with you not being near minimum wage - London rent isn't !

As I said above call the agent/landlord and get out lease if you can, even tell them you have suffered MH before and are at breaking point now and may be off work during the lease and housing benefit will not cover the full rent, politely use everything to back them into the corner to release the lease



N(HS)urses will ignore agency nurses, you will find in a home environment the opposite, the minimum wage carers absolutely love a great nurse, agency or not because they lack proper training in most care homes so a friendly nurse is treated as a asset by care assistants.



Head up, call the GP Monday, even GP chat alone might help, getting the stress out face to face with another health professional who knows how the NHS can cause stress to staff, inhouse or otherwise.



Dont worry about your absence now or later, be honest to anyone about it, your partner left, as humans we all know and have experienced such turbulent times at least once!

System

You ask "are these bad ?" do you mean not having loans and credit cards ?

Sorry i meant is my level of debt bad, for other people my age? I have really no idea. I dont really know about APR or how much the interest is on either of the debts, I know I should know this stuff but just cant get my head round numbers. Is there any easy way I can find this out? Well they are not a massive worry to me until recently, when I read some of the advice on this website, and realised my savings were pointless.. thanks hattie for your advice, and solus as well.. i expect my credit card is the worst one for costing me money, so ill try and pay that off with my overdraft at the same time, i suppose neither is a good debt to have..

Shedman thanks for your advice too. Thats sad.. its quite common I might do that.. well i can ask, no harm in asking. I was spurred on by this and have applied for a couple of jobs tonight, but lost enthusiasm now so going to bed..

thanks for all your advice and support! Its very appreciated!

diamonds

summery1984 wrote: »

You ask "are these bad ?" do you mean not having loans and credit cards ?

Sorry i meant is my level of debt bad, for other people my age? I have really no idea. I dont really know about APR or how much the interest is on either of the debts, I know I should know this stuff but just cant get my head round numbers. Is there any easy way I can find this out? Well they are not a massive worry to me until recently, when I read some of the advice on this website, and realised my savings were pointless.. thanks hattie for your advice, and solus as well.. i expect my credit card is the worst one for costing me money, so ill try and pay that off with my overdraft at the same time, i suppose neither is a good debt to have..

Shedman thanks for your advice too. Thats sad.. its quite common I might do that.. well i can ask, no harm in asking. I was spurred on by this and have applied for a couple of jobs tonight, but lost enthusiasm now so going to bed..

thanks for all your advice and support! Its very appreciated!

Tesco, Virgin and Halifax have upto 40 months 0% interest on credit cards at the moment, you can apply and transfer the balance at that rate