My Work Anxiety Has Increased Instead Of Gotten Better

I started a med surg job 8 months ago and went I started, ironically enough, my anxiety wasn’t too bad. I was able to leave work at work.

But now, I can’t sleep before a shift, I contemplate calling out all the time and when I’m at work my chest is tight and I feel like I want to cry and can’t breath.

I remember when it started — I had a god awful shift, I didn’t know a shift could go so bad, I stayed after 2 hours to catch up on my charting, and since then I’m like what the heck am I gonna walk in to? Will the doctors listen to me when I say there’s something up with a patient? Will I have a med pass that will take me hours to get through? Will I have time for lunch? The constant beeping of pumps and bed alarms and my work phone and people needing me every five seconds feels insurmountable now. Everything is too loud and bright. Will I have a patient who is circling the drain and requires a higher level of care? Will I have 6 patients? I can barely handle 6 patients. Will I be chasing phlebotomy for labs? Will I get a new admit right at the end of the shift? Will I have a bunch of dementia patients with fall risk? Total care patients? Will I be yelled at by a family member again?? I can’t take it.