How to survive gym workouts with social anxiety?

I’m a nursing student, and for the next two weeks, I’ve got clinical rotations on the internal medicine ward for four hours a day. Honestly, the panic is already setting in. Is it a bad idea to take 10 mg of Valium every morning before my shift just to stay calm? If I switch majors, my parents won't fund my education anymore, and I'll be forced into the workforce—but finding a job is nearly impossible given my social anxiety. I really want to work so I don't have to rely on my parents. If anyone has advice regarding clinicals, please share. And sorry if this thread is out of place; I'm feeling pretty overwhelmed right now.

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Meditation is really about finding that sense of Nirvana amidst a chaotic mess of thoughts and emotions—it’s essentially what the Buddha and Buddhism were all about teaching. It’s about patience; once you actually master patience, you can stay grounded when fear hits, rather than letting it wash over you and spiraling into some panicked loss of control. It gives you this ability to not be afraid of anything, to just stay calm and maintain a clear head regardless of what life throws at you.

If that’s too much work, then there's always this:

SSRIs and other antidepressants are actually pretty effective for managing social phobia. Just keep in mind that Paxil usually takes about 4-6 weeks to kick in, Zoloft takes maybe 1-2 weeks, and Velafax typically needs 4-6 weeks before you notice a difference.

I mean, I honestly don't see any point in popping a Normabel before you even start your workout. It seems more logical—if you want my opinion—to just look into psychotherapy or perhaps an antidepressant instead.
Ultimately, you've got a career in nursing waiting for you down the road, which I suspect will be much more taxing and demanding than just hitting the gym.

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Dive straight into the fire. Eventually, the fear will burn itself out.

I'm already on Paxil, but I can't get an appointment with a psychiatrist or psychologist right now. My only option is to check myself into a psychiatric hospital voluntarily, because I'm dealing with suicidal ideation and the urge to self-harm.

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cosmiclynx79 said:I'm already on Paxil, but I can't get an appointment with a psychiatrist or psychologist right now. My only option is to check myself into a psychiatric hospital voluntarily, because I'm dealing with suicidal ideation and the urge to self-harm.

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That’s probably your smartest move. You have to face that head-on eventually...

But I have no idea how I’d manage my lectures; they aren't all remote, and neither are the exams. Plus, there's no telling how long I'd be stuck in the hospital—the last time I was admitted, it turned into a two-month stay.

Suicidal ideation, the urge to self-harm, social anxiety, and needing a steady dose of sedatives just to function—all while trying to navigate nursing school and clinical rotations on an inpatient ward?

To me, that sounds like a total nightmare, so I can only imagine how much you're struggling right now. Was this really the career path you set out to pursue?

So, you're actually this terrified of the workouts—because of PEOPLE??? And yet you claim to love it? I guess you'd honestly rather just rot away in some psych ward than actually show up and put in the work. Instead of focusing on everything you could potentially learn while you're there, you're stuck obsessing over what some stranger might think of you. 😵🙂😒

Please, just crush those workouts.
Seriously. 🙂

cosmiclynx79 said:I’m a nursing student, and for the next two weeks, I’ve got clinical rotations on the internal medicine ward for four hours a day. Honestly, the panic is already setting in. Is it a bad idea to take 10 mg of Valium every morning before my shift just to stay calm? If I switch majors, my parents won't fund my education anymore, and I'll be forced into the workforce—but finding a job is nearly impossible given my social anxiety. I really want to work so I don't have to rely on my parents. If anyone has advice regarding clinicals, please share. And sorry if this thread is out of place; I'm feeling pretty overwhelmed right now.

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If I were in your shoes, I'd probably take it once at first—then maybe only when I know things are gonna be super stressful... Doing it every day? Seems like a bit much to me. 🤷

Andrew Doyle said:Suicidal ideation, the urge to self-harm, social anxiety, and needing a steady dose of sedatives just to function—all while trying to navigate nursing school and clinical rotations on an inpatient ward?

To me, that sounds like a total nightmare, so I can only imagine how much you're struggling right now. Was this really the career path you set out to pursue?

I'm with Azzura on this one. Nursing is an incredibly demanding and high-stress profession—it’s mentally taxing, and honestly, sometimes physically draining too. You’re dealing with a massive influx of people every single day, whether they are coworkers or patients. It isn't always pleasant or polite, either. You see it all. You really have to keep your cool.
We went from social anxiety straight to self-harm and suicidal thoughts. There’s clearly a lot going on here. At the very least, it might require a complete overhaul of your medication, and maybe even a total pivot in your career.

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Medicine is fundamentally about interacting with people, so how on earth do you see yourself actually doing that? Maybe you’re thinking you'll only deal with the critically ill, or perhaps you'd prefer to just bury yourself in pathology where you won't have to face much human contact at all.👍

Look, I’m not trying to be discriminatory here, and I certainly don't mean to offend anyone, but we really need to have a serious conversation about this. Is it even remotely acceptable to allow someone to pursue a medical degree if they’ve been hospitalized multiple times, especially for extended periods? It just feels fundamentally unsafe. What happens if they have a sudden medical crisis right in the middle of a surgery? Or what if they experience some kind of episode and accidentally compromise an IV line or shut down equipment mid-procedure? We're talking about people's lives on the line.

darksurfer4 said:Look, I’m not trying to be discriminatory here, and I certainly don't mean to offend anyone, but we really need to have a serious conversation about this. Is it even remotely acceptable to allow someone to pursue a medical degree if they’ve been hospitalized multiple times, especially for extended periods? It just feels fundamentally unsafe. What happens if they have a sudden medical crisis right in the middle of a surgery? Or what if they experience some kind of episode and accidentally compromise an IV line or shut down equipment mid-procedure? We're talking about people's lives on the line.

Well, this isn't exactly training to be a fighter pilot, where you have to be in peak physical and mental condition and pass all those brutal elimination tests first. There are plenty of people working in healthcare, teaching, science, or even politics who deal with mental health issues. I guess it really just comes down to whether she feels she has the capacity to handle it, assuming she's managing things through psychotherapy and medication.

mellowskipper said:Well, this isn't exactly training to be a fighter pilot, where you have to be in peak physical and mental condition and pass all those brutal elimination tests first. There are plenty of people working in healthcare, teaching, science, or even politics who deal with mental health issues. I guess it really just comes down to whether she feels she has the capacity to handle it, assuming she's managing things through psychotherapy and medication.

Well, I wouldn't go as far as grouping medicine in with general science, education, or politics. In fact, being a little "unconventional" can sometimes be an asset in politics or scientific research, but in medicine? Not so much. It’s not just about whether she can manage with therapy and meds—though from what I can see, she isn't exactly thriving right now—it's more importantly about the fact that, given how things currently stand, she simply won't be able to function in that role effectively.

That's it. I'll be working at McDonald's, just like some aunt behind the register or serving drinks at a local diner.

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cosmiclynx79 said:That's it. I'll be working at McDonald's, just like some aunt behind the register or serving drinks at a local diner.

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That's exactly where you're going to lose your mind...

Maybe you'll find some fulfillment in helping people...

But if you want to be of any use to anyone else, you have to get your own house in order first, and frankly, can you even manage that?

darksurfer4 said:That's exactly where you're going to lose your mind...

Maybe you'll find some fulfillment in helping people...

But if you want to be of any use to anyone else, you have to get your own house in order first, and frankly, can you even manage that?

And what about sisterhood?

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If practicing under controlled conditions or following some imaginary, virtual scenario triggers your anxiety this much, how on earth are you going to handle it later when things get chaotic and there’s zero organization? Why even waste your time and money on this? You'd be better off training to be a lab tech or a speech pathologist—something where you mostly work solo or in one-on-one sessions so you can actually maintain a routine and some structure. Or, honestly, just power through college and eventually find a gig at a clinic where you can just take calls from home 🤷 though I guess that might just kill you with boredom; even lab techs have to constantly learn new stuff because the equipment is always being upgraded, but at least they have a predictable workflow to follow...

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cosmiclynx79 said:That's it. I'll be working at McDonald's, just like some aunt behind the register or serving drinks at a local diner.

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I deal with people all day long for work, and honestly? With what you're going through, any job involving constant social interaction is going to feel like an uphill battle. If it were me, I’d probably feel like I was "on display" behind a counter, and that level of exposure would make me incredibly uncomfortable.
I've never been the type who enjoys making small talk with strangers.
I noticed you mentioned you're already on antidepressants.
Are you just starting them, or are they not really doing the trick?
Maybe try heading back to your psychiatrist; it might be worth asking for a tweak in your treatment plan.
Dealing with these issues is going to get a lot more complicated once you're actually in the grind of a full-time job, so it would be great if you could find some relief now.