During my nursing practice, there have not been too many cases in which I became emotionally charged. I – as a professional and responsible nurse – try to do my best to follow the fundamental guidelines of nursing. They impose specified rules on NPs, according to which we are to be able to express support, make a patient feel that they are being cared for, and establish relations with clients founded on mutual trust. However, there is a line that cannot be crossed by a nurse in this vein – we cannot manifest emotions to patients that may result in an overwhelming bond with them or an escalated conflict (Kopschina et al., 2017). I should admit that I was involved in a situation where I was feeling too much empathy for a client. It happened about three months ago, and this patient had Major Depressive Disorder. Below, my reflections on this case – demonstrating and analyzing my capabilities to deal with emotions awakened by the client’s story – will be provided.
Mr. J was experiencing the toughest period of his life when the physician diagnosed Major Depressive Disorder. He was 32 years old, his mother had died a couple of months before, and his wife was experiencing a severe case of leukemia. This patient was assigned to me, and my duties were to communicate with him for several days, as well as to report any fluctuations in his state and give my suggestions regarding possible treatment. After getting acquainted with the anamnesis, it was surprising to me that Mr. J was considerably open to conversations and was admitting his mental issue. During our first dialogue, I felt that this person recognized the necessity of professional help, which was a huge step forward for him. I shared this idea with him and was trying to create the treatment plan, sharing some general thoughts on the issue.
With the development of our conversation, Mr. J started to recall their best moments with his mother and the way she supported him in terms of his wife’s disease. Suddenly, I began to associate Mr. J’s memories with my ones. Particularly, his mother’s words, actions, and attitudes were replicating the ones of my mom. She has never missed the opportunity to hold me up in the toughest moments, and I realized that I had not appreciated our time together to the necessary extent. This situation cannot be considered original, but such cases inevitably cause an emotional charge if the person involved is not impassive completely.
I felt a connection with Mr. J and – for a couple of moments – could not handle my empathy, and some tears fell from my eyes. Fortunately, he did not mention that and continued his story, so I quickly pulled myself together and went on listening. I was trying to disguise my emotional charge by utilizing appropriate therapeutic communication techniques recommended for such cases – active listening, using silence, and summarizing (Armstrong, 2018). Such an approach allowed me to keep the required distance from Mr. J while still expressing support and engagement in his situation. He asked me questions about my thoughts and ideas regarding his state and future, and I did my best to show him the brightest perspective possible. Eventually, I noticed a ray of hope in his eyes by the end of our first meeting, which allows assuming that the professional nursing tools helped me to handle this tough case.
References
Armstrong, N. (2018). Management of nursing workplace incivility in the health care settings: A systematic review. Workplace Health & Safety, 66(8), 403–410.
Kopschina F., P., Doorduin, J., Klein, H. C., Juárez-Orozco, L. E., Dierckx, R. A., Moriguchi-Jeckel, C. M., & de Vries, E. F. (2017). Anti-inflammatory treatment for major depressive disorder: implications for patients with an elevated immune profile and non-responders to standard antidepressant therapy. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 31(9), 1149–1165.