Do you feel like you don’t like your job like before? Do you feel pressure in your chest, difficulty breathing when you are at work? Do you have nightmares? Can’t you disconnect from work when you meet your loved ones? If you answered yes to any question, it is likely that work is causing you anxiety.
Anxiety is a physiological response that is triggered by situations that the person considers dangerous, in order to provide them with all the resources to survive or resolve the situation. This anxiety is adaptive and beneficial, as it helps us solve big problems, but in certain contexts, such as the work of doctors and nurses, it can become a chronic disorder that affects both their mental health and the quality of care. that patients provide, when this happens it stops being adaptive anxiety and becomes generalized anxiety. This article explains the main causes, consequences and psychological intervention strategies to reduce anxiety in this group of essential workers.
Anxiety Triggers
The healthcare profession involves a high emotional and physical burden. Recent studies have shown that doctors and nurses experience significantly elevated levels of anxiety compared to other qualified professionals. So what makes the healthcare profession different from other professions? Below, we will detail the idiosyncratic (unique) factors that trigger generalized anxiety in this profession.
Consequences of Anxiety
It is impossible to create a closed list of the consequences caused by anxiety, because each person is affected in a unique way; however, generalized anxiety in doctors and nurses can lead to:
Psychological Interventions in Online Care
There are various psychological interventions to work on anxiety management, among them are:
1. Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT has been shown to be effective in reducing anxiety by helping professionals identify and modify dysfunctional thought patterns.
2. Integrative Psychological Therapy
The integrative model combines techniques from different therapeutic approaches to adapt to the unique needs of each person (Humanistic Therapy, CBT and Third Generation Therapies, among others).
In the case of doctors and nurses, it allows anxiety to be addressed by considering both personal and contextual factors of their work environment.
If you have identified yourself and want to learn how to manage and reduce your anxiety to feel better, you can do so through:
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PsychologyFor. (2025). 5 Triggers of Anxiety in Doctors and Nurses. https://psychologyfor.com/5-triggers-of-anxiety-in-doctors-and-nurses/