I am very fortunate with my work. I live in a small village and when I moved here I got a job in a care home - had never done eldery care before in my life (had done childcare) But I worked there for three years, did a lot of training and by the time I left in 2007 aged 22, I was one of the most qualified and capable carers there (without sounding too up my own backside!) But I had put the effort in and I really did care. Anyway, I left - I had to go back to my family in Cheltenham because my dad wasn't very well and I spent the summer working up there and then when I came home, I stuck with office jobs until last year when I had my breakdown. I have recently started working back in the care home in the village as 'bank staff' and its hard - its frustrating because I am not the same person and I do not have the confidence I did when I worked there before. I do one night a week (10 hours) and that is all I can cope with at the moment. The people that co-run it are the same people that were there before and they know me and know that one day I will probably be back full time and as I was... but for now they are happy just having me there when I feel able - if I have a bad week, they understand that I simply cannot face work. I do nights because they are (slightly) less stessful than days - I can't yet cope with all the different people that a day shift brings!
There must be hundreds if not thousands of nurses out there who are battling with this... the job is steessful, it is draining both emotionally and physically and every-day you work with women (not all) who can be more career-minded than caring and it is a huge strain!!
There should definitely be more support and education out there. Its a horrible enough illness without the added stress of people who simply just don't understand - either through lack of education or sheer ignorance.