u/canyonatlas

Hi everyone! I’m 31, have a bachelor’s degree in psychology, and am seriously considering WGU’s prelicensure BSN program. My long-term goal is to work in psychiatric nursing and eventually become a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner (PMHNP).

I’ve also dealt with some significant mental health challenges, including anxiety, depression, and OCD. I’m actively working on my mental health and want to be realistic about choosing a nursing program that’s manageable while still providing a solid education.
I’d love to hear from current students or graduates about your experiences! How manageable is the workload, and how flexible is the program compared to traditional nursing schools?

I’m especially curious about how clinicals and skills labs are scheduled, whether you’re able to work ahead, and how supportive the instructors are. Do you feel WGU adequately prepared you to become a competent RN?

I’m also curious about the overall cost and whether you feel the tuition was worth it. If you could go back, would you choose WGU again or attend a traditional nursing program instead?

I’d especially love to hear from anyone who went back to school in their 30s or navigated nursing school while managing mental health challenges. I’d appreciate hearing both the positives and negatives. Thanks so much!

I’m getting close to finishing Nashville and I’m already trying to figure out what to watch next 😂 What shows would you recommend for someone who really enjoyed it?

I especially like the relationship drama, family dynamics, emotional storylines, and the music/entertainment industry side of it. It doesn’t necessarily have to be another country music show. I’m mostly looking for something that has that same addictive, character-driven feel.

What did you all watch after Nashville that helped fill the void? 😂

IV ketamine helped me a lot with treatment-resistant depression, anxiety, and OCD, but the cost just isn’t sustainable long term. I’ve also used 200 mg troches in between infusions, and now I’m seriously considering switching to Spravato.

For anyone who’s tried IV ketamine and/or troches before Spravato, I’d love to hear how they actually compared. Did Spravato help your depression, anxiety, or OCD as much? Did the benefits feel weaker, stronger, more gradual, or more consistent?

I’m also really curious about the treatment experience itself. How did the Spravato “trip” compare with IV ketamine? Was it less intense, shorter, more dissociative, more emotional, or just totally different?

What made you switch, how long did it take before you knew whether Spravato was helping, and did you end up sticking with it?
Most importantly, if IV ketamine worked for you but was too expensive, did Spravato feel like a good long-term replacement?

IV ketamine helped me a lot with treatment-resistant depression, anxiety, and OCD, but the cost just isn’t sustainable long term. I’ve also used 200 mg troches and I’m considering Spravato. If you’ve tried more than one, I’d really love to hear how they compared for you in effectiveness, consistency, side effects, and how easy they were to maintain over time. I’m especially curious about people who did well with IV and then switched. What did you end up choosing, and why? Also, why do you think troches seem to be so polarizing? Not looking for dosing advice, just real-world experiences.

I’m in my early 30s and seriously considering going into nursing, but I keep getting caught in this feeling that I’m starting too late.

I already have a bachelor’s degree in psychology and experience working in the medical field, so I know I’m not actually starting from zero. But when I see people going into nursing at 20 or 21, it’s hard not to compare myself and wonder if I’m behind.

I’m also plus size and deal with pretty significant social anxiety, which adds another layer of insecurity. I worry about keeping up physically during clinicals, fitting in with classmates, speaking up, and interacting confidently with patients and instructors.

I’d really love to hear from people who started nursing in their 30s or later, especially anyone who is plus size, socially anxious, or felt really insecure going into school. Did you feel behind at first? Did any of these things end up being as big of an obstacle as you expected?
What helped you stop comparing yourself and feel like you belonged?

I’m in my early 30s and feel like I’m in the middle of a giant life reset.

My marriage is struggling and I’m trying to figure out whether it can be repaired or whether divorce is where things are heading. I’m also questioning a lot of what I grew up believing religiously, considering going back to school for a completely different career, and trying to figure out who I am outside of all of those things.
And honestly, being plus size adds another layer to it.

I’ve spent a lot of my life feeling like I’ll finally be confident, attractive, successful, etc. once I lose weight. Meanwhile, I look around and feel like everyone else my age is already settled into their careers, marriages, bodies, and lives while I’m over here rebuilding everything 😂

I’m in therapy and working through it, so I’m not looking for anyone to solve my life. I’d just really love to hear from other plus-size women who have had a major reset in their 30s.

Did you ever have a period where your relationship, career, identity, and body image all felt up in the air at the same time? What actually helped you stop feeling “behind”? And did becoming more confident in your life help you become more comfortable in your body too?
I think I need some stories from women who made it through the messy middle and came out okay. ❤️

I’m in my 30s and going through a really difficult season in my marriage. We’re trying to figure out whether our relationship can become healthy again or whether divorce may eventually be the right choice.

A big part of what makes this complicated is that I grew up in a very religious environment where marriage, family loyalty, and staying together were emphasized really strongly. I’m also going through a period of questioning and reevaluating some of what I grew up believing, and it has made me realize how hard it can be to tell the difference between what I actually want and what I feel like I’m “supposed” to want.

Family boundaries have also been a major issue in our marriage. My husband is very close with his family, and I don’t want him to cut anyone off or feel like he has to choose between me and them. But there have been times when I’ve felt like their opinions carry too much weight in decisions that should really belong to the two of us. Sometimes it feels like their potential reaction gets considered before we’ve even figured out what we want as a couple, and that has been hard for me.

At the same time, I’m trying to rebuild a lot of my own identity. I’m considering a major career change, working on my confidence, and trying to figure out who I am outside of the roles I thought I was supposed to fill.

Body image has been part of that too. I’m plus size, and I’ve spent a lot of my life feeling like I didn’t quite fit the image of what a “good,” attractive, or put-together woman was supposed to look like. I’m trying to untangle how much of that came from broader culture, religious expectations, perfectionism, or just my own insecurities.

I’m already in therapy, and I’m not expecting Reddit to solve my marriage, tell me what God wants me to do, or make a huge life decision for me. I’m really just hoping to hear from people who have gone through something similar and learn from their experiences.

For those of you who have dealt with marriage problems, family influence, changing faith beliefs, or rebuilding your identity in your 30s, what helped you figure out what you actually wanted? And how did you learn to tell the difference between healthy family involvement and too much family influence?

I’m 31 and already have a BS in psychology. I’ve been seriously thinking about going back to school because I keep feeling pulled toward psychiatry, especially medication management, ketamine/Spravato, and interventional psych.
Right now I’m stuck between two paths: PA school and then going into psych, or nursing school, working as a psych RN, and maybe eventually becoming a PMHNP.

The PA route interests me because I like the broad medical training and the fact that I could switch specialties later if I ever wanted to. But I’d probably need another 1–2 years of science prereqs before I could even apply, and PA school sounds really intense and competitive.

The nursing route would take me about 2.5 years to become an RN because a lot of my credits already transfer. I could work in psych first, get more comfortable clinically, and then decide if I still want to go on for PMHNP.

My biggest hesitation with PA is wondering how prepared I’d actually feel going straight from general PA training into psychiatry. I know psych isn’t a huge part of most PA programs, so I’m really curious what that transition is actually like.
For any psych PAs here, would you still choose PA if you knew from the beginning that psych was your goal? Did you feel prepared for your first psych job? How much of psychiatry did you end up learning on the job? Was it hard to find a first job with good mentorship? And do any of you work with ketamine or Spravato?

I’m also curious, if you were starting with a psychology degree like me, would you still seriously consider PA over RN → PMHNP?
I know there’s no perfect answer, I’m just trying to get a realistic picture from people who have actually done it. If anyone here works in psych and would be open to me DMing you a couple questions, I’d really appreciate it too.

Is season 6 even worth finishing?? Because what happened to this show!! 😭 Ever since season 5 and Rayna’s death it feels like we entered an alternate universe. The cult storyline?? Deacon falling in love again already?? Sir please, can we grieve for five minutes 😂 Does it get better or should I emotionally clock out now?

I’m planning on starting nursing school and one thing I’m a little nervous about is that my hands can sometimes be slightly shaky. I have POTS, so it tends to be more noticeable when I’m tired, standing for a while, or having more symptoms.
It’s not severe and I can use my hands normally, but I’m wondering about skills like starting IVs, drawing blood, giving injections, etc. Are slightly shaky hands something that would make these skills really difficult, or is steadiness something that tends to improve a lot with practice?

I’d especially love to hear from nursing students who were shaky or nervous when they first started practicing IVs and other hands-on skills. Did you eventually get comfortable with them?
Also, if anyone here has POTS and is making nursing school work, I’d love to hear about your experience!

Just gone without explanation?

Hi! I’m 31 and I’m interested in going into nursing. I already have a psychology degree but have decided I don’t want to do social work. Does anyone have any experience going to nursing later on in life and what was like that like for you? Thanks!

I’m considering going into nursing with the eventual goal of becoming a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. I’m plus size, have POTS, and deal with some mental health issues, and I’m trying to be realistic about whether I can handle the physical side of nursing.

I used to run half marathons, so I know I’ve been physically capable of a lot more than I am right now. My plan would be to spend time getting into better physical condition, rebuilding my strength and stamina, managing my POTS as well as possible, and mentally preparing before starting.

Are there nurses here who started out plus size, deconditioned, or with POTS/chronic illness and were able to make it work? Did your stamina improve with conditioning and working? I’d also love to hear from psych nurses specifically since that’s where I ultimately want to be.

I’m considering going into nursing with the eventual goal of becoming a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. I’m plus size, have POTS, and deal with some mental health issues, and I’m trying to be realistic about whether I can handle the physical side of nursing.

I used to run half marathons, so I know I’ve been physically capable of a lot more than I am right now. My plan would be to spend time getting into better physical condition, rebuilding my strength and stamina, managing my POTS as well as possible, and mentally preparing before starting.

Are there nurses here who started out plus size, deconditioned, or with POTS/chronic illness and were able to make it work? Did your stamina improve with conditioning and working? I’d also love to hear from psych nurses specifically since that’s where I ultimately want to be.

I’m considering going into nursing with the eventual goal of becoming a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. I’m plus size, have POTS, and deal with some mental health issues, and I’m trying to be realistic about whether I can handle the physical side of nursing.

I used to run half marathons, so I know I’ve been physically capable of a lot more than I am right now. My plan would be to spend time getting into better physical condition, rebuilding my strength and stamina, managing my POTS as well as possible, and mentally preparing before starting.

Are there nurses here who started out plus size, deconditioned, or with POTS/chronic illness and were able to make it work? Did your stamina improve with conditioning and working? I’d also love to hear from psych nurses specifically since that’s where I ultimately want to be.

I’m considering nursing school with the eventual goal of becoming a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. I’m plus size, have POTS, and deal with some mental health issues, so I’m trying to be realistic about the physical demands of nursing school and clinicals.

I used to run half marathons, so I know I’ve been capable of being very physically active before. I really think that if I give myself time beforehand to lose some weight, rebuild my stamina and strength, get my POTS as controlled as possible, and mentally prepare, I could get myself into a much better place physically for nursing school. I’d also look into reasonable accommodations if I needed them.

Has anyone here been in a similar situation and successfully gotten through nursing school? Did getting more physically conditioned beforehand help? I’d especially love to hear from anyone who went into psych nursing.

I’m considering nursing school with the eventual goal of becoming a psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner. I’m plus size, have POTS, and also deal with some mental health issues, so I’m nervous about the physical demands of nursing school and clinicals.

I’m hoping to spend time beforehand getting into better shape, building my stamina and strength, getting my POTS as controlled as possible, and looking into reasonable accommodations if needed.

Has anyone here gone through nursing school while plus size, having POTS/chronic illness, or dealing with mental health issues? Did your body adjust as you got stronger and more conditioned? Is there anything you wish you had done beforehand? I’d especially love to hear from anyone who went into psych nursing.