Overcoming Stigma: Asking for and Receiving Mental Health Support

Critical care nurses have borne a significant burden during the pandemic. Studies indicate that the COVID-19 pandemic has seriously degraded critical care nurses’ physical, psychological, and emotional well-being.^1-3  The mental health consequences of the pandemic on nurses include increased rates of depression,^4,5  anxiety,^4,5  posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD),^4-6  and burnout.^4,6  Suicide rates among nurses have long been higher than rates for the general population,^7,8  and high-stress clinical scenarios such as disease outbreaks are well-recognized risk factors for nurse suicide.⁸  Unsurprisingly, 41.8% of nurses report that they have witnessed or experienced an “extremely stressful, disturbing, or traumatic event” related to the COVID-19 pandemic.⁸  This is especially true of younger members of the profession, with 51% of nurses under the age of 25 reporting depression within the past 14 days.⁸  If we...