Nurse quits job to become full-time princess after suffering from burnout

12 August 2021, 14:57

An NHS nurse left her job to become a 'full-time princess' after suffering from burnout, anxiety and nightmares.

A former NHS nurse has revealed that she decided to change careers and become a 'full-time princess' after suffering from burnout on the job.

Lydia Welsh, 29, from Maidenhead, Berkshire, spent one year working on an NHS ward after graduating from the University of Southampton in 2014 with a degree in nursing.

However, Lydia soon struggled with the job, and would often find herself crying before her shifts.

She also suffered with anxiety and nightmares, and said that nursing left her 'terrified'.

Lydia said: "Truthfully, the year of nursing left me terrified.  

"I suffered from anxiety, had regular nightmares and was often crying before shifts as I just felt I couldn’t face it.

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She said the emotional and physical exhaustion of the job spilt into her daily life, and Lydia knew she couldn't continue working in nursing for much longer.  

Lydia said: "I went into nursing with every will in the world to remain in the healthcare profession, with an ambition to work my way up into healthcare commissioning and make a meaningful difference.

"Total emotional and physical exhaustion, no doubt caused by the toll anxiety and stress takes on you and not just in the hours you’re working, meant I couldn’t continue.  

"It is such a challenging job on so many levels.  

"I have so much respect for my colleagues who are on the frontline but ultimately, I got to a point where I knew I had to leave and find something that brought more light than dark into my life." 

After being asked to dress up as a princess for a village fête as a favour for a friend, Lydia was overjoyed to receive several messages from parents asking if she offered the service.

After falling in love with the work, she quit nursing and set up her own business - Snow Princess Parties - in early 2016.

Because of the high demand for her services, Lydia decided to hire a team and and establish a franchise model in 2019.  

She now has six franchise locations across the south of the UK, delivering over 50 parties a month to hundreds of children.  

The former nurse said: "Being the founder of Snow Princess Parties means I am my own boss, I choose when I work, I have the power to change and improve systems, policies and procedures in a way I never could as a nurse.

"My income is directly proportional with the time and energy I put in and I do feel financially rewarded by my work, rather than just having to give so much time and energy with little financial incentive as so many nurses do.  

"Whilst hosting a children’s party requires a level of responsibility, I’m grateful not to have someone’s life in my hands day in day out.  

"That definitely helps reduce general feelings of stress and anxiety!

"People always ask me if I miss nursing, and if I didn’t have all of the heart-warming human interaction from being a children’s entertainer then I think I would miss it in a way.

"The reaction from the children sometimes makes me forget that I’m not actually a magical princess who lives in a castle!"