Background:

The abuse of psychotropic drugs is recognized worldwide as a public health problem, demanding health professionals, especially the nurse, to use their specific abilities to deal with abstinence crises in this clinic.

Aim:

To analize the challenges faced by nurses and the emotional reflexes from the lack of capacitation for the assistance of people undergoing abstinence from psychotropic drugs in a hospital.

Methods:

Qualitative, descriptive-exploratory research, whose analysis was based on Bardin’s recommendations.

Results:

Two categories were made: Challenges faced by nurses with regard to the assistance of users in abstinence of psychotropic drugs in a general hospital, and emotional reflexes in nurses, related to the lack of training to aid users of psychotropic drugs who are in abstinence. From the second category, a sub-category emerged: Variables that induce the emotional reflexes.

Conclusions:

The deficiency in the assistance provided by the nurses is shown to be a reflex of the lack of capacitation, which generates fear, anguish, and stigmatized perspectives, leading to shortcomings in the care and making the work environment prone to generate work-related suffering in this group of workers.