The nursing profession is faced with an issue of growing concern, that of the mental health of its practitioners. The many difficulties that nurses experience in the workplace may prove to be detrimental to the maintenance of an optimal mental state. With respect to these difficulties, several strategies can be implemented and used by nurses and managers. The present literature review aims to identify the difficulties and suffering experienced by nurses and the strategies employed to ensure the preservation of mental health, as well as maintaining the appeal of the profession and job performance. It also aims to provide nurses and managers of the health care system with ideas to promote optimal mental health for nurses. In this context, “psychodynamique du travail” [psychodynamics at work] was chosen as the framework to structure the analysis of the literature dealing with elements surrounding the suffering and difficulties experienced by nurses. The use of this theoretical framework deepens and supports the relationship between the suffering experienced at work and the mental health of nurses.