Working with colleagues diagnosed with mental illness

Specialties Psychiatric

Published

  • Specializes in Med/Surg, International Health, Psych.

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Specializes in ED.

I work in an ER setting, so not psych, but yes I work with some people who are diagnosed with MH disorders. They are really up front about it, sometimes tell me if they are having an off day and we are all team players and work around it. If others have something I don't know about, its fine and I wouldn't know, none of my buisness unless they make it my buisness.

TerpGal02, ASN

540 Posts

Specializes in Psych.

The stigma is still there in psych nursing, unfortunately. You would think we know better. Learned that the hard way when I had to be admitted when I worked at my last job. Disclosing a mental illness in my experience has led to only bad things. I finally got correctly dx bipolar in Jan by a very astute pdoc and finally got my meds under control. I will never again disclose if I don't have to. I have told no one at work and I don't think they know either.

Fuzzy

370 Posts

I've not had a problem. The people that I work with are competent and very good in their positions. We need to stop stigmatizing and just do our jobs to the best of our abilities.

Fuzzy

Specializes in Psych.

I work inpatient psych, many of us have a dx or undx mental illness. I often say you have to be a bit on the crazy side to work on a psych unit. Us having many of the same illnesses as our patients does help with the empathy portion. And we use each others attributes to help us survive a shift.

Like me for example- I have ADHD, the inattentive type. So I typically get the manic patients or the ones with ADHD because the jumping of topics and going back to the first one at the end is something that I can easily do. My coworkers have learned that the more days in a row I work, the more I am affected by my ADHD ( like today I will have a good day, but by the 4th shift in a row on Friday, I'm going to be scatterbrained, which means my work space looks like a tornado hit it and I am jumping from one thing to another) They also give me the patients with Anger Management Issues, because I fully admit that I am easily angered, and the patient watches me through a shift sees how I react, use coping skills, and calm down without going off the deep end.

Valnoslo

25 Posts

Prior to going into nursing, I worked a mental health worker in a group home for patients with severe and persistent mental illness. One of my coworkers was bipolar, and throughout her youth had been hospitalized several times prior to getting on the right medications. during my time working with her, she was always fairly stable. She took her time telling her coworkers about her illness. She let us know when she was having a bad day, but then again, at our job we worked so close together that we ALL knew when one of us was having a bad day, for whatever reason. She didn't talk about her illness all the time, but I think she brought a unique perspective to our discussions at times, because she could relate to some of the dilemmas and issues our patients faced, having faced them herself. She didn't talk about her illness with our patients, but I think there were definitely some patients who related to her better somehow.

I'm not sure what the OPs intention was for this post, but part of taking the stigma out of mental health IS discussing it, openly, honestly, and hopefully without judgement. I'm sorry some posters were offended by this topic.

tewdles, RN

3,156 Posts

Specializes in PICU, NICU, L&D, Public Health, Hospice.

Working with someone with a mental illness that is poorly or not treated can be difficult...just like it is difficult to live with them or be friends with them sometimes.

In the work setting, as opposed to home with a friend or family member, you must be very discreet and respectful if you find that you need to redirect them. Most of the time I do not take that upon myself unless their illness is causing them to put THEMSELVES before the patient(s). In my home, I will correct the OCD who gets fixated on my housecleaning, or laundry, or dishes, or whatever and redirect them to their REST which is why they came to visit.

Specializes in LTC Rehab Med/Surg.

I'm a picture thinker.

I imagine normal mental health as a square room with a very few people in the center. Most of us hug the walls. A few are standing in the doorway looking in.

A very few don't even get close to the door.

I'm a wall hugger, undiagnosed. I like the quirky people. Maybe cause they make me feel at home.

I generally get scheduled to work with the difficult nurses, because I roll with the dynamics. I consider it a compliment.

NCmcMan

123 Posts

I don't look at people with mental illness badly at all. When I worked on the sheriffs office some years ago, we would transport them to the regional mental health facility to get some help. I had coworkers that wanted to put them in handcuffs and leg irons, and I generally refused when they would hand them off to me. I don't want to treat someone who is in need of help like a criminal. Now, if that person were to start getting violent, that would be different. I have always found that if you treat people the way that you want to be treated, you will 9x out of 10, get it the same way. See, just because someone has mental health problems, doesn't mean they are "bad", it just means they need some help. The good thing, most of these problems can be treated with the rite care.

tewdles, RN

3,156 Posts

Specializes in PICU, NICU, L&D, Public Health, Hospice.

I just had a "friend" with an untreated long term OCD/anxiety disorder visit me...she was supposed to stay for 3 weeks with her husband but we have asked her to go home early.

I know, that sounds rude, but she needed to return to her "comfort" area (which is NOT Alaska) before she imploded and we all killed ourselves. It is sad...she is suffering and her behavior is designed to make those around her suffer...that is part of her manifestation.

She is too ill to accept that she needs help, and too ill to spend too much time outside of her home, control is a huge issue for her. When she is engaged in her illness she is verbally critical, judgmental, and argumentative...nothing makes her happy and most things make her unhappy. It made her angry during her visit that I would drink my beer too slowly and it would get warm before I was done, it took me 3 days to figure out what I was doing to "make" her angry.

For 40 years her DH and children have allowed her "needs" to run their household without medical intervention...I do not cater to her fears. This was an "uncomfortable" visit for all as I corrected her rude behavior and indifferent ID behavior when it occurred...this is MY HOME...I deeply wish that she would seek help as she is suffering and could most likely have a much happier life. She is NOT the same person I befriended decades ago, her mental health has deteriorated considerably. Now I understand why she stays in her home most of the time and I wish she had not asked to come visit!

I'm a Psych nurse who is BSC with ADHD and a whole lot of personality disorder, but I really get my patients and am just fun to be around!

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