Tough day on the psych unit

[healthybee]

Wowwwwwwwwwwwwwww- absolutely heartbreaking how the mind can turn on its own. I just spent the morning with the toughest case of paranoid schizophrenia that I've ever seen...and when he picked up a pen and started talking about stabbing people with it...well I don't even know what I thought at the time...I guess I just mapped my exit!

When I first left the unit after my shift, I thought about how I couldn't even find the compassion to work with this patient. Now that I've had some time to mull it over- I can't believe how sick this poor man is. There wasn't even an ounce of reality in his head...nothing. I guess this is all part of nursing- we get to see all of the horrible things that could happen to our own bodies or the people we love...and then we're left to think and wonder HOW and WHY our bodies turn on us. HOW does this happen? How does someone get to be THIS sick? (I'm not really asking these questions- I'm just thinking aloud-) It's frightening and it's mind numbing and it's heartbreaking. And it's terrifying to work with a patient who very well could turn in an instant and hurt you. This patient happened to be at least twice my size- and ANGRY. He was agitated, aggressive...it was...something.

Needless to say I ended up being switched to a different patient. But the impression he has left me with will most likely be with me forever.

Thanks for listening!

[dannibee]

I am also in my psych rotation and I agree that it's a sad place to be. Being in the right frame of mind is something that people take for granted. Drugs do terrible things to your mind and I wish more people would understand that. We also have an adolescent unit at my facility and I'm really not looking forward to going there (other than the fact that's it's our last week there) because I feel so sorry for those kids.