Ask me about working in a psychiatric hospital

[Aloysius]

OP - huh, I never thought this would happen but this is a 2p2 thread I'm going to forward to my father (he's a psychiatrist, for many years in his career he dealt with extreme cases of schizophrenia and clinical depression before he went into private practice, where the patients suffer from much less severe symptoms).

My question - what is your view of suicide? Has it been altered by your work?

-Al

[jackflashdrive]

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"Any chance you could elaborate more on some of the schizophrenics? For some reason I am in utter awe and absolute fear of how it just seemingly strikes anyone at random."

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Odds are pretty good that you or someone you love will not get Schizophrenia. It afflicts one percent of the population (though if an immediate family member has Schizophrenia then the odds go up dramatically).

I have lots of stories about strange schizophrenic behavior. My favorite is probably the story of "Milky" (which is the nickname the nurses/techs applied to him, which he didn't like at all).

Milky was about 60 years old, had pasty white skin and snow white hair. This is not why he was called milky. He earned his nickname because he refused to eat anything but dairy products for his meals. Three times a day he would be served a heaping helping of cottage cheese, covered by slices of American cheese, and he would drink a few cups of milk along with it. Every meal.

On smoke breaks he would always have cigars that a family member would bring to him. He would suck down two cigars over the course of the 15 minute break, literally puffing on the cigar like he was in a race.

Milkys thought was incredibly disorganized (as is characteristic of schizophrenia). He would spend his days walking around the unit mumbling about this or that, occasionally walk up to a tech or nurse and start complaining loudly about a perceived injustice like 'Why does this guy get to wear a belt and I don't?" "This guy" of course being a visitor to one of the other patients who is now scared shitless that milky is going to bite him in the face (while Milky occasionally got agitated he was never violent).
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"I've heard psychotic drugs (LSD, shrooms, etc.) can trigger it to develop in people sooner in life, but if you are going to get schizophrenia, you are going to get it, even if you never did the drugs. Any chance if you know if this is true/false/just pure speculation?


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Environmental factors can definitely trigger the onset of schizophrenia. E.g., a period of high stress such as separation from family. I've never heard of illegal drugs such as these triggering the onset of schizophrenia but it certainly seems plausible that the drugs could have such an effect. For the most part Schizophrenia is something you will get or not get but timing can vary.

[jackflashdrive]

[ QUOTE ]
OP - huh, I never thought this would happen but this is a 2p2 thread I'm going to forward to my father (he's a psychiatrist, for many years in his career he dealt with extreme cases of schizophrenia and clinical depression before he went into private practice, where the patients suffer from much less severe symptoms).

My question - what is your view of suicide? Has it been altered by your work?

-Al

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If people ask the right questions I have some pretty good stories that would probably make your father wince.

As for my thoughts on suicide: My last year of college I asked my professor in an abnormal psychology class if she thought it was ever OK for a clinical psychologist to suggest to a patient that they were better off dead. I said that, statistically, a lot of these people are just doomed to lives of misery and wouldn't it be better for them to end it now. This class was full of hot chicks (male:female ratio = 1:5) and as I asked this question from the back of the room they all turned around and looked at me with really disgusted expressions. I knew the question would get this reaction (which I definitely was not seeking), but I couldn't help myself.

My professor's response was that there is hope for everyone and clinical psychology takes the perspective of trying to heal people in whatever way it can, rather than solving the problem by helping people eliminate themselves.

My own opinion is that many people who express the desire to die just want some overwhelming problems in their life and body chemistry to be over. Psychotropics can help people with the latter and have saved countless lives. In my experience relatively little is ever done about the former (if it can be done at all).

Edit: As a clarification, I should add that I believe relatively little is done about life problems when these problems stem from long-running patterns of maladaptive thinking/emotions/behavior.

[Iconoclastic]

How do patients release their sexual needs? Conjugal visits?

[daveT]

What field are you presently working in?

As an interesting aside, just about everyone I know is neurotic to various degrees, are on meds, or can use them (I am in the latter, tbh). I think it is interesting that psychiatry is based on looking at people as a bag of chemicals. I never understood this, as certain people need help with many problems with their own lives. Although you may not be able to relate to this person, a person may be willing to learn to live a normal life. Some people didn't have, or didn't register, that guidance.

What is your ultimate conclusion about psychiatry, or psychoanalysis?

I think it is interesting, that my own problems manifested about two years ago, about 7 months after learning poker. I find it interesting that you say that certain conditions are .genetic. My own mother was repeatedly in and out of psych wards for bi-polarity.

She was also a shining example of what the human brain was capable of. Graduated Valedictorian and Alum caum laude. It wasn't until later that she fell apart.

Pretty scary to think about. What would you say to someone in my position?

[jackflashdrive]

Re: Sexual Urges. For some time a girl from my school named Kim worked as a tech at the hospital. She was without a doubt the hottest thing in the city. She worked as a stripper at a high-end strip club in New York during the summer, and Playboy picked her up for some online version of Playboy. She was also very very intelligent.

Anyway one guy Mike would always walk up to the nurses station, put his hand right down his pants, and start jacking off right in front of her. She would deadpan "Mike stop that it is not approrpiate" but was otherwise unaffected.

Some adults would occasionally sneak into other rooms for a little action, but that was relatively rare. The adolescent unit, OTOH, was a very different story. We had a motion-sensitive alarm that we set at night, and boys and girls rooms were on opposite sides of the hall. That didn't stop the kids from trying their best to sneak across the hall to [censored] though.

[jackflashdrive]

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What field are you presently working in?"

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I play poker for a living.

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What is your ultimate conclusion about psychiatry, or psychoanalysis?

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Many people think of Sigmund Freud when they think of psychiatry, and psychoanalysis was Freud's method for treating patients. Modern psychiatry has pretty much abandoned Freud wholesale. I used to have a lot of contempt for Freud and thought he and his methods were basically worthless. I still feel this way as far as his psychoanalytic treatment techniques go, but I've also come to see some of the truth about some of his ideas when it comes to basic psychological theory.

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Pretty scary to think about. What would you say to someone in my position?

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I'm not exactly clear on what your position is, other than that you have a family history of bipolar and some unspecified problems. You can PM me and I can give you advice about what kind of treatment you might seek, or (and this is the better move for you) talk with a primary care physician who can refer you for treatment if need be.

[gehrig]

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gehrig: You can imegine what "P's" life was like if you think back to a time when you first wake up but you are not quite sure if you are really awake or just dreaming. Very drowsy and confused. Actually when I allued earlier to the situation of a guy pissing on him roommate in the night I was thinking of "P" (ya ya, p/pee). He woke up, walked over to his roommates bed and relieved himself on his roommate. Roommate was not happy at all.

I think the way P "came down" with mental illness was probably the most random of anyone I had seen and that is what fascinated me msot about him.

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so a couple hours ago my mom calls me

she says that 48 hours ago my sister had an adverse reaction to some prescription drugs. her face was getting hives and her whole body was itching until she passed out.

when she woke up she was in what sounds like the same state as "p" which she hasn't gotten out of yet. the people in the er didnt have a lot of answers so she's going to a doctor tomorrow

pretty [censored] up

[sharkbitten]

Does it sometimes feel that the only difference between the people who work at the hospital and the patients are that the employess get to go home at night?

I'm not trying to be a smart ass or anything, but I worked with a guy a while ago that did the same thing as you and had quite a few stories as well. He made the above comment and I was wondering if you felt the same way.
thanks. Interesting thread.
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[Temp Hutter]

I am having flashbacks to my time living in a mental hospital. I had just turned 17 and my parents convinced a judge that I was a danger to myself and/or others. I had run away from home because they did not approve of me dealing drugs from their house (imagine that!). I was subsequently picked up by the police and taken to live in a mental hospital for a couple of months. Oh the joy.

What I loved the most was the tinted windows so you never really knew what the outside looked like. I remember being released and thinking how green everything outside looked all of a sudden.

Smoking was definitley a big deal and only the staff had lighters and matches. Everything you did was controled and I hated it. I could not even take a dump with the bathroom door closed.

My saddest story was probably the 50 year old fat lady sitting next to me at lunch that wet herself while we ate and I had to change seats because it was bench seating. She gave me the saddest look when I moved away from her.

Moral of the story: kids, stay away from drugs. You end up in the strangest places.