Welcome
My name is Jenn. I am 25 years old and I work at a mental institution. I’d like to start out by saying thank you to anyone who reads this blog. I’ve never done anything like this before. I would also like to say that ,as many people know, mental illness carries with it a stigma. I’ve seen and experienced this firsthand and it irritates me to no end. These people did not choose this for themselves. It is a medical condition. People make snide comments and treat people with mental illness like dirt. They think if they get too near a person who is mentally ill they will “catch” it. Ridiculous. Anyway, I will be posting my stories from working in this institution. The patients will be given nicknames to protect their privacy. My working title is Mental Health Technician. I have no earthly clue what exactly this means. Some of my experiences are comical, some sad, some painful, but all 100% true. I would appreciate it greatly if the readers could refrain from posting snide comments. They will only be removed. If you could see these people you would possibly feel the same as I do. I go to work daily and see the pain and shame and anger these people feel not only towards the outside world but also at themselves for being this way. Also seeing the transformation, if you will, from very sick to completely lucid or “sane” if you prefer. It is an absolutely incredible journey to witness and be a part of, and I do my job to know that, yes, I had a part in this. I helped them get well. It is the most rewarding job I have ever had. Now, with my job comes great risks. I have been assaulted, witnessed assaults, and been an active part in ”take-downs”, which are awful and traumatizing not only to the patients, but the staff as well. We do not enjoy this part of our job, but it is sometimes necessary to assure the safety of staff and patients alike. I always feel horrible afterward.
I’m going to start with something that happened last week. I went to work and was placed on a ward with patients around the same age as me. There’s is a patient on this ward, we’ll call her D, who absolutely despises me. D says I remind her of someone in her past who hurt her. I have my own theory on why she hates me, but that’s a different story. As soon as I walked onto the ward, D had to comment to another staff, “I don’t want that fucking bitch anywhere near me!” which is my preference anyway. Almost immediately after shift change she began acting out. Somehow she had a array of permanent markers. D targeted the sickest female patient she could and talked her into a “makeover”. D proceeded to draw all over the other patient’s face with her markers. D drew big black bushy eyebrows, purple lips, one eye red, the other blue. The other patient was quite upset when she saw what D had done to her face and demanded that D wash it off immediately. D just laughed and walked away. Shortly after this incident D began screaming up and down the halls they lyrics to a song by the Insane Clown Posse about not being crazy or something to that effect. She stated matter of factly, “I’m going to blow this fucking place to bits!”. D then turned to where I was sitting tin the office, pointed at me and said, “and you! I’m gonna put a bomb in your head and put it in the hallway so the guts get all over. Then I’m gonna flush your ugly ass glasses down the toilet!” According to her treatment plan when she begins to make threats toward staff she must be given 1:1 with staff. She requested to be put into her restraint chair, so she was. She got out after a few minutes, ran down the hall and began playing with the trash that was being collected from around the ward. Jumping in and out of the bin. Asking to be taken out “like the trash I am”, then taking out a cardboard box. While this one going on she was yelling ,”you want some of this bitch?” at me. “you want some of this bitch?Yeah I didn’t fuckin think so! Stupid ugly fat cunt!”. The nurse went to speak with her at this point and ask her what her problem is. She told the nurse, “She’s not supposed to be here! She’s not supposed to be on this ward while I’m here. She fuckin freaks me out!”. Now, at this point I’m laughing. D is afraid of me? She’s the size of two of me, easily. D began ripping the cardboard box up laughing maniacally and saying things like, “This is your head Jennifer!RIP! These are your arms!RIP!These are your legs!RIP!These are your big Ole tits!Bouncy bouncy boobies!Bouncy bouncy OOPS!RIIIIIIIIP!” By this point myself and the rest of the staff are laughing so hard some of us are crying.Eventually, she was given a shot by the doctor to calm down, and went to bed. This is just one of my experiences.This was one of the mildly comical ones. I look forward to retelling the others and sharing them with the world.
