If you want to work in mental health, you’d be making a difference to the lives of people that need it. Mental health is still sometimes considered a taboo. People don’t really like to talk about it, and there’s no real way of understanding it unless you’ve been through something yourself. If you think you’d like to start your career being a mental health nurse, read this first:
There May Be Threats/Verbal/Physical Abuse
Although it totally depends on the type of mental health disorder and what type of place you work in, there may be threats, verbal, and physical abuse. When a person isn’t in their right mind, they don’t always know what they are doing. Everything they do and say may make perfect sense to them. If they are paranoid that you’re a spy, no amount of reasoning with them will convince them otherwise. If they think people are after them, or they hear voices, or anything of the sort, they can’t really be held responsible for things they say and do. Not everybody who suffers with mental health is abusive, but some may be. People with mental health who are abusive will be in a ward that is suitable for them, to minimize the damage they can do to themselves and others. When they are in the right place for them, you won’t have to worry about getting harmed. It may be something as harmless as having water thrown over you.
Those that aren’t abusive may simply be in a world of their own. Some have delusions of grandeur and are very upbeat simply because they think they are someone and somewhere else entirely. Some patients may make perfect sense, but be in a battle with their own mind.
Training May Not Prepare You For What’s To Come
Many mental health workers will tell you that the training you go through may not fully prepare you for what’s to come. Working in the industry is entirely different to training. While your training will help you know what to do in certain situations and give you the knowledge you need, actually working with patients may be a different story.
An Experience With Mental Health May Help You To Relate
Many people who have had their own experience with mental health choose to work in mental health. This can help you to relate with patients better. You can still do a fantastic job if you’ve never experienced anything like it, so don’t worry. It’s just that those with their own experience truly know what a person is going through. It isn’t something you can just stop or snap out of.
Treatment Of A Holistic Nature Can Be Very Effective
Although medication can be important for different types of conditions, treatment of a holistic nature can be very effective too. This involves things like making sure patients get exercise and eat a healthy diet. Everything is connected, and how they treat their bodies can play a huge part in their mental and emotional health. Treatment that involves multiple professionals can also be effective. For example, therapists, psychologists, and so on. Eventually, this kind of treatment can mean that patients can control their issues themselves and don’t need to take medication.
The Mind Is Very Complex
The mind is more complex than many people realize. Although there’s more of an understanding of mental health these days than there has been in the past, the mind still isn’t fully understand. We know about as much about the mind now as we did about the heart around 200 years ago. This goes to show that although you can understand certain conditions and problems, you may never be able to fully understand what’s going on in a patient’s mind.
You Must Accept You Don’t Know Everything About A Condition Or Patient
One of the hardest things to do is accept that you don’t know everything about a certain condition. People suffering with the same condition can actually act completely differently, although many of the signs and things will be the same. This is why it’s so important that you don’t just stick a label on a person, and you take everything about them and their situation into account before treatment.
Some Treatment Can Be Based Upon Trial And Error
In some cases, the treatment of a patient is best found through trial and error. Different medications may be suitable for different people. They all have their own side effects and things that can hinder recovery. Monitoring a person to see how they react to treatment is important, and then tweaking as you need to. It isn’t all set in stone or simple, no matter how much training you have on the subject. The slightest change in medication can result in a huge response from a patient.
There Are A Number Of Different Roles In The Industry
There are a number of different roles you can take on in this industry. You could speak to patients about their worries and concerns, assess them, give them medication, or simply represent them if they need you to. There are many roles to suit different skill levels and personalities.
1 in 4 People Will Be Affected By Mental Disorder At Some Point In Their Lives
Some people don’t realize just how common mental health is. 1 in 4 people will be affected by a mental disorder at some point in their lives. This might be anxiety, depression, bipolar, schizophrenia, or something much less heard of, like Cotard’s Syndrome.
This post should have given you a better idea of what it’s like to work in mental health. This is a great industry to work in if you feel passionately about it and really want to help people. If you’d like to understand more about the mind and what makes people tick it can be a great career to go for too. It isn’t always easy, so knowing what to expect will help you. Do you have experience in the industry? Leave your own thoughts and comments below. Thanks for reading!
