What a rare day. Absolutely no clients for me yet and I have three hours to go. Life has been in hurry up mode for as long as I can remember. Today it is suddenly on STOP! So this is what it is like to drop your shoulders, breath, and have time to simply think. I like this. It's as if I am in the desert and just taking in the beauty of life. Does life really go on at this pace? Is there relaxation, short conversations with coworkers, then time to kick back and type on one's blog? Today there sure is.
Because we are strapped for space and have too many workers and not enough computer terminals, I rushed out of the office and found an adjacent office that was vacant in which I could use. For hours I have watched me in others as they race around, accomdate people, rush paper work in before its deadline, and gave the automatic smile that works so well in mental health circles. You know what I am typing about, the head slighly tilted, the grin big and genuine, and two steps later when out of sight the scowl returns. Well at least we don't greet people scowling.
In the larger facility I work in is a long term, lock down Hospital for those with extreme mental illness. Most look over medicated, some look like characters from a haunted movie. Unfortunately this is real life and many of these folks have been committed here for ten to fifteen years!
When I first started working here I feared these people. I often heard stories of them randomly striking people for no good reason. I need to walk past them in the hallway from time to time to bring clients some food from our cafeteria. With hands holding a tray I am vulnerable to the Thorizine shuffling gang.
Years ago my younger sister worked in mental health with this particular population. For a man it would be slightly easier, for a woman the is small and petite some of these folks are threatening. In the long run my sister got abused and left the industry for good.
Abuse towards staff happens with some regularity. It depends the temperature, since the heat of the summer tends to bring it on, it depends on adherence to medication, in fact there are a lot of factors that will breed violence. The most important aspect is having a cohesive staff that will see the signs, communicate clearly, and takes swift action.
Tick tock, there goes a coworker home. How great is it to have some thinking and reflecting time.
May you all have great mental health - I could use a few days of this.
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