Depression
How does this picture make you feel? I feel sad when I look at someone in this emotional state. This is how I felt all 8 hours of my psych clinical. My client was in her late 50′s, though she looked to be in her late 60s or 70s. She has been an alcoholic for most of her life. She told me she spends most of her time in front of the TV drinking her life away. Her husband died a couple years ago, and he also was an alcoholic. She wanted to get into the chemical dependancy unit to kick her addiction, but her insurance won’t pay for it. Which to me, was very sad. What good is insurance if it won’t help you? She was also suicidal and homicidal. She wanted to kill her sister for allegedly stealing a large amount of money when she was in jail serving time for elder abuse of her husband. She has had multiple DUIs and arrests. I felt like her life was hopeless. When she was talking to me, she suddenly announced that she was done talking because she didn’t want to cry. She said she would rather stuff it all inside than deal with it. How can one heal like that, I wonder.
I was able to sit in on some group therapy sessions, one with a chaplain, and another with about being assertive. Some of the answers the patients gave were hilarious. The leader gave a hypothetical situation about being in a movie theater and two people in front of you were talking loudly, what would you do? Many gave some pretty aggressive answers, such yelling at them, listening in on their conversation, name calling, etc. I tried not to laugh, but I felt like many of them were like small children. Actually, one of the resident doctors said as much. Most of the patients are like misbehaving children. And unfortunately, its true. It is much easier to learn life lessons at a young age. There comes a day when people are too old to spank, though it still may be much needed. Anyways…
At the end of the time, I felt very hopeless and sad for the people there. Many of them are continually in and out of psych wards, and are referred to as “frequent fliers”. I could never be a psych nurse, and be around such hopelessness and depression and not be able to really do anything to help them get better. That only comes from the inside, and looking to be healed. Only God could heal their deep heart hurts. Next week I will be on the chemical dependency unit, although I feel like I just got a dose of it. I hope next week there will be more hope!
Here is a cartoon to leave on a slightly happier note.
