*I'M BACK! HAD TO DO A 12HR ON THE PSYCH WARD TODAY. NO ELECTRONICS ALLOWED ON THE FLOOR. I'LL ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS ASAP

THIS THREAD IS OPEN. I'LL KEEP ANSWERING UNTIL THE THREAD IS COMPLETELY DEAD AND BURIED.*

My job consists of sitting with sometimes violent psychiatric patients suffering from, honestly, you name it. As well I also do funeral escorts and it is also my responsibility to maintain and transport bodies to the morgue.

It's nowhere near like they portray in the movies with us sitting around eating donuts. Some positions do sit for 12 hours with a patient, but it's just you and a psych patient in a room for 12 hours.

We deal highly with Drug & Alcohol detox, suicidal, homicidal and psychotic. But I have also sat with Dementia, fall risks, Alzheimer's and death watch patients.

I am held by HIPPA law and I am currently sitting with a patient that has been sedated after spitting at me attempting to bite me and slamming their head against the wall repeatedly, so I have time to answer as many questions as I can for a while.

Thank you!

POSSIBLY NSFW

I'll continue answering questions until this thread is dead completely. Keep them coming! Loving the questions!

Comments: 241 • Responses: 75  • Date: 

xKandyxKissesx2 karma

Do you think there are people out there who actually might be better off dead? Like, if someone is suicidal and there is no possible way to change their mind, no amount of therapy can help them (a lifer as you said) or they just don't want help, don't think they need it? Does everyone who is suicidal need help? Because what if after years and years they never get better, and just have all that time wasted?

Sorry I'm not very good at wording this. EDIT: I know you are the security guard but I guess I'm just asking for your opinions on this. Thanks!

MusicalOne236 karma

Saying that someone would be better off dead would be hard to say. Not to say that it hasn't crossed my mind. Each person deserves a chance to live a full life. There comes a point that they need to decide themselves that they need the help. People pushing them to do so makes it worse. Depression is a disease, but when you're truly depressed, you want it to stop. Some people like the "pity party" though, and they do nothing to fix the problem. Anyone who is suicidal needs to seek help. No one needs to suffer those thoughts.

Part of it IS mindset. I struggle with depression daily, I do take meds, but you also have to think differently.

But yes, many times I have thought society would be better without some of them. Living on welfare, using it on more drugs, never holding a job in their life, causing terror to everyone they encounter, completely self-centered, jumping from halfway house to halfway house not trying to work because they're lazy.

But I always go back to the thought of "they don't even know what they are even doing most of the time". Some are too far gone and their mind is clouded.

KnowledgeNate1 karma

Whats it like being 6'3, 290lbs?

MusicalOne237 karma

It's tiring. That's not all muscle frowning face