America’s views on mental health and the surrounding institutions have never been very accepting. Yet, so many of us struggle with our own mental health on a day to day basis. For many, we just try to sweep our problems under the rug and hope to get on with our lives, for better or worse, but there are some people whose problems go far beyond self-medication.
Mental hospitals are underfunded, understaffed, and house patients with severe psychosis. If that’s not a recipe for disaster, then I don’t know what it. Having to keep patients from swallowing knives and batteries, having menstrual blood and fecal matter thrown at you, and worrying about your own physical safety are just some of the things mental hospital workers have to deal with.
When lives and minds are on the line, it takes a special kind of person to calm, help, and contribute to the patients’ stability. If you choose to go into that profession, just make sure you’re ready to get an inordinate amount of (literal) sh*t thrown at you.
