round the mulberry bush

Well considering that I have thought my placement was going to be dire, i have actually loved it. I’ve had a brilliant week. It’s really nice seeing the clients every day and I think I am beginning to build up a bit of a rapport with some of them. The groups have been really good aswell, and I love the ethos of the place. Really service user led, and very recovery orientated. Happy marge!

I found out something really interesting today. Some years ago when my dad was in his twenties, he was prescribed some antibiotics. He had a really bad reaction to them and my nan and grandad found him wandering round the house effing and blinding and being really aggressive. He is a mild mannered man, so it was really out of character and scared them to death. He was trying to climb out of windows and generally behaving in a bizarre manner.  When he was in the ambulance, he tried to escape from the little windows in there and was really agitated.To cut a long story short, he ended up in our local mental health unit whereby they were all for sectioning him. He stayed for a couple of days. Apparently, it was just by luck that one of the doctors knew of the rare side effects of the tablets he was on, and spotted that he wasn’t having a psychotic episode. He stayed for a day or so and when the tablets were out of his system, all was well.

Made me really think about what would have happened if that doctor hadn’t have realised what was going on. Likely he would have been sectioned, and that would have set his life on a whole different course.

I was talking about this kind of stuff to a third year student on my placement (who incidentally is lovely and brilliant). We were saying about the fact that what we do as mental health professionals can change somebodies life forever. Sometimes for the better and sometimes not.

I have just realised that I have repeated during the last post much of what was written in the one prior.

Thanks to all you lovelies who left messages on my comeback post. I didn’t realise you would even have noticed a lack of my witterings. So that was nice

Getting ready for placement again. It starts Tuesday. It’s in a day hospital. I hope I like it, but my first impressions are that it perhaps won’t be my cup of tea.I think working with people in the acute phase of their illness is much more my niche. Saying that though, I have dreaded all of my placements for one reason or another and loved them all.

I have handed in my essay, so I don’t have that to worry about. The presentation is out of the way. We did ours on anorexia nervosa. I really enjoyed it. Although I hardly slept the night before. Once i got up there and started talking, it was actually quite fun in a weird kind of way. the relief afterwards was immense.

One more day off and then the juggling that comes with placement, getting the boys sorted, running a house etc. It’s ll going to be worth it though. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now. Just this placement and then third year!!!

.since I last blogged. Lots has happened since the beginning of this module. I have been really really busy.I got a message from Cellar Door this eve though which reminded me that I have missed blogworld.

Stuff from the last 2 months:

1. I have managed to track down my half brother and sister. We had the same Dad. It was all doen through genes/friends reunited and facebook. Pure chance and luck really. I have been speaking to my brother over the past few weeks, on a daily basis through facebook..it’s lovely. We have really clicked. My half sister is a bit more wary, and only contacted me the other day. I doubt we will have a close relationship, but it’s nice to know who she is and what she looks like etc.

2. Uni has been outrageous. Apparently our cohort is officially the worst ever and the tutors are pissed off. People are always late, not arsed, falling asleep, disrespectful etc and it came to a head the other day which resulted in a big row during a lecture and one of my african colleagues said that she felt there was a racist issue going on. It is a bit shit because I think I work really hard and show commitment etc and I know that I am not racist.

3.I have lots of coursework to do. We’ve got a presentation a week Monday. We’re doing ours on anorexia nervosa.

4. now that I am thinking about what has happened, I can’t even think. Just busy busy business.

5. I have applied to swap from the diploma to the degree for my last year. Hope I get accepted.

6. My next placement starts at the end of this month. It’s an acute day hospital. I hope it’s not too dull. I have  a feeling it may be. At least I will get to see the same clients for 3 months or so which will be nice.

7. We did our breakaway update today. It was very good, but I am knackered, so I am going to drink some wine and do bugger all now for the rest of the evening:)