I have now completed 2 full rotations. Psychiatry finished up this morning when I placed that bubbled-in shelf exam scantron into the wanting hands of the psychiatry secretary.
Psychiatry was a very interesting rotation. I met some peculiar people, some with strange stories and others with very sad ones. In the end, it opened my eyes to the fact that we all handle stress and emotions in different ways. Sometimes we can handle it by talking with friends, and other times we need medication to help us... and that's okay. Psychiatry isn't a bunch of voodoo, full of patients who need to suck it up and deal with it. Don't get me wrong--sometimes that could be the case (in my personal opinion), but in the end, we never know exactly what someone is going through.
I saw several patients who not only didn't have a social life outside of family time, but they couldn't even name one friend they had. This broke me heart for these patients because sometimes that was the very thing they needed. I found myself saying small prayers for different patients throughout the day because I honestly didn't know what else to do. I guess more than anything, this rotation really helped me appreciate the balanced life God has given me.
Happy weekend, everyone!
