Just a few minutes ago I was driving home, trying to keep myself awake (as usual), when out of nowhere I heard a loud THWAP! on the outside of my car door. It scared me so bad that my heart is still beating rapidly. At first I thought a rock had hit the car, but then I looked at my window and I saw all this opaque liquid running down. My next thought was, “Did I just witness the biggest bird crap in history?” But upon inspection of the car once I got home, I saw a little piece of eggshell clinging to the door. I was EGGED, people, EGGED! Boyfriend David had to explain to me that this is a thing that kids like to do: hide in the bushes or behind walls or fences and throw eggs or water balloons at the cars going by. When I was trying to figure out what hit my car my feelings were mostly those of shock and curiosity. But once David enlightened me on what really happened, they quickly turned to anger. Now I must vent. I mean those stupid kids could cause a wreck! It’s just plain mean! It has never once entered my mind that that would be a fun thing to do. I don’t understand it. And since I’m too lazy to do anything about it tonight, I’m gonna have dried egg goop on my window tomorrow to clean up. Simply lovely!
Author: Kathleen
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The Hidden Part Of Me
This summer I have been doing my psychiatric nursing rotation. Most patients stay for 6-8 weeks at the facility where I’m doing my clinical, and many types of disorders are treated. The first half of the summer I was on a unit for young adults; most of them were there for rehab. But the last two weeks and the rest of the summer I am on the OCD unit.
I am really enjoying this unit because the patients are a lot easier to talk to and the staff is much more engaging. My first week there, one of the nurses got me involved with the patients and challenged me to think about my understanding of the disorder. He did this through hands-on activities–literally. Example: because many of the patients have issues with contamination, he shook my hand long and tight, then asked me to lick my fingers. I did this. Later, he asked me if I could lick my shoe. I said that yes, I probably could. I got out of doing this (thankfully), but he did it himself.
He also asked me if I have noticed any OCD tendencies in myself. Now, I have loooooong known about my OCD traits. I am going to go ahead and tell you about some of them.
>My main issue is symmetry. Symmetry everywhere, but especially on my own body. I must have the same amount and consistency of food on either side of my mouth when I eat. My steps must be symmetrical, as in if I step on a crack with my right foot I must also step on a crack with my left. If I scuff my right foot on the ground I must scuff my left with the same amount of force. If I step on the carpet with my right foot I must step on the carpet with my left foot. If I touch something cold with my right hand I must touch something cold with my left hand. And so on!
>When I am driving, I notice the sections of grass that are outlined by roads, sidewalks, driveways, etc. For each one of these I see, I must blink.
>Speaking of blinking, I sometimes get stuck in a blinking ritual that I can’t stop until it “feels right.”
>There are other oddities that I think are related, such as my love for straight lines and my obsession with my planner, but I think these might be just more related to my personality.
When I told the nurse on the OCD unit about this, I became quite anxious. When I left that day I determined that I was going to try harder to resist my compulsions. They are not to the point where they disrupt my life, and I want to keep it that way.
Here are some examples of things I have run across so far in clinical:
>A young man is so afraid of germs, especially those from homosexuals and old people, that after shaking an elderly man’s hand he tried to sterilize his own hand by burning it. He also was in the habit of cleaning his nose and eyes with Ajax.
>I saw a guy today randomly picking up books from the table and putting them back down. When asked what he was doing, he said, “The table can’t breathe underneath there, I have to pick them up!”
>I worked with a girl who couldn’t step on cracks, corners, or thresholds or else she had thoughts that something terrible would happen to her family members. If she didn’t cross a threshold correctly she had to go back and do it again. It got to the point where she couldn’t make it out of her house for school. She also counted all her steps in groups of fives, and repeated many phrases and actions in groups of fives.
It’s a very interesting unit. I think I also like it much better because this is definitely the psychiatric disorder that I relate most closely to. Have any of you noticed any OCD tendencies in yourself?
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Sunday Goodness
Dear friends,
I apologize for my absence. I still do not have access to the internet at my new apartment. This will happen Tuesday, I am informed. So far it has only been mildly annoying, but today I found myself in dire need of the world wide web in order to complete some assignments for school. So first I went to the local coffee shop which advertises free wi-fi. Unfortunately, it was not working. Next I went to my roommates’ old apartment (which they still have until the end of the month) only to find that a password was needed that neither of them know. Finally, I ended up at Panera, which has been wonderful. I love you Panera!
There has been so much that I have wanted to tell you. Look forward to the tale of fishing on the fourth of July and pictures of my new place, for starters. But for now I really do need to get to those assignments.
Happy Sunday everyone, and I hope to be back in touch with you soon.
Love,
Kathleen -
Things I Learned In Class Today
1. The movie Pulp Fiction has its drug facts all wrong.
2. The best strategies for a nurse to steal drugs from the hospital for personal use.
2. How to make cocaine.And OK, I did learn some other stuff about substance abuse. But for some reason it doesn’t quite stick in my mind as well…
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I Moved
Saturday I moved into my new apartment with the help of my loving father, wonderful brother, amazing boyfriend, and my boyfriend’s always-helpful and devoted father. They helped me even when I casually mentioned to them right beforehand that the new place is on the third floor.
It was a long day, and I am still sore from it all (not to mention I played a soccer game that morning). Since I was planning to paint my bedroom I put all of my stuff in the middle of the room and then there wasn’t room for my bed. I’ve been sleeping out in the middle of the living room for the past two nights.
Yesterday I painted with the help of my mother, boyfriend, and his father. My room is now a pretty shade of blue called “Lighthouse Shadow,” but my stuff is still all piled in the center of the room. I have to organize things today because tomorrow the movers come with all Amanda’s furniture and my bed will need to be out of the way. So that’s what I plan to do today just as soon as I can get myself out of this class.
Once we get everything all set up I will introduce you via photographs to my new place, and soon I will also introduce you to my new roommates. But for now I will be hard at work, and without internet access until the end of the week when we get it installed. I’ll post if I can until then, but otherwise I’ll catch up with you all in a few days.
Happy Monday. :)