Category: NSG-328 Mental Health

Before the first simulation, I was nervous about what I would experience and how I would be able to respectfully discuss information to help the patient. The first simulation helped me better understand the information we were learning in mental health class, especially regarding depression and suicidal ideations. After the second simulation, I felt that I gained so much insight into certain mental disorders including schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, and alcoholism. I also learned that I could communicate in a way to gain trust and rapport but also help the patient. For example, the patient who has schizophrenia was very paranoid about the clinic and the cameras in the room. I noticed she enjoyed speaking about the color yellow and her parents. After I noticed these two ideas, I incorporated them into my rapport to develop a trusting patient-nurse relationship. After the second simulation, I felt much better about my skills and rapport.

In the first simulation, the biggest challenge my group and I dealt with was a patient having suicidal ideations. We addressed this problem by going over the Columbia-Suicide Scale and then discussing inpatient care. One challenge I faced in the second simulation was during the interaction with a patient that had an addiction to alcohol. We were discussing his problem and he brought up the fact that he was an NP. I asked him what he would say to his patient about their drinking if they were developing some of the problems he was. He thought I was undermining his intellect and ability to care. I addressed this problem by explaining my thought process and made sure to help him understand I was not undermining his ability, and more was hoping for active participation in care. He understood and said if he was his patient, he would most likely refer them for help for their alcohol abuse.

Through this process, I learned how important the mental health nursing process is in every situation regardless of if you’re working in a mental health unit or not. I learned how to create better rapport and how to assess nonverbal cues. I also learned how to ask and discuss difficult topics such as suicide or trauma. I believe through simulation I am prepared and ready to address mental health problems in the clinical setting.

Mental illness as well as mental health are two topics that tend to be more difficult for people to understand and discuss. There are many stigmas surrounding mental illness, I think there is so much stigma because of many different factors. The awareness of mental illness and mental health are newer topics of discussion, which I believe contributes to the stigma. Since these topics are more recent, less people are comfortable talking about them. I also think another factor that contributes to stigma is that mental illness is not something someone can see all the time. Most illnesses and diseases present in physical appearances, such as rashes on the skin. Mental illness some of the time cannot be seen which makes it much harder for an individual to understand. The factors that contribute to my self-stigma are not fully understanding about mental illnesses and accidentally stereotyping myself and others with mental illness. Another factor that contributes to my self-stigma is categorizing a person based on their mental illness, such as using the phrase “she is bipolar” rather than “she has bipolar.” These factors contribute to my self-stigma. 

I think someone’s culture and religiousness does impact their response to mental illness. Being part of a religious/spiritual group can be a positive and a negative when understanding mental health and illness. When someone is part of a group, such as a religious group, they have a sense of belonging and a way to cope with hard times. However, religious/spiritual groups can also impact mental illness more negatively too. When someone has a set of rules to live by, such as the 10 Commandments, they can become anxious or upset when they break one of those rules or sin. This anxiety can create worse symptoms of mental illness and hurt someone’s mental wellness.