For those who work in mental health, what's the worst & best?

[CoconutGal]

Having worked in mental health services for 3 years, i have seen many things over that time. Things i will never forget, things that have stayed with me leaving a sense of dread, things that have made me laugh & cry. What i would like to know is, what is the best & worst part of your job?

For me the best part is seeing people go home having watched them completely transform themselves & seeing the pride in their faces when they make small achievements.

The worst part is the endless suffering in their faces. When you've exhausted everything but nothing is helping.

Best is those moments you really feel you are getting through to people and making a connection, the other is after months of suffering actually seeing them be genuinely happy and optimistic.

I just typed out a list of my worse and it was way too gruesome to post so got rid. It basically included horrific methods of self harm and mutilation, the images of which will always stick with me

I take my hat off to people who can do this job. It takes real empathy, patience and resilience. ❤

So sorry Mreggsworth☹️
I had a brief spell as a mental health worker decades ago, you certainly do see some shocking things.

Best was seeing people get better. Come off section. Move to supported living.

Worsts include when one of my patients came into the office in the evening, looked at me and said "I just want my mum". He was 6ft+ tall and 26 years old but at that moment he could have been my then 7ish year old ds. I just wanted to take him into my arms and hug him .

Or when i found a patient dead. (We werent an acute ward and didn't have patients who self harmed so it was totally unexpected and I will miss that man until the day I die.
Or when one of the ladies had diarrhoea in the night. She took her dirty knickers off and threw them across the room. < not envy.

Highs outweighed the lows and I bitterly regret leaving the job. I hope I can get back into it one day.