Prologue
A person’s life begins when they are born. They grow up, and have a
wealth of life experiences; they meet people along the way. Some get
married, some have children. But it is their life. They choose to live
it how they want.
Whatever happens, they retain that life
experience, and they are an individual on this planet, with their own
unique experience and outlook on the world.
What is your definition of Mental Health? What images does it conjure
up in your head? Place those images firmly in the forefront of your
mind. Imagine them projected onto a huge cinema screen, vivid and
colourful. Take a few minutes to watch those images scroll past.
Remember them clearly.
I am a mental health nurse. For some of you, you may have an idea of
what this entails; for everyone else, you will be none the wiser. After
the events of this book, you will have a further appreciation and
understanding of the challenges and work that goes into the role, and
discover what a mental health nurse does, day in, day out. Welcome to
the next twelve hours of my life.
I remember thinking for years, like most other people, that nursing was
really women’s work, and nurses must spend all their time walking around
hospital beds, emptying bed pans, and generally just being nice. This
was a terribly misogynistic outlook, and one I now realise was
completely inaccurate.
I never thought that I would ever become a nurse, let alone a mental
health nurse. I guess in the past I had held a very blinkered view of
mental illness as being ‘scary’ and ‘dangerous’. I would often glance
at a newspaper and see the headlines glaring back at me, ‘Schizophrenic
murdered entire family.’ ‘Manic Depressive burgled elderly lady's home.’
‘Local woman jumps off multi storey car park.’ I, like others,
developed a very negative impression of mental health.
What had opened my eyes to mental health had all started during a bleak
midwinter day at an open day at my local university. I had decided to
attend a two day taster session, during which I experienced some sample
lectures and a brief introduction to what mental health nursing was all
about, giving me an insight into what would be required of me if I were
to embark on this career path. I went away from this feeling
enthusiastic and inspired. It had shown me how varied a career in mental
health could be, and as I bid goodbye to fellow attendees I wondered if
I would ever see them or the university again, but things were about to
change for me.
