The special memory series continues from my 30-year career in the healthcare industry with this gem of an experience. It took place at the Mental Health Urgent Care Center in Long Beach California where I worked for 11 years. The Urgent Care Center was set up to take the pressure off of the psychiatric hospitals and the jails in the area, mostly to treat people who were in a crisis. When a situation is beyond your ability to cope, the mind often shuts down and goes into a crisis. 

My job on the unit was to do evaluations and stabilization for the people who came in for help. You never knew who was going to walk through the door and we sometimes saw the extreme of the extreme. Our facility was set up to treat people with state or no insurance since that population was underserved. 

As I type, I am flooded with other incidents that took place on the unit. In all actuality, a television series on the antics that went on at that facility would be amazing, but one story at a time is in order.

During one busy shift, I walked up to the front entry to bring a person back to our unit. It was a middle-aged woman who was apparently off her medication and hallucinating. When our eyes met I saw humor in her eyes and we both started laughing. I don’t know what hit me but it was actually enjoyable. The day had been extremely stressful and all the staff was scrambling around like chickens with their heads cut off. Though, when I think about it, that was pretty much our usual.

When we entered the office, there was limited space for her to sit. The clients were restless and nervously holding things together before they were treated. When she entered the room and saw all the people trying to calm themselves down she laughed even more! This was such a contrast. Everyone was intense the staff included, but there she was laughing at the scene and it got me laughing too. On a whim, I decided to bring her into our staff office, which technically was off-limits but I had an overall purpose for doing it. 

My coworkers were too stressed out to even notice us enter the room. All were busy with typing, phone calls, or simply complaining like we normally did. I sat her down in the corner of the office, away from any sensitive information, and upon seeing me grinning at her about the staff, she laughed even harder. Who was crazy? Her? Or us?

I handed her some paperwork and sat down at my desk and just took in the madness. Laughter versus intensity, which was going to win out?

“What is she doing in here?” Barked one coworker.

I grinned. “She’s showing us what life is really about.” 

The person stopped, looked at the scene, and laughed. One by one they all became aware of her, stopped what they were doing, chuckled, and went back to the intensity they created.  

I think what helped me thrive on the unit was counting my blessings. I had always been consumed with what didn’t work in my life, my illnesses, the problems I had with my partner, or if there was time for me to get my oil changed. Here, I could complain. Compared to the people we were treating, my life was magical! I was fed, had a home, had a vehicle, and had my hair (a long-lasting joke). These people had nothing, including their dignity. The mere fact that these people were transfixed with our television, showed me that the things that I took for granted, like watching sports, well, they didn’t have. 

This story however gets better. After I did an intake with her, it was obvious that she could not keep her focus, was manic, hallucinating, and had been off her medication for a month, plus, she was a delight. I accompanied her during the psychiatrists interview, something I did from time to time and she even got  Dr. Jenkins laughing. Dr J, as he was known was the most incredible Psychiatrist I have ever seen. He was the top Psychiatrist in California and was the medical director of all the state Psychiatric hospitals from San Diego to Humbolt. Plus, he was a nerd.

Along with Dr. J came food and lots of it. He always entertained sales representatives from all the pharmaceutical companies who wined and dined with us. If they got him to use their product, up and down the coast their product would be recognized.

One saleswoman in particular had a product called Saphris which had been on the market a short time but she had been trying to win him over for months and she could hang with our madness.

“Come on, Dr. J. give Janice a try on this one,” I grinned at him as we re-entered the staff room.

Dr. J normally prescribed his tried and true products but with my insistence, he agreed.

Our nurse gave the laughing woman a dose of Saphris, which needed to be placed under the tongue to be absorbed into the bloodstream. The nurse and I monitored her to make sure she adjusted to it properly, and in a few minutes her laughing slowed, she began to look more presentable, and a few minutes later was talking like a stable person! We were in shock! It was like the movie “Awakenings” I had never seen anything like this before!

Medication has its place in mental health treatment. Especially the medication for acute anxiety, psychosis, and mania. Counseling cannot stabilize organic issues. Organic meaning the way the brain operates naturally. Whether due to family genetics, the environment, substance use, or brain injuries, the more serious the ailment, medication can make a huge impact.

If you are having difficulty but don’t want to try medication, counseling is the first step. If your symptoms are not improving the next step is to get medicated. Medication doesn’t change you, it only stabilizes the chemistry in your brain. Educate yourself. Sit down with a pharmacist, your doctor, or a Psychiatrist and ask them about medicine and the possible side effects. I encourage you to ask them about the most recent medication because Saphris was a real gem. With Saphris, it enters your body under the tongue, bypassing the digestive tract, making it much more healthy for you. People who take older antipsychotic medication for example have a life expectancy of ten years less. The newer medication helps stabilize blood fats and sugar, and of course one’s mood.

One final note: The staff initiated a “No Drama Jar” and we fined people a quarter for complaining, being negative, or talking badly about someone. We tried to police ourselves because it was stressful enough working with the clients but were getting more stressed out by the staff. Each month that jar raised roughly $15 and from the proceeds we usually bought pizza but no beer – we were working.

Dr. J helped our attitude by buying a musical keyboard for the office. He had effects and sound clips added to it that also took the edge off of a particularly stressful shift. Our vow was: “The more stressful the unit was, the more silly we needed to be.”