Nurse in the world of madmen

Hanoi A male patient with schizophrenia often sat motionless with an umbrella, refusing to eat or drink. Nurse Thanh Huyen thought for a long time and decided to sit with him with an umbrella.

Nurse Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen, 41 years old, has worked at Mai Huong Daytime Psychiatric Hospital for 18 years, directly taking care of the above patient. The 55-year-old man, admitted to the hospital in March two years ago, suffers from schizophrenia, has auditory hallucinations, and constantly hears voices in his head. He often squats in a corner with an umbrella, arms crossed, knees drawn up, living alone in his own inner world.

In addition to the time spent giving the patient medication and treatment, nurse Huyen tried to stay by his side to observe and talk to him to understand him better. After a while of holding an umbrella and sitting with the patient, she was able to convince him to walk and eat in the umbrella, and he gradually began to recover.

"I want to enter the patient's inner world and share with them like a real friend," said Ms. Huyen.

Nurse Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen. Photo: Phuong Thao — Nurse Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen. Photo: *Phuong Thao*

According to Elevate Psychiatry , empathy, the ability to understand and share a person’s feelings, is key to treatment. Mental health patients are often overwhelmed by emotions, thoughts, and struggles. Physicians can ease this burden by creating a safe, nonjudgmental space where patients feel heard and supported.

Empathy is also a catalyst for effective communication and treatment. By understanding the patient's inner self, doctors and nurses will develop a treatment plan that is tailored to their unique needs and experiences. A personalized approach helps improve treatment outcomes.

The Mental Health First Aid (MHFA) curriculum suggests that empathy is about putting yourself in the patient’s shoes to understand and share. This not only benefits the patient’s health, but can also benefit the health of the caregiver. By showing empathy, mental health workers can handle stressful or emotionally challenging situations, thereby helping to manage their own stress more effectively and providing better care for their patients.

Ms. Huyen believes that for schizophrenic patients, the voice that is always present in their head acts like a radio, constantly scanning the environment for feedback signals. This sometimes leads to antisocial behavior.

“It’s important that they feel heard,” she said. People with mental illness not only face mental health challenges, but also face discrimination and stigma from society. They are ridiculed and scorned, and feel hurt and alone. The pain is even greater when they lose respect and empathy from those around them, have difficulty finding work, and have difficulty maintaining relationships.

The hospital is treating more than 100 patients with various mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, epilepsy, and developmental delays. Ms. Huyen's daily task is to care for about a few dozen patients, personally monitoring each one.

Taking care of a mental patient is a challenging job, especially when the patient is uncooperative, mentally unstable and requires a lot of time for psychological support. For example, a patient became agitated, rushed into the hospital, holding two knives, threatening the doctors. Huyen had to carefully ask for 15 minutes before the patient calmed down, saying that he had a headache, many strange and scary images appeared in his brain, felt that people intended to harm him so he held a knife to defend himself. When the patient put the knife on the table, the nurse quickly put it away, then together with the team treated him with an injection.

Or, an elderly patient with severe dementia who frequently exhibits dangerous and unusual behavior. Initially, the patient is aggressive, making it difficult for the doctor and nurse to approach. Then, through nonverbal communication skills such as facial expressions and gestures, the nurse and her colleagues gradually create a safe and friendly environment, helping to reduce the patient's anxiety.

"Psychiatric medical staff must always exercise restraint, remain calm in all situations, and control their emotions," she said, adding that "no matter the circumstances, we should respect people with mental illness."

Nurse dispenses medicine to patient. Photo: Phuong Thao — Nurse dispenses medicine to patient. Photo: *Phuong Thao*

Caring for normal patients is hard enough, caring for mental patients is even harder. When she first started her career, Huyen struggled to cope with negative emotions and found ways to release her emotions.

"Mental patients have their own reasons," the nurse said, adding that she always tries her best to understand the patients and make the best use of available conditions to treat them. In return, Huyen receives a lot of affection from the patients. A young male patient, a university graduate, wrote Huyen a piece of paper with words wishing her peace in life. Huyen also takes care of a patient who is a doctor who loves to draw. When he was healthy enough to be discharged from the hospital, he drew a work of art as a gift for the nurse.

"Those small actions warm my heart," Huyen said. "I hope people will always look at people with mental illness with sympathy and respect."

Thuy Quynh

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