Danny was a Murderer. | Untold Stories of the Psych Ward |

In this video, I share my experiences working with a patient named Danny, who was sent to a psychiatric hospital for a competency evaluation after being charged with murder. As a mental health nurse, I played chess with Danny to assess his mental competency and found him to be articulate and able to hold normal conversations, but also noticed some concerning behaviors, such as off-the-wall comments and delusions. The video explores the use of Fair charting to evaluate competency and raises questions about how patients are treated in psychiatric facilities, particularly those charged with crimes. Join me in this untold story from the psych ward as we delve into the complexities of mental health evaluations and treatment.

[@k.hotting4851]

Hi! As a psychiatric nurse enjoy your stories and insights a lot. I also like to play chess with patients. Thank you for this video and I hope in the future you will make some more.

[@Hotiron-sk1uk]

Thanks Nick, from someone with BP, I appreciate you and the channel.

[@willowdietsch9547]

Hey man! I love your videos! I just started my psych clinical rotation in nursing school and was wondering if you could do a video on how to address individuals with delusions? I just had my first clinical on an all male forensic unit and was met with several individuals who talked to me about their life, or things that happened to them that obviously weren't real - for example (not a real example) believing that they were an alien. How do you go about interacting with patients like that? I've been told not to feed into their delusions, but I also don't want to outright say that they're wrong because that could upset them... So what's the best way to handle a situation like that? Thanks! Keep up the great work I really enjoy learning from you!

[@themindsetphoenix]

Ask them what they feel Abt those delusions( for example, how does you thinking you are an alien makes you feel? Then validate their reason and reassure them and start a new topic like what medication are they taking ( use that as an opportunity to learn from them)

[@mizzchuz.6413]

Fascinating stuff here. Thank you! As a regular chess player who is lousy and has Adhd, I can relate to the mental lapses. It's interesting how many people are tangential thinkers and yet at some point the tangents, for some people, are no longer productive but are psychotic. Your hypothetical example of a patient murdering in connection with his beliefs is interesting too. Our news is filled with these examples. But also there are activists and do-gooders who are similarly (?) compelled by their opinions and beliefs. What pathologies lead to the bad versus good? So many questions I have!

[@EnglishAaron]

I had anxiety and severe disassociative episodes, I called it not being in charge of my brain at all times. I had compulsions which I didn't like hang ups where certain things would assert punishments in the form of my fears, such as losing intelligence or something else. What would have helped me before I had done things I regretted and just considered myself irredeemable for that helped significantly is something society is opposed to... just acknowledging thoughts are thoughts, whether it's just a fear or whatever just don't pay attention to it and they'll go away on there own, shift away from the thoughts to something else is what I did at first but later learned that you don't necessarily dive into intrusive thoughts but you rather try and maintain an indifference towards them. It's really hard to do in today's day and age, when if you think certain things like death due to early exposure to that reality as a child and making peace with it or other horrible things people present without thinking because severe anxiety is not something people think about the mechanics of. If something is presented the information can be warped or completely distorted due to hyper fixation and obsessive focus on an aspect of the whole rather than the idea as a whole, meaning gets lost and doesn't translate across quite how it was intended to be. It's useful for detail work if you can tame it and get it to work for you, however, until you can do that you're in for a hell of a time learning to adjust... especially when puberty comes and messes with your coping strategies. Come to think of it I was in a weird place later on in life because I delayed came to possess a sense of self after horrible things done on a slope from disassociation and false belief stemming from a low sense of self esteem or compromised/distortion of some kind. I was responsible for my actions and did not have to do what I didn't want to do, I was just experiencing irrational fear of becoming something I was not and making connections that were nonsensical. I did try getting help and was called a child due to not wanting to open up to a psychologist because they would share what I disclosed to them with controlling parents such as taking away access to technology or something in an attempt to "help" against my wishes leading to isolation or loss of access to information to develop skills. I will say I would be better with time away so the answer was breaks from information overload due to anxiety, do you know of any places to go that won't commit me but will let me also be honest?

[@mysticnj]

How many comp evals do patients have while in hospital before they make a decision on competency? And how long do they stay at the hospital for the evals? Also, if they fail competency eval do they just stay at the hospital and the judge declares them incompetent and they are ordered to stay? My cousin is going through this right now.

[@A_Psych_Nurse]

I'll be making a video about the comments you've left, thx Crystal

[@mysticnj]

@@A_Psych_Nurse thank you for your help and your videos have informed me about that side of the psych ward! Looking forward to seeing them!

[@A_Psych_Nurse]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/kKqbqq2Adql-h7s. Time stamps = 14:16 Crystal Incompetency Evaluations 15:15 Crystal Why Are Psych Nurses in High Demand?. Thx :)

[@sauntahrae5244]

Just curious, would you classify someone with Danny's thinking as Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder? The only other thing I can think of is someone with a cluster B personality, such as antisocial personality disorder. Not asking specifically about him, persay, just the thought process. I haven't made it to mental health class yet, but I am fascinated by your stories and it makes me think. I plan to become a psychiatric/addictions nurse when I am finished, so I can listen to your videos all day (like I do). I understand if you can't respond to that..just curious. Thanks.

[@A_Psych_Nurse]

That's a great question. I'm not familiar enough with the nuances of diagnosis to have a qualified opinion, but after googling OCPD sounds like he might fit, as well as the antisocial aspect as well. Thanks for watching :)

[@sauntahrae5244]

@@A_Psych_Nurse I see. One request, can you please make a video about how you deal with coworkers that may or may not (lol) display symptoms of mental health conditions as well and how you deal with them, please? Also, how you deal with it professionally. It’s advice that I could use right now even in nursing school 😂. You’ve mentioned it in previous videos, but didn’t go into depth because the subject was different. Thanks so much!

[@A_Psych_Nurse]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/kKqbqq2Adql-h7s. 5:45 Sauntah How to Handle Coworkers with Mental Illness. Thx :)

[@learnzz9255]

He failed it on purpose