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(part 6) - surrounded with psychology
VI. Psychosis

Today is day six and I’ll be meeting a teenage boy with psychosis. Psychosis is similar to schizophrenia but does have it’s differences. When I came in the door to meet him, he thought that I was someone breaking in the door and had a gun in my hand. He was so scared he ran away from the door. I told him that I wasn’t a bad person or anything and showed him my name tag labeled “Psychology Team.” He was relieved and he told me that he always has thoughts of bad things happening to him. I reassured him that I would no way shape or form do anything to make him feel that way about me. He told me that he trusts me.
Him and I decided to watch TV in the family room. He turned it on and began looking for a channel to go on. As he was looking for something, he saw something that seemed interesting to watch. It was a channel about animal life. I asked him if this was something he usually watched and he said that he loved animals and learning about them and their wild lives. A commercial came on that was about a medication. The first thing he said was, “Wait, that’s my medication. There’s poison in it??” He ran into the kitchen to find his medication and dumped all of it out. I told him what the commerical really said and asked what medication he just dumped out. He said that it was his medication for psychosis. I couldn’t believe he did that. All of a sudden, he started to look at his hands. He said, “My hands- They have poison all over them!” He quickly went to the sink and started washing them as fast as he could. He said that it was still there it wouldn’t come off. I rushed over to see if there really was anything on his hands. There wasn’t and I tried reassuring him but he wouldn’t listen to me. I told him to just calm down and breathe. He tured off the faucet, dried his hands, and tried his best to calm down. He was shaking really bad and had his eyes closed as he took deep breaths. When he opened his eyes, he looked at his hands again. I asked him it the “poison” was still there and he said it was gone. That was him having hallucinations.
I told him that I actually had to go but I thanked him for meeting him and observing him today.

© eyesthatcry