What are some of the stupid things you've been told by nurses who should have known better?

Classic for me during one inpatient stay was ’ I can tell you’re schizophrenic by the way you walk’. This was back when i had a schizophrenia diagnosis. Sure enough i’ve had comments about the way i walk(i tend to veer from side to side especially when anxious) but i can’t see it relates to any mental illness.
Has anyone else had comments about the way they walk?

On my first admission, a nurse told me to “have a cool head, dry pants”. He was a pathetic ***8. I personally was insulted. I didn’t react to him. I didn’t even do anything to warrant his insult. He just assumed I was “out of line” because I wanted to get discharged from hospital.

Why are you not brushing your hair?

Me- It’s windy and rainy outside. :angry:

I walk like that and I’ve gotten comments about it before. It gets worse with anxiety and paranoia. This is the first time I’ve heard anyone else bring that up. When my positive symptoms got bad so did my gait.

I stay in a guest house together with a few elderly people. The landlords wife came to me the other day and said that the one old lady of 84 have asked her how old I was because I’m always walking so slow. I felt a bit self conscious about it as it is a sensitive issue to me. When I was on clopixol depot a while ago I use to walk much slower as I had muscle stiffness from the meds. Since I’m on Abilify I’ve got much better and I can now walk 30 minutes a day.

One thing i have is judging the distance between me and other walkers and it can be quite tiring trying to navigate my way around without bumping into people , especially when it’s busy.

The first time i was admitted into a hospital one of the staff checked me over for dangerous materials and just asked, “so did you try to kill yourself or something?” i thought that wasn’t any of her business and i didn’t want to talk about it at that time. I just stayed quiet and let her check me for knives or sharp objects.

I had a doctor who called me a “garden variety neurotic person”.

I have seen reference to this in the past. I think it’s called posturing. I’m not sure how a schizophrenic walks though as I don’t see my son walking any different then anyone else.

c. posturing (voluntary assumption and maintenance of inappropriate or bizarre postures);

I have never been catatonic.

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I walk that way too.I was walking that way long before I was diagnosed with schizophrenia. I can’t remember off-hand any stupid comments.I do remember my first week in a hospital and a few of the nurses were flirting with me. I think they were trying to be nice. I remember in one psyche ward two nurses woke me up at 6:00 am to draw some blood, I forget why. They jabbed me in one my arm and no blood came out. So they jabbed me again in my other arm. Still no blood. It turns out they were interns and were still learning how to do it. So they got me up out of bed and took me to a more experienced nurse who went back to my original arm and jabbed it with the needle. By this time all this poking had the effect of freaking me out a little bit. This time the blood started filling up the vial but I started feeling woozy and I got tunnel vision and everything started to turn black. I was on the verge of passing out. The nurse saw me looking weird and just told me too relax. They got their blood, I went back to bed.

When I was first admitted to the psych ward, the head nurse offered me a neon colored green or orange drink in a cup. I was off my rocker at the time and refused to drink it. They were persistent and kept telling me I had to drink it, I asked her what was in the drink - She said Haldol, that’s when I flung my hand and knocked the drink into her face and clothes. I was immediately tackled down to the floor by a group of orderlies and security was there. Thats when I got the injection of Haldol in my rear end - they walked me into a private room - I distinctly remember one of the orderlies or nurse I dont remember which telling me - " Have a nice trip" then I dont remember much after this, It was lights out for me

One remark by a nurse stands out. It is not stupid but I think it’s worth repeating. My first day in a large, long term, locked, psychiatric hospital a nurse was showing me to my room. We got to chatting and she made the comment," This hospital doesn’t help anyone, it’s just a warehouse for the mentally ill". Maybe it was stupid of her to tell me that.

When getting checked in to a locked ward, one nurse asked if I had any kids, I replied no, she said “why not, what’s your problem?”
…? God didn’t give me any I guess…?

No. But I can often tell if someone’s schizophrenic by the way they walk. Can’t pinpoint it. I’m sure it’s true for me, too.

I’m going to be a bit contrary to the thread… Sorry. I’m sure we’ve all been told things by nurses who are human and mess up and say dumb things too. I have a lot more patience for nurses then some doctors. Nurses have had to clean up my puke and dress me. So I understand when they get fed up. It’s fancy office doctors who really get under my skin at times.

I remember the nurse that turned my head around. I was in hospital and really angry and making a mess and being defiant and fighting my meds. She was this very pretty Jamaican nurse who was 5 foot and so tiny compared to my 6 foot 3 and half.

I was refusing to pick up the mess I had made and this tiny nurse just walked up to me and told me straight up… “You made this mess, you clean it.”

I shouted at her… “I’m a sick man. I have Schizophrenia you know!”

She just shook her head, got a very firm look in her eye and very calmly and quietly said… “You and everyone one else in here. Your not different, your not special, you’re not unable. You are just like everyone else, so clean up the mess you made. Just like everyone else does.”

I knew I wasn’t going to win. So I cleaned up the mess and when she smiled and thanked me I sort of started looking around and seeing… I’m not that different. She and I had a few stands off, but she was always very firm and then very kind after.

But she just kept telling me I’m not disabled, I’m not that different, I’m just like everyone else. In her own odd way, she really turned my head around.

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Yeah I walk a bit slow I guess? not real steady - I dont know how much of it is caused by the meds

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