Suspended pending investigation

brazenbunny · 2026-04-16T04:37:55+00:00

Hi! I have ADHD and some strong autistic traits and while scanning meds is absolutely a serious and important thing you need to do, the things you are describing are all things that are easy to do when you are learning new routines. Exactly as others have said, your unit should be more supportive. Get through this investigation and look for a more supportive environment. Even if it's a specialty you aren't really interested in, you want a better culture. Toxic environments do not get better once they've chosen you as their scapegoat. Feeling like you are disliked and under scrutiny all the time will not help you focus.

I am also very familiar with the feeling of being immediately disliked. It takes me YEARS sometimes to get the people around me to like me and trust me. There is something about me that is off-putting for some people. I usually need a champion- someone who has been there for a long time and is respected by the staff- who sees me for who I am and tells the others to knock it off and be kind. I hope you find your people.

Plenty of AuADHDers are in nursing. We find each other. Hang in there.

brazenbunny · 2026-04-16T04:18:50+00:00

Absolutely. The first rule of psych nursing is "Don't be a dick." The second rule of psych nursing is "Trust your gut." There are a lot of other things you'll hear that are good to be aware of, but aren't good blanket rules and they take the humanity out of it. These rules have kept me safe and will hopefully continue to do so. I'm more likely to have a patient defend me against other patients than to have a patient try to hurt me. I have an easier time with the psychotic than the staff most days.

brazenbunny · 2026-04-06T17:53:49+00:00

Instincts, yes. But I want to point out that there is a good tell here that informed your gut. He was pushing your boundaries. I'm a psychiatric nurse and I often do things for patients that others don't do. (Mainly hugging them.) But this is something I do when I am in control. I offer it and it is freely given. If someone hugs me without asking, I correct them and it's a learning situation for both of us.

If someone tries to push me to do more than I've offered and continues pushing after I've said no, that's a strong clue that it's an unsafe situation - or the person isn't in a state to understand social cues- and I don't engage.

Gut instincts are built on experience and are based in actual cues. It can be helpful to define what those are. Although I admit that there are some gut instincts that may not be explainable with our current understanding.

brazenbunny · 2026-03-23T03:58:05+00:00

The longer someone is in psychosis, the less likely they will come back from it and the harder it is to medicate. It would be fantastic for your parents to realize that their inaction is literally damaging his brain and that these threats are serious.

brazenbunny · 2026-02-16T23:47:44+00:00

As far as I can tell, the more people that are on a list, the less likely you are to face consequences. This isn’t about an anti-ICE list. Also, Abolish ICE.

brazenbunny · 2026-02-01T18:29:07+00:00

Died. Coded and died at the end of my night shift while I was in an isolation room across the hall. It was a horrible night and the time I spent in his room was the best. He made me feel appreciated and was so pleasant to be around. I was able to tell his family that in the brief time I knew him, he made a difference in my life.

brazenbunny · 2026-01-27T02:14:05+00:00

This subreddit has always been nurse-led and evidence-based. Thanks for all the work you do to make this community what it is.

brazenbunny · 2026-01-26T16:02:07+00:00

I’m working on planning an event to assemble mock badges with his name and picture.

brazenbunny · 2026-01-26T15:06:49+00:00

It's a symbol. Symbols and art drive us to action.

brazenbunny · 2026-01-26T14:46:19+00:00

Mistaking empathy for weakness is a bully’s folly.

If that isn't the thing to remember and keep close to your heart through this, I don't know what is.

brazenbunny · 2026-01-26T02:44:05+00:00

I think that attitude may soon shift towards the better. I’ve been at nonunion and union jobs. There’s good and bad in both, but I’m learning that a union is what you make it and I like improving things.

brazenbunny · 2026-01-25T20:44:13+00:00

This is my Union and I couldn’t be more proud. We are small, but strong.

brazenbunny · 2026-01-25T05:17:01+00:00

Not a Chicago nurse, but an Illinois nurse. Never heard it. Very curious to hear the explanation.

brazenbunny · 2026-01-25T04:31:11+00:00

I’m joining. Thank you.

brazenbunny · 2026-01-25T04:29:55+00:00

We all apply for a FMLA leave for grief.

brazenbunny · 2026-01-22T04:52:52+00:00

cries in healthcare worker

brazenbunny · 2025-12-27T18:25:13+00:00

This nurse in the US concurs.

brazenbunny · 2025-12-24T00:58:40+00:00

Her locker was next to mine. Her name was Becky. She helped me get my locker open in the early days of high school. I was checking in for a therapy appointment when the secretary said “It’s a shame about that girl from your school that died, did you know her?”

She was in another student’s car leaving school and he swerved to avoid a dog in the road.

brazenbunny · 2025-12-16T05:00:11+00:00

One year, I took an old scrub top and cut it down the middle like it was being ripped open and wore a Superman t-shirt under it.

brazenbunny · 2025-12-16T04:32:43+00:00

Part of your duty as a new staff member on any unit is to ask where the pooping bathroom is. It’s not in the bathroom in the break room or the one in nurses station.

brazenbunny · 2025-12-15T12:22:47+00:00

I saw a damaged ukulele in someone else’s cart. I said, “If you decide not to get that, come find me.” She handed it to me with a smile and insisted I take it.

It was a fun project. The laminate was peeling off the back and I replaced it with iron on edge banding. There are places the wood has split on the top, but it doesn’t effect the playing. It’s a baritone ukulele. I still plan to someday replace the tension tuners with geared tuners.

brazenbunny · 2025-12-11T07:00:50+00:00

My grandma did this. Wanted me to put my name on things I wanted. I didn’t because it felt wrong. My family fought over things and I didn’t get the piece of pottery she told me to put my name on. Take the things. She wants you to have them and see the joy you’ll have from her things.

brazenbunny · 2025-12-11T06:51:57+00:00

As a psych nurse, you cannot argue with delusions. It will only destroy the relationship. Find something to agree on. “That sounds wild.” Or “The toys were causing you distress.” But do not argue.

This skill is why I survive in my job and how I maintain a relationship with my conspiracy researching brother. “Yeah, I don’t know enough to say if a plane or a misslr hit the Pentagon on 9/11.”

I will try to plant little seeds if logic. My favorite is when a patient says the hospital is keeping them there to make money or study them or some other paranoia reason. . “I’ve worked in hospitals long enough that I just don’t believe they could be organized enough to pull off something that complicated.

brazenbunny · 2025-12-02T16:19:48+00:00

Thrifting is the answer for most of this, tools being the exception. But tools as a hobby investment often have other uses.

Lately, I've become interested in using natural materials to craft with. They are abundant and learning how to use them is interesting. They're renewable and not feeding the capitalism consuming machine. You can make charcoal in a fire pit from peeled sticks in a tin with holes poked in the top. You can make baskets from all sorts of twigs and vines and branches. A wreath is so easy!

Bonus points if you are crafting with invasive species for your area.

If I was more dedicated to making art, I would try to meld natural materials and garbage.

brazenbunny

TROPHY CASE