Emily's Page

Posted by Emily on December 3rd, 2007 at 5:57pm
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I have recently discovered I like working puzzles. When I was growing up, I hated puzzles. I couldn't get the pieces to work, and did not have the patience to figure it out. Now, I work puzzles during Activity therapy (AT) at work (working on an inpatient psych unit). I am not in charge, so I can come in, sit, and work the puzzle without worrying about telling people how to paint thier birdhouse. It is almost like I become a real person to patients. They start to talk about things that they will never say during my group or individual therapy, and can ignore the idea that I am evaluating them, so they loosen up and talk about what their life is really like.

The other benefit to puzzle working is instant gratification - I know when a piece fits (as long as I can actually get one to go in). Most of the time, I cannot tell 100% if someone is getting better. I never know if they are really going to make it after discharge, and they typically go back to the same environment which contributed to them being in the hospital to begin with. I love being able to tell that I actually accomplished something during my day.

My favorite discovery about puzzles is that they work wonders as a diversion at a family gathering - I was able to avoid the card games (which are really more like a war) and still participate in the family fun, while my cousin and I spent some quality time putting Miss Piggy and Kermit together. All in all, a good time was had by the puzzle workers. The card players may recover in time to play during the Christmas gathering. I am hoping to get a new puzzle for Christmas for that reason.