Six Signs of Stress in an EMT

Signs of stress in an EMT is what I would like to write about this day...

Hey, hey, how are you this wonderful day?  Tomorrow is Friday, but if you are in the Emergency Field that doesn't matter to you now does it?  Most people who work in the Emergency Arena work twenty four hours a day, and ten days a month, or twelve hours a day, three days one week, and four days the next.  Often times when you have a rotating schedule, you do not get holidays or weekends off when you want them.

Stress in the EMS is huge, I know, I worked in the Emergency Medical Field for twenty years, and now I help First Responders with their stress.  I also help Military Personnel with their anxiety and stress. 

My goal in this post is to encourage anyone, literally anyone, to seek help for their stress if you have one of the six signs of stress, as follows.

1. Addiction is reaching for something that we think will make us feel better but usually doesn't, something that we cannot quit, and normally has a very negative impact on our life.

2.  Anger is based on fear of not getting our way.  I know that sounds harsh but think of the last time you were angry.  It was probably a situation that happened one way, and you were angry because you believe it should have happened another way, your way.

3.  Anxiety is an enhanced state of worry about something, usually about the future.

4.  Depression is sadness about our life, and how it should be better because we are focusing on what is wrong, and what we don't have.

5.  Fatigue comes from physical stress, and mental stress.  When we overwork our body, and we have a super negative mind set, we become drained of our energy.

6.  Pessimism is displayed through a negative thought process, which causes stress because it is followed by negative emotions, and then negative actions.

If you have one of the above it is very important to seek help from someone who specializes in the Emergency Field, and has a high success rate.  Why is it important?  It is important because you are important, and if you don't do something about the stressful sign, it will become who you are.  The stressful sign that you experience will become part of your personality, if it is not already.

These are not necessarily Symptoms but they are definitely signs because you may not see them but others can.

Seek help my friend, and you will be able to enjoy you, and others more.

I would love to write solutions but instead I will provide you a copy of my EMS Stress Book for FREE...

This book is free for one day only, December 13, 2013, Friday the thirteenth, how funny is that?

If you are having a hard time financially, with work, with relationships, with sleeping, with your partner, with your anger, with your anxiety, with your addiction, with your depression, with your fatigue, or with your attitude, click the picture and download the EMS Stress Book for free.

If you want to feel happiness, joy, and laughter, then seek help, or start with the EMS Stress Book.

Have a great day, weekend, and holiday.

Merry Christmas...

Elizabeth

If you like what you read here, please subscribe to my blog by putting your email address in the box above, and don't forget to confirm.

If you need help email me, I would love to help you in anyway I can.

ABUNDANCE

THE ABC'S OF ABUNDANCE ;0)

Hello there!  How is your week so far?  Mine was excellent!  Life is great!  Everyday is a weekend to me.  I know, that probably sounds really arrogant but, if you could, wouldn't you make everyday a weekend?

If you love love, the way I love love, and if you found and lived your passion and purpose, everyday would be a weekend for you too.  No lie!

Moving on ;0)

Just in case you missed my last three posts, I wanted to give you the links because they are the ABC's of abundance.

Attitude

Believing

Courage

A positive attitude gives us peace, which is the opposite of stress and it promotes greater energy for the individual.  It takes energy to relieve stress and energy increases our self-confidence, self-esteem, and self-worth, which will increase our feelings of abundance.

When we believe in ourselves we eliminate doubt, fear, and worry, which are stress inducers.  Believing in ourselves allows us unlimited possibilities and a more abundant life.

When we have courage we can face our challenges and step out of our comfort zone.  Challenges and stepping out of our comfort zone makes us or breaks us, and if we have courage, we can, and will, create an abundant life.

Here is to your Abundant Life...  Today!  Focus on;

A positive attitude.

Believing in yourself.

Having courage.

And if you are brave enough, focus on these attributes for the next thirty, or more, days.

Bug Hugs...

Have fun!  Be playful!

Love you lots ;0)

Elizabeth

Subscribe to my blog by putting your email address in the box above, and you will receive updated posts.  Don't forget to confirm your subscription.

If you need help, email me, I would love to hear from you and help you in any way I can.

elizabethstanfill@gmail.com

;0)

THE WORST CRITICAL INCIDENTS

Hey there.  I have been involved with critical incidents for twenty years now because of my experience in the EMS, and for the last 13 years because of my education, experience, and expertise in CISM (Critical Incident Stress Managment).  If you are in the Emergency Service, a common question that is probably posed to you is, "What is the worst thing you have ever seen?"

According to the Emergency Medical Field, the top ten worst, or Terrible Ten are...

1.  Suicide of a colleague
2.  Line of duty death
3.  Serious line of duty injury
4.  Disaster/MCI
5.  Witnessed Police shooting and/or killing or wounding someone
6.  Significant event with children
7.  Relatives of known victims
8.  Prolonged incident especially with loss
9.  Excessive media interest
10.Any powerful and significant event deemed by the participant

According to the Law Enforcement Agencies the Terrible Ten are...

1.  Line of duty death
2.  Suicide of a colleague
3.  Serious work related injury
4.  Multi-casualty/disaster/terrorist event
5.  Events with a high degree of threat to the organizations personnel
6.  Significant events involving children
7.  Events in which the victim is known to the organizations personnel
8.  Events with excessive media interest
9.  Events that are prolonged and end with a negative outcome
10.  Any significant powerful, overwhelming event

This information is compiled via SOP's (Standard Operations Procedures) from several different agencies.

From my experience, and documentation, from the last 20 years, I have found to be the worst as follows...

1.  Death of a coworker who was a very good friend.
2.  Suicide of a coworker who was a very good friend.
3.  Responding on a call to a coworker, which resulted in a death.
4.  Very gruesome, multi-victim, high profile media case, with children involved.
5.  Responding to a family member that resulted in death.
6.  Responding to a coworker that involved serious illness, or injury.
7.  Responding to a call involving an acquaintance that resulted in death.
8.  Multi-victim death, high profile media case, with several witnesses to the call.
9.  Traumatic death of a child similar to own child's age.
10.Serious line of duty injury.

Why do I say that these are the worst?  It is because I have seen these incidents transpire personally, the majority of them I have done the actual intervention, and the worst is displayed by the lack of recovery by the individuals involved.  This is just my personal experience and humble opinion. 

Why do I post the Terrible Ten?  It is because I have seen, and still see, others who have not recovered from these types of incidents, and I want people to know that recovery is possible.  I know, with all my heart and soul, with out any doubt, that we can recover from these types of events.

If you do need recovery, what do you need recovery from?  When people suffer from critical incidents that affect them, they suffer from primarily emotional disarray like anger, anxiety, apprehension, depression, grief, guilt, irritability, panic, or moodiness.  They also suffer from cognitive disharmony like denial, difficulty making decisions, difficulty solving problems, disturbed thoughts, hyper-alertness, intrusive images, lack of faith in life, others, and oneself, lack of the ability to focus, memory loss, nightmares, or poor concentration.  Finally, they suffer from behavioral disorganization like avoidance, blaming, decrease/increase in appetite, decrease/increase in sleeping patterns, difficulty articulating, increase in alcohol/caffeine/drugs use/nicotine use, outburst, poor hygiene, restlessness, or withdrawal.

If you suffer from any of these difficulties, there is recovery.  What is recovery?  It is the act of returning to normal, or better yet, returning to yourself.

These signs and symptoms are not who you are!  When you overcome, or recover, from unhealthy reactions that are manifesting in your life, you destress yourself.

If you need help, email me, I would love to hear from you and help you in any way I can.  elizabethstanfill@gmail.com

;0)

Some things to think about.

BIG HUGS...

Elizabeth

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I'M READY TO TALK!

Hello my fellow emergency worker.  How are you this wonderful wonderful day?  I am super duper, the weather is great, the family is healthy, and I am happy. 

Well, I am ready to talk.  I have been in the Emergency field for 20 years now and I got some serious stories.  Stories as a young EMT, stories as an FTO (Field Training Officer), stories as a 911 Operations Supervisor, stories as a CISM (Critical Incident Stress Management) Peer Counselor, and stories as the CISM Coordinator for the Southern Pacific Region of the largest ambulance company in the United States.

Maybe you have noticed, I have only shared a few personal stories like 'MY FIRST TRAUMA AS AN EMT',  'MY CRITICAL INCIDENT AS AN EMT', and I discussed my very first psycho partner in the post, 'EMT STRESS FROM YOUR PARTNER'.  The reason I haven't wrote about my personal experiences so much is because I am very very reluctant.  I have a lot in my head, and I know that it affects me daily because I specialize in stress.  When you specialize in stress, you learn to relax, and that relaxed state provides a quiet mind, and a very aware mind of what you are thinking.

Boy do I have memories!  As I was meditating, I realized that I need to get these stories out of my head and onto paper, blog in this case.  I believe that it will be therapeutic for me, and I believe it could really help some of you out there who are having stress.  So, I wanna talk.

When I first started as an EMT, I worked at what everyone thought was a very prestigious company.  I was very honored to work there because many of my friends tried to apply, they couldn't get in, and I did.  It was a solemn declaration that I was very fortunate. 

At the time I was hired, there weren't any other females.  Within my first three to six months, I was sexually harassed, physically threatened, and verbally hazed.  Because I am an advocate for not taking any BS, and I grew up with all brothers who instilled in my mind to defend myself, there were a couple of people who suffered their own consequences by loosing their job.  This was not a very good way to begin my career and I was affected by it for the next couple of years.  Meaning, life was not easy with some individuals.  But, I survived!  MWA HA HA! ;0)

There were a few individuals who were very kind to me.  Some knew what was going on, and they went out of their way to make me feel welcome at work.

Pretty crazy, eh?  All of this 'stuff' I went through really enhanced my B*tch qualities. 

Looking back, what I learned is, I am one tough cookie who could handle a whole lotta lotta.  We are talking about working in a not so easy environment sometimes.  Although I was on an ambulance with a partner, who may have been really cool, depending on who it was, I still had to go to the stations and accept the way I would be received.

I am so very grateful for this experience because it taught me a lot about myself.  I learned that I could go through the appropriate channels, although it did not sit well with some supervisors, and get results when dealing with inappropriate behavior.  It taught me that not only do we have stress running calls on a busy day, but we also have a lot of stress in the work environment.  It taught me the beginning steps, and gave me glimpses on how to handle stress in the work place.  It also taught me to help others who had similar situations.

What I wish I would have done differently?  I wish I would have been less angry, and I wish I had not been such a B*tch at this time in my life.

How could I have done it differently?  I could have learned to not let things get to me so easily, and I could have learned to manage my anger better.  If I was more easy going and less angry, I would have enjoyed me more, I would have had better quality relationships, and I wouldn't have gotten so burned out so easily.

Anger and unkindness, towards yourself and others, is a very big part of burnout.

For all of you out there who are having a hard time because of your environment at work, there is a better way.  There is a way that we can not let others get to us, and there is a way that we can enjoy life even though others are so unkind they are making our surroundings unpleasant.

One of the most important things is to work on your own way of reacting.  We can react in better ways, we can overcome anger, and we can overcome unkindness.  When people are being unkind, we don't like it, and so why would we be unkind in turn?  Wouldn't that make us just like them?  That would be becoming what we don't like, right?

We can become more understanding to people's crazy crazy inappropriate behavior, recognize that they are inappropriate, and approach them with professional appropriate communication.  Never alone, by the way.  Always have a witness who is aware of the situation.

The first step to any conflict is to discuss it with the person.  If that doesn't work, you go through the appropriate channels.  Many of you will say, or think, ya right!  That's not how things are done, we do not snitch.  Ya well, if you don't take care of it others may not ever become aware, and the behavior may never stop.

Lastly, one of life's greatest lessons is, learn to not let people get to you.  Now I am not talking about holding it in and festering with anger, and not showing it.  I am talking about knowing that their behavior has nothing to do with you, it has everything to do with their ability, or inability rather, to be appropriate and professional.  They are just not smart enough to know how to treat people right?  I was guilty of that by being a B.  Get it?

No longer do I let people get to me.  Well, maybe sometimes for a minute or so, but then I am over it.

You can do this as well!  I know you can!  You got the power within you!

By not letting people get to you is how you destress yourself.  You do not destress yourself by changing the other person or controlling their behavior, all be it bad behavior.  You destress yourself by changing and mastering your thoughts, feelings, and actions.  That is the school of life, getting better and better at mastering your self-confidence, your happiness, and your success. 

Hopefully, my story has helped you.  If it has or you have a comment or question please post a comment below.

Stay tuned for more of my self therapy with stories.  Be advised, they may get a little gruesome at times.  Oh, your in the EMS, you enjoy that ;0)

Have a great day!  Big Hugs!

Elizabeth

email me, elizabethstanfill@gmail.com, I would love to hear from you and help you anyway I can.

WHY I AM NOT A THERAPIST!

Hello there.  HAPPY NEW YEAR! Am gonna keep saying that for the whole month.

As we embark on our New Year and become New again, I would like to talk a lil about myself.  How vein!  I know. ~giggle

I love to serve, I love to help, and I love to show people their greatest potential especially when they have never seen it.  I love to bring people from crisis to calm, I love to help people overcome burnout and create happiness, energy, and vitality, and I love to assist people in discovering how to eliminate their stress with permanent stress relief.

I do not love therapists and I do not have a whole lotta confidence in the therapy process.

There are several reasons why I am not a therapist and why I am not a lover of the therapy.  It all began back when I was getting my Masters in Counseling at the Uni.  As I was completing my Masters Program, I was lucky enough to participate in an internship at the Counseling Center at the Uni, and this is what I discovered...

Most people who go to counseling, in my experience, do not want to help themselves.  There are about one in ten that will not take the victim stance and really focus on improving their situation.  That is only 10%.  In addition, I believe with all my heart and soul, that people who go to Counseling are having a hard time with life because they just never learned how to handle the stress of life.  No one taught them how to relieve their stress, and so they get in a place of trouble.

About the victim stance.  What I mean by this is, when someone is having a hard time with life but won't look at themselves and their personal challenges. They tend to blame others and life for their misfortune.  They sometimes get so caught up in their anger, anxiety, and/or depression they cannot, and will not believe they can do anything about it because they believe it is the fault of others, and the faulty world they live in.

Another reason for my reasons is most students who want to become Therapists are really unsound themselves.  It is my humble opinion, and experience, that the students that I knew in school had their own issues to deal with, were still quite adolescent, and usually didn't like themselves or their clients.  How can you help your clients if you are troubled and you don't even like your clients?

Another reason for my reasons is, most teachers that are teaching people to be Therapists are dubious and perplexed.  Now this again is only my opinion.  The sad part about all of this is I use to look up to Professors and thought they were brilliant until I really got to know some of mine during my Masters.  OUCH!  Harsh, I know.

Another reason, most Therapists are unbalanced.  Again, my opinion.  As a student in the Counseling Program, I had to participate in my own counseling for 30 hours.  Lord have mercy, it was not an easy task to find one that didn't have issues.  The really good ones, that were referred, were all booked up, and weren't available for the entire year.

Searching for my own therapist took about thirteen tries.  When I would call the Therapist to make an appointment, I had certain questions that I would ask to make sure they would meet my criteria.  The majority of them got offended or became arrogant like, "How dare you ask me that."  Crazy, huh?

To me, arrogance is ignorance, and getting offended when someone asks you a question is quite adolescent.  It is totally appropriate and professional to ask questions, it is called communicating.

One last thing.  The Uni neglected to tell me, and I failed to find out, that a Therapist makes thousands of dollars less than I was already making.  All though this is a disappointment, totally my fault, money is not the factor in my decision on helping people, it is a good side note though. 

Now, I am not a Therapist just because of the lack of money, I am not a Therapist mostly because I really want to serve and I really want to help people.  If people who come to therapy need ways to relieve stress but don't really want help, I don't see how I can accomplish my mission.  When I am financially strapped, I don't necessarily see how I can progress and help others either. 

This is all my choice, and my opinion.  No offense to the good Therapists out there.  You know who you are.

MY DISCLAIMER...  I do believe that there are good therapists out there, and I do believe that therapy can help, it's just not for me, and the above statement is just me utilizing my freedom of expression of my opinion.

Why am I telling you all of this?  Because I want you to know a lot about me and because what I do is not therapy, it is education.

Moreover, maybe you need help with your situation and I want you to see, if you are having a hard time with life, it may just be that you haven't mastered the art of stress relief.  When you are in the Emergency Field, you can see things that are so abnormally out of the ordinary, your mind may have a very difficult time dealing with, and enduring it.

Additionally, many people who come to me for help take the victim stance, in that they believe that they cannot do anything about their situation because of others' behaviors, and how horrible life is.  If that is true for you, you must know, there are thousands of people that I know of, and probably millions out there, who are doing business with some serious stress and are learning to destress themselves by looking at their own thoughts, feelings, and actions and trading them for more successful ones. 

Their are a couple of people that call or text me, now and again, who take the victim stance, and for the life of me, I want to help them but, like addicted individuals, you can't help someone if they won't let you.  They want their external circumstances to change, and will not change themselves within.  They want to call me and wallow in their misery, instead of doing something about it.  They know everything, they are unwilling to listen to anyone else and their point of view, and they don't want to do anything for their self-improvement.

Sounds like I am complaining.  Maybe I am, maybe I'm not but, what I say is all true, in my opinion ;0)  Being the victim is not bad, it is quite normal, because we all do it, just some do it more than others.  We all do the victim dance in certain circumstances.  I am like that on certain things, and I was one of the worst victims in my past.  Some how, some way, I saw the light, and I am a lot less victimy than I use to be. ~giggle

Those who are willing to help themselves can make a better life.

If you are having a hard time with life, your career, your relationship, or any other aspect of being, and you want it to get better, I invite you to email me, and see what we can do.  I would love to hear from you and help you in any way I can.

elizabethstanfill@gmail.com

Elizabeth

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Happy New Year!!!

Hey there, Happy New Year my fellow Emergency Worker!  It is my hope that you had an easy New Years Eve transition into the New Year.  The reason I say that is when I worked out in the field, I had some seriously busy shifts on the Holidays, especially when I worked around Pasadena because of the Rose Parade.  I remember one year, there were not enough resources, and my partner and I were running calls by ourselves without the Fire Department or PD.  It was exciting and fun, but taxing.

Let's talk about the New Year.

It is my opinion that a good way to start the year for Emergency Personnel, is to evaluate our own stress.  This is a practice I have been implementing for many, many years, for myself, and with others.

One approach to this practice is to notice negative emotions that may be dominant in your life.  For example, if you are frequently angry, bitter, or irritable then you are right smack dab in the middle of stress.

There are three kinds of stress and they are general, cumulative (also known as burnout), and critical.  Any one of these can be acute or chronic. 

General stress is every day stress when you have to deal with a busy, tight schedule, and you are trying to get everything done so that you can make every body happy.  This type of stress may include responsibilities that could drain your energy.

Cumulative stress, also known as Burnout, is when you are exhausted, cynical, and often times very ineffective because of the burn out.

Critical stress is when you have a crisis or a critical incident that affects your ability to function productively within your typical responsibilities. 

All of these types of stress are very common amongst Emergency Responders.

These types of stress' are not necessarily caused by our circumstances, the causes are more from our reactions. 

Examples...

General stress; let's say you are strapped financially.  The finances are not the stress, the reaction of fear of the outcome to the finances cause the stress.

Cumulative stress; let's say you have been exhausted emotionally, mentally, physically, or spiritually for weeks now.  The exhaustion is not the stress, it is our beliefs, and behaviors, that are causing the exhaustion.  Therefore, the beliefs, and behaviors, are our reactions to our circumstances that are creating the stress.

Critical stress; let's say you had a very gruesome fatality call, and the patient/victim was the same age as someone in your family that is really close to you.  For weeks, the call plays out in your mind, over and over, you have nightmares about it, and you start to have anger, anxiety, depression, or serious apprehension.  The stress is not the call, it is created by the reaction in the mind, and thus the negative emotions.

The best way to explain it is, when we have circumstances that are less than desirable in our life, if we tend to worry, and then think about the worst possible outcome, we cause ourselves stress.  If we tend to focus on the solution, and have faith that there won't be any problems, we cause ourselves comfort.  See the difference?

Many of you already know this, and it may be just a reminder, but what I am trying to say is, if you have negative emotions, it is coming from your thoughts of doubt, fear, or worry.  If you can figure out what you are afraid of, you can change your thoughts into faith.  It's just a thought, and we can choose any thoughts we want.

So, in order to evaluate your stress, notice any negative emotions, figure out what your afraid of in your circumstances, stop thinking about the worst possible outcome, focus on a solution, have faith that you can do the things you need to do, and wallah, you destress yourself.

It is a great way to start the year.  If you need help, overcoming your stress, and creating confidence, certainty, and faith, take my How To Destress Yourself Class, it will help you overcome stressful habits that are causing negative emotions.

Start your New Year out right!

Speak soon...

Elizabeth

Subscribe to my blog by putting your email address in the box above, and you will receive updated posts.  Don't forget to confirm your subscription.

If you need help, email me, I would love to hear from you and help you in any way I can.

elizabethstanfill@gmail.com

Or, you can download one of my products to help destress yourself

If you really need to destress yourself, take the class

:D

DO YOU QUIET YOUR MIND?

Hello there, Happy Monday!!!

 

How are you doing today, this lovely Monday?

 

I hope you are doing GRRREAT!  Life is GRRREAT!  Isn't it?

 

Got a question!  Do you quiet your mind?

 

What I am asking is do you meditate or do you practice deep relaxation?

 

What does it mean to quiet your mind?  It means to stop the obsessive thinking of thoughts of worry about the future or regrets about the past.  It means to stop thinking and take your focused mind out of your thoughts and into this moment.

 

Why would you quiet your mind?  The reason I quiet my mind is so that I can be still and know God.  I have always known that God is in the stillness of my thoughts.  That is a Big statement and it is really hard to explain.  It is something that you would know and understand if you quieted your mind.

 

Let me try to explain, just a little better.  When you worry about your bills, or your weight, or your relationships, or your future, that is not God speaking to you.  God is not worry, God is in your faith.  "Be still and know that I am God."  "Have faith."  Are the things that I am trying to explain.

 

When you are obsessing about your relationship with your significant other, or your crazy boss, or the person at work that is mean to you, or the person at school who had the nerve to say certain things to you, or about your kids and their behavior, that is not God speaking to you. 

 

When you are quiet, in the stillness, you can and will hear that still small voice that God speaks from.

 

When I meditate, better known as quieting my mind, I know that is where God is, in my mind, I mean.  I am not saying that is the only place God is because He is everywhere.  What I am saying is you can see, hear, smell, and just notice the beauty in things, and in yourself, when you quiet your mind often. 

 

That beauty is where you can see God.  The beauty of His creations.

 

If you have doubt, fear, worry, or you have obsessive thoughts that you think over and over again, hour after hour, day, after day, you will benefit from quieting your mind.  These obsessive thoughts that you are having stem from a stressful habit of a racing mind or an obsessive thought pattern. 

 

If you quiet your mind you can replace that stressful habit of obsessive thinking with a successful practice.

 

It's all about destressing yourself!  Quiet your mind, make it a practice, and then wallah!  You will replace your stressful habit.

 

Easy?  Maybe, maybe not.  It's all in your beliefs.  I have seen people change slowly, over time, and I have seen people change in an hour. 

 

Try my audio, Deep Relaxation.  Listen to it every evening, before you go to bed, and then just notice your ability to relax.  Notice your ability to relax any time and any where.  Make it a conscious change and you will see the beauty in the moment without your over active mind.

 

But please, don't believe me.  Try it for yourself.

 

That's all I got friend!

 

Have a great week and don't forget to have fun and be playful.

 

BIG HUGS...

 

Elizabeth

EMAIL RESPONSES TO, "HOW DO I DESTRESS MYSELF?"

Holey Moley Guacamole Avocado Sauce. 

I have received a ton of emails in response to the last post, "HOW DO I DESTRESS MYSELF?"

I have received emails regarding job loss, unable to get a job, loosing a home, loosing a loved one, having a hard time with the boss, depression, anxiety, chronic fatigue, anger towards a spouse, anger towards an ex-spouse, problems with a child, having a hard time with weight control, and...even...sexual frustration.

As I read these emails, I was going to answer them each individually but, the main theme was that these individuals disagreed with me.  They either disagreed with me on that they cannot control their thoughts, they do not have a choice in their thinking, they do not think their stress comes from their thoughts, or that they don't need to change their thoughts.

So, basically, I have been disagreed with on each one of the points I made last post.

What it all boils down to is this, if you do not or cannot believe or wrap your mind around the concept that you are the boss of you, that you are the only thinker of your thoughts, or that you have a choice to choose the way you think, then you will have to live in the state that you are living until you do.

I don't know what else to say.  The thing is, the reason I am not a therapist, or a counselor anymore is because I cannot help people who do not want to be helped, which is the majority of people who are in therapy. 

I am not knocking therapy, it has helped so many people.  What I am saying is, that I help people who want help.  I help people who are willing to open their mind and let new ideas in.

This is education, not therapy, and so if you want to learn more about stress, you can learn it here. 

Stress is NOT caused by your situation or the people you are upset with.  Stress is caused by your thought process about what is happening to you. 

Yes, stress is a part of life and I don't know anyone who lives stress free, not even me lol, but you can reduce any stress you have by changing habitual stressful reactions, which begins with your thought process.

It is not my intention to be unkind, I am trying to be a loving confronter.  If you know me now, you know that I have nothing but love for you or anyone I meet.  I love you!  I love people!  I have nothing but love in my heart.

Please, if you want help, it has to start with you.  With you choosing to open your mind to a new way of thinking.  Listen to your destress yourself specialist, and I say that with a wink and a smile.  I have helped and help thousands of people, all over the world, and I know I can help you.

Give yourself a chance, check out my audio on HOW TO DESTRESS YOURSELF, it will change your life.

Have a great day and don't forget to have fun and be playful.

Speak soon...

Elizabeth

ps  thanks for the emails, I LOVE IT!!!

STRESSFUL EMOTIONAL HABITS

When we think of habits we think of food, cigarettes, alcohol, or drugs. We can also add caffeine, shopping, and sex to that list. These are obvious habits that we are well aware of and know the consequences if we continue.

Another habit that may be evaluated is our emotions. When we are presented with a stressful situation it may be a habit to feel fear or worry.

Some people may even react to stressful situations with anger, frustration, or irritability. These emotions are the cause of our stress. For example, when we are working on the car or working on the house and the job gets difficult we may get angry, frustrated, or irritable. Sound familiar? This is a habit that we have of reacting to certain situations and it is the source of our stress.

Another example may be, when we have something big that breaks down like a car, washer or dryer, air conditioner, or a water heater and we don't have the money to pay for it we may feel fear or worry. This is another habit that we may have of reacting to circumstances that is the culprit of our stress.

When we become aware of our habitual reactions of our emotions we can take responsibility and change these habits for the better. If we get angry or irritable often, we may have created habits of anger and irritability, which can be changed through education.

Awareness is the number one key. If we are aware of these negative emotional reactions we can take responsibility and change these emotions to the opposite.

We can change anger, frustration, or irritability to patience and tolerance.

We can change doubt, fear, and worry to confidence, security, and hope.

It is not necessary to get angry, frustrated, or irritable. It is not necessary to have doubt, fear, or worry. We can take control of our reactions.

Sounds simple but is not necessarily easy. The hard part is the 20, 30, 40, or more years of the tendency to react this way.

What can we do to destress our negative habits of reacting?

The first key is awareness. Like an addict we cannot get help unless we think we need help.

The next step is to talk to a professional or read a book on anger or stress, bibliotherapy is one of the best ways to change.

Another great way of being aware of our emotions is being aware of our thoughts because it is the thought that we are having that causes our feelings.

And finally, never ending goal setting of changing our habits. If we want to change behavior that we have had for years it may take some time and hard work. Never ending goal setting is the way to move forward. If we don't move forward we are stagnant, if we are stagnant our problems get bigger, if our problems get bigger that causes an increase in our stress.

If you get angry, frustrated, or irritable frequently, or even once in a while, you are creating great stress on yourself mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually.  Make it a goal to stop your negative emotions and replace them with positive one's like calmness, happiness, satisfaction, and even temperedness (I think I just made a word).

You can discover your stressful habits by destressing yourself. When you destress yourself you learn to change your stressful thoughts, feelings, actions, and attitudes to more successful thoughts, feelings, actions, and attitudes, which means changing stressful habits into successful practices.

Any questions???  Comment below, or email me, elizabethstanfill@gmail.com.

Have a super duper week, and don't forget to have fun and be playful.

Elizabeth

OF COURSE IT'S STRESS!!!

If something is wrong with your physical body, there is a high probability that you are stressed.  Stress is the number one cause of EVERY illness.  Stress lowers the immune system.

What causes stress?  Most people think that stressful events cause our stress but actually, what causes stress is how we react to and think about the event.

For example, death is a very stressful event, wouldn't you say?  What causes the level of stress, in this situation, really depends on how a person reacts to and thinks about death.  If one person thinks that there is no life, NOTHING, after death and he or she will never see their deceased loved one again, their stress level will be significantly high.  If another person thinks that there is life after death and they will see their deceased loved one again, after their own death, their stress level will be significantly lower than the first individual.  We must also take into account how well the person deals with stress.

I have recently seen this particular reaction.  Recently, two friends of mine have experienced the death of a close loved one.  The first person, we will call him Fort (I don't know anyone named Fort, he he he), lost his spouse, and the second person, we will call him Hub (I don't know anyone named Hub either, ha ha ha), lost his long-time significant other (never married in other words).  Fort has a strong faith in the plan of salvation, believes in eternal marriage, and handles stress very well.  Hub, on the other hand, has faith in God, but not a very strong faith, and is horrible at handling stress. 

Immediately during and after each funeral service Fort was strong and happy, celebrating his deceased spouse's life and Hub was very miserable, and displaying illnesses like headaches and abdominal problems.  There is a lot more to these stories than what I have shared but the foundation of it all is this; Fort has faith and handles stress well therefore, his stress was very low.  Hub has not so strong faith and handles stress not so good therefore, his stress level is high and he sustained illnesses.

The purpose of this post is to show you that 1) your level of stress is not caused by your situation 2) your level of stress is caused by how you think about your situation (FAITH) and how you react to your situation and 3)  stress does, and will, cause severe illnesses if you do not learn how to destress yourself. 

If you are dealing with a physical illness, I know that if you learn how to destress yourself (which just means to think and react differently than you do to stressful situations) you can overcome your illness, I know this because I have seen it happen time and time again.  Many people have come to me with headaches, stomach problems, muscle aches, anxiousness, sadness, neck pain, back pain, and many many other problems, and once they learned to destress they overcame!  On the same note, many people never learn to overcome their stressful habits of doubt, fear, and worry and they continue to sustain their illnesses and they get worse.

YOU GOT THE POWER!  YOU CAN LEARN TO DESTRESS YOURSELF AND CREATE GREAT HEALTH, HAPPINESS, ENERGY, AND VITALITY!  I AM A WITNESS TO THAT!

CLICK HERE FOR EMS STRESS BOOK

EMT STRESS

Hey there!  How are you this BeaUtiFul Friday?  I hope you are enjoying your day!

I got a couple questions for you.  What is stress?  What does the word 'stress' mean to you?  Does it mean that you are going through something difficult?  Does it mean you are going through something you are unable to handle?  Is stress your situation?  Is it your job?  Your boss?  Your spouse?  Your kids?

What does stress mean to you? 

The reason I ask these questions is because many people have the illusion that stress is a person or a situation and if they aren't experiencing something they believe they are not stressed. 

Often times when I ask a person if they are stressed out, they say yes, and blame it on a person or a situation, or they tell me they have no stress at all.

Recently, I was working with this medic who was having anxiety attacks.  I asked her what she was stressing over and she said she has no stress. 

YOO HOO!  HAVING ANXEITY ATTACKS IS STRESS!!!

After exploring a little more, we discovered she had tons of stress.

She was sleeping very little, she was eating unhealthy, processed, fast foods on a regular basis and she was suffering from very low self esteem. 

These are all very stressful habits because stress is strain.  Stress is not a person or circumstances we are going through, it is caused by the strain we put on ourselves emotionally, mentally, and physically.

This medic had stress because she was putting strain on herself physically through lack of sleep and unhealthy eating habits and she was putting emotional and mental strain on herself through all of the unhealthy thoughts she was creating through her low self-esteem.

Lack of sleep and unhealthy eating habits weigh on you because it takes energy to sustain yourself through out your day.  Your body needs rest and nourishment to maintain it's healthy immune system.  When we do not take care of our bodies we cause physical stress.

Emotional strain comes from our mental process.  If we think that we aren't good enough we start to worry about that and we begin to feel anxiety or depression.  Worry is mental strain (or stress), and anxiety and depression are emotional strain (or stress). 

When we have emotional, mental, or physical stress we are unhappy.  Learn to destress yourself by eliminating your strain so that you may experience happiness, energy, and vitality which truly is HAPPINESS!!!

One of the best ways to discover your stress is to look at how well you are taking care of yourself emotionally, mentally, or physically.  Discover one thing that you can change in any of these areas, make it a goal to change it, and watch yourself make a shift in destressing yourself.

That's all I got.

Have a great weekend!

Until next post, don't forget to have fun and be playful.

Elizabeth

Destress Yourself By Eliminating Doubt And Creating Faith

I would like to ask you if you believe you can?  What I mean is, do you believe that you have the ability to accomplish any goal you set your mind to, with ease and comfort?

Ask yourself, "Do I have the ability to accomplish any goal I set my mind to, with ease and comfort?

I BELIEVE!!!  I believe you do and I believe I do.

In order to accomplish any goal that we set, we must believe that we can.  So many people set goals and never accomplish them because deep down inside their self-confidence and self-esteem are so low that they do not believe it is possible.

It may sound simple and it may sound silly but it is true.

When you say to yourself, "I have the ability to accomplish any goal I set my mind to, with ease and comfort."  Do you think and feel like you do?  Do you think and feel that this is true?

A big part of Destressing Yourself is eliminating doubt and creating faith in yourself, others, and in life.

So, when you make the statement above you should believe it, believe that you can.  If you don't believe that you can, say to yourself, "I have the ability to accomplish any goal I set my mind to, with ease and comfort."

Now, write it down, memorize it, say it to yourself often, and say it until you believe it.

Do this my friend, and I guarantee, if you don't believe it, you will.  You gotta have faith!

If you would like to learn more about having faith in yourself, others, and in life, please join me for our FREE Teleclass this month on meditations, affirmations, and visualization.  These three habits will help you accomplish any goal you set your mind to.  In addition, these habits will assist you in increasing your self-confidence.

Meet you there!

Have a wonderful week!!!

Don't forget to have fun and be playful!

Please email me if you have any questions, I would love to hear from you.

If you have not, please add me as a friend on facebook, Elizabeth M. Stanfill.

Elizabeth Stanfill
destressyourself.com
destressyourself.blogspot.com
661-877-7800
elizabeth@destressyourself.com

FREE Learning To Relax Audio

Hey everyone,

I just posted my last Teleclass, Learning To Relax, for FREE at destressyourself.com.

Check it out, you can listen now or right click to download it to your computer.

I hope you enjoy....


Elizabeth

DSM-IV-TR CRITERIA FOR PTSD PART I

DSM-IV-TR CRITERIA FOR PTSD

In 2000, the American Psychiatric Association revised the PTSD diagnostic criteria in the fourth edition of it's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR).  The diagnostic criteria (Criteria A-F) are specified below.

Diagnostic criteria for PTSD include history of exposure to a traumatic event meeting two criteria and symptoms from each of three symptoms clusters:  intrusive recollections, avoidant/numbing symptoms, and hyper-arousal symptoms.  A fifth criterion concerns duration of symptoms and a sixth assesses functioning.

CRITERION A:  STRESSOR

The person has been exposed to a traumatic event in which both of the following have been present:

1.  The person has experienced, witnessed, or been confronted with an event or events that involve actual or threatened death or serious injury, or a threat to the physical integrity of oneself or others.

2. The person's response involved intense fear, helplessness, or horror.  Note:  In children, it may be expressed instead by disorganized or agitated behavior.

CRITERION B:  INTRUSIVE RECOLLECTIONS

The traumatic event is persistently re-experienced in at least one of the following ways:

1.  Recurrent and intrusive distressing recollections of the event, including images, thoughts, or perceptions.  Note:  in young children, repetitive play may occur in which themes or aspects of the trauma are expressed.

2.  Recurrent distressing dreams of the event.  Note:  in children, there may be frightening dreams without recognizable content.

3.  Acting or feeling as if the traumatic event were recurring (includes a sense of reliving the experience, illusions, hallucinations, and dissociative flashbacks episodes, including those that occur upon awakening or when intoxicated).  Note:  in children, trauma-specific reenactment may occur.

4.  Intense psychological distress at exposure to internal or external cues that symbolizes or resemble an aspect of traumatic event.

5.  Physiological reactivity upon exposure to internal or external cues that symbolize or resemble an aspect of the traumatic event.

CRITERION C:  AVOIDANT/NUMBING

Persistent avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma and numbing of general responsiveness (not present before the trauma), as indicated by at least three of the following:

1.  Efforts to avoid thoughts, feelings, or conversations associated with the trauma.

2.  Efforts to avoid activities, places, or people that arouse recollections of the trauma.

3.  Inability to recall an important aspect of the trauma.

4.  Markedly diminished interest or participation in significant activities.

5.  Feeling detachment or estrangement from others.

6.  Restricted range of affect (e.g., unable to have loving feelings).

7.  Sense of foreshortened future (e.g., does not expect to have a career, marriage, children, or a normal life span).


REFERENCES

American Psychiatric Association, (2000).  Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-IV-TR (Fourth ed.).  Washington D.C.:  American Psychiatric Association.

Acute Stress, Critical Incident Stress, or Post Traumatic Stress

When I was in 5th grade I experienced a trauma that caused my PTSD.  Although I did not know that I had PTSD, I did discover that years later.

When in my 20's, when I was an Emergency Medical Technician, my PTSD just got worse.  I experienced several traumas, through the calls I ran, and my signs and symptoms really made it hard to handle life.  I was literally hanging on my a thread most of the time.

My behavior was very bizarre to me and I had little control and so I started to see therapists.  I had met several therapists, who seemed crazy themselves, and finally settled on one female who had not been in her field that long.

After some therapy sessions she diagnosed me as having acute stress disorder because of this little girl who died in my arms, at the hospital, as I was moving her over onto the hospital gurney.

This little girl had a disease that if you touched her or handled her too hard her bones would break.  She was about 9 or 10, I think, which was the same age as my son at the time.

There were so many circumstances that made this event so traumatic, and critical, because it was a Critical Incident.

First, I knew the patient and her Father, who happened to be there, because I had transported her several times before.

Second, she was the same age as my son.

Third, we could not perform CPR because she was a DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) and therefore, we felt helpless. 

Fourth, when we were going Code 3 while transporting her, it was rush hour traffic in the morning in Los Angeles and that created a severe delay in getting her to the hospital.  More helplessness.

Finally, her father was crying, the kind of painful crying like someone suffering like you never heard them suffer before.  He was also tugging on me and begging me to do something and I could not.

Even as I write this now, I feel the pain and I cry.

I am grateful for the therapist who helped me recognize my reactions to this event even though, knowing what I know now and looking back, this was not the incident that caused my PTSD.  This incident was just one that made my signs and symptoms worse.

In my thirties, after I received my Bachelors in Behavior Science and my Masters in Counseling, I became a Critical Incident Stress Management Counselor and I trained other Peer Counselors.  This experience, with my education, helped me see how so many Emergency Workers and hear about incidents that may, or may not of caused, their PTSD.

You see, when we are in the Emergency Field, we see so many traumas that it is difficult to tell what caused our signs and symptoms of stress whether it be Acute, Critical, or Post Traumatic.  Another factor is, we also lived life before being in the Emergency Field, and from that life we had stress before we experienced our new found stress.

What I am trying to say is, sometimes we have to look at our past, beyond our life in the Emergency Field, before we can truly discover all of the answers.

Caution!!!  If you work with a Counselor or Therapist who does not have a lot experience with Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) or PTSD they can truly make things worse by mixing your past with your present.  Make sure that if you see someone that they have extensive experience working with Emergency Personnel or the Military, with trauma.  The best resource is to get a referral from someone who has had success with a therapist concerning this type of stress.

If you are having a hard time living life and/or people are having a hard time being around you, get some help.

I you need help, please email me at elizabethstanfill@gmail.com, and we can create some intervention and direction for you.

I hope this is helpful!

Until next post...

Elizabeth

CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE EMS STRESS

ANGER AND IRRITABILITY IN THE EMERGENCY FIELD

Anger and Irritability in the Emergency Field


When I was in my twenties, I worked as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) for a very prestigious private ambulance company. This company was very hard to get into, compared to the other companies. It was so hard to get into that no one else in my graduating class of EMT's made it in, I was the only one, and I was very lucky.

The only unfortunate thing about this company was that I was the only female. Back in those days, many men did not like females in the Emergency Field. Needless to say, there were many very cranky individuals. Looking back, and knowing what I know about stress now, I realize that many of those cranky individuals were not cranky because of me. Those individuals were cranky because they were miserable people.

Now that I am in my forties, as I look back through my years in the Emergency Field, as an EMT and as a Counselor, I realize that misery is a habit, a very stressful habit.

As I look back there were EMT's, Paramedics, Emergency Room Nurses, Emergency Room Doctors, Police Officers, and Fire fighters that were very angry and irritable. Matter of fact, I remember thinking to myself, when I first started in the field, that there were more angry and irritable people in the Emergency Field than in the general population.

I use to ask myself, "why are there so many angry emergency personnel?"

That is an excellent question, don't you think? This is not to demean or criticize Emergency Personnel, it is to discuss possibilities so that we can create solutions for those who are having a hard time with anger and irritability.

There are one of two reasons why people in the Emergency Field are angry or irritable. The first reason is that they were that way before they became a first responder. The second reason is, something happened to cause them to change who they were. What I mean by that is, something happened, whether it was a traumatic call, a critical incident, or a habit they picked up from another worker or partner, that made them angry and irritable when they were a happier person previously.

If you are in the Emergency Field and you are angry, moody, or irritable, I know from personal experience that it can be fixed. If it really matters to you why you are angry or irritable then you should definately find out. It is not necessary to know the cause to overcome it.

Although, if you have Acute Stress Disorder or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, it may help to know the source of your emotional state so that the process of healing may move forward.

Never the less, if you want to overcome your negative emotional state, it is totally possible. The way we react emotionally is a habit and much like an addiction. A habit is something that we do, that is hard to stop, or we don't want to stop. An addiction, in my mind, is something that we do, that we do not believe we need to quit, or we do not believe we can quit.

The best way to change a habit or overcome an addiction is through information and education. In my store, on my website, there are many different audios that you can download that will help you learn to overcome anger or irritability.

We have free podcasts about Basic Stress Management, Critical Incident Stress Management, and Stress Relief for the Emergency Personnel.

Learning Deep Relaxation is very helpful because with practice you can learn to relax anywhere at anytime. Deep Relaxation is a very successful practice.

We have audios that help with creating positive emotions like feeling gratitude and feeling love, that will assist in overcoming the negative emotions of anger.

We also have an audio on learning to destress yourself in a minute, another exercise, when pracitced often, that will create a successful practice in order to overcome stressful habits.

And finally, our most popular audio, How to Destress Yourself. This audio is a four part class. It is designed for economic, as well as time convenience. This audio will help with basic and advanced stress management so that happiness, energy, and vitality may be created. This class helps individuals understand and overcome many negative emotions.

Well, I hope that is helpful...

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns please email me elizabeth@destressyourself.com

or

comment below...

Have a great day! Have a great week! Have a great month! Have a great year! And most of all, have a great life. You got the power.

Don't forget to have fun and be playful, it's in your nature.

Elizabeth