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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Showing posts with label first responders. Show all posts
Showing posts with label first responders. Show all posts
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
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
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.
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
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.
Monday, February 16, 2009
ACUTE STRESS DISORDER; TREATMENT
Cognitive behavioral therapy is the treatment that has met with the most success in combating ASD. It has two main components: First, it aims to change cognitions, patterns of thought surrounding the traumatic incident. Second, it tries to alter behaviors in anxiety-provoking situations.
Cognitive behavioral therapy not only ameliorates the symptoms of ASD, but also it seems to prevent people from developing post-traumatic stress disorder. The chance that a person diagnosed with acute stress disorder will develop PSTD is about 80 percent; the chance that they will develop PTSD after cognitive-behavioral therapy is only about 20 percent.
Psychological debriefing and anxiety management groups are two other types of therapy that have been examined for the treatment of ASD. Psychological debriefing involves an intense therapeutic invention immediately after the trauma, so that traumatized individuals can "talk it all out." In anxiety management groups, people share coping strategies and learn to combat stress together. However, both types of therapy have proven to be largely ineffectual for the treatment of ASD.
Sources:
- American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition
- Anxiety and Its Disorders: The nature and treatment of anxiety and panic (Guilford Press)
- Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology
- American Journal of Psychiatry
- Journal of Anxiety Disorders
- Journal of Traumatic Stress
- Journal of Clinical Psychiatry
- War Psychiatry: Textbook of Military Medicine
- Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
- National Institute of Mental Health
- National Center for PTSD
- Department of Health & Human Services
Friday, February 13, 2009
ACUTE STRESS DISORDER; CAUSES
When a fearful or threatening event is perceived, humans react innately to survive: They either are ready for battle or run away (hence the term "fight-or-flight response").
The nature of the acute stress response is all too familiar. Its hallmarks are an almost instantaneous surge in heart rate, blood pressure, sweating, breathing and metabolism, and a tensing of muscles. Enhanced cardiac output and accelerated metabolism are essential to mobilizing for fast action.
This explanation is thought to be in part a cause for anxiety disorders. Yet over the past decade, the limitations of the acute stress response as a model for understanding anxiety have become more apparent.
The first and most obvious limitation is that the acute stress response relates to arousal rather than anxiety.
Anxiety differs from arousal in several ways: First, with anxiety, the concern about the stressor is out of proportion to the realistic threat. Second, anxiety is often associated with elaborate mental and behavioral activities designed to avoid the unpleasant symptoms of a full-blown anxiety or panic attack. Third, anxiety is usually longer lived than arousal. Fourth, anxiety can occur without exposure to an external stressor.
Cognitive factors, especially the way people interpret or think about stressful events, play a critical role in the etiology of anxiety. A decisive factor is the individual's perception, which can intensify or dampen the response.
One of the most salient negative cognitions in anxiety is the sense of uncontrollability. It is typified by a state of helplessness due to a perceived inability to predict, control or obtain desired results. These are among the factors considered as causes of anxiety disorders such as acute stress disorder.
Sources:
The nature of the acute stress response is all too familiar. Its hallmarks are an almost instantaneous surge in heart rate, blood pressure, sweating, breathing and metabolism, and a tensing of muscles. Enhanced cardiac output and accelerated metabolism are essential to mobilizing for fast action.
This explanation is thought to be in part a cause for anxiety disorders. Yet over the past decade, the limitations of the acute stress response as a model for understanding anxiety have become more apparent.
The first and most obvious limitation is that the acute stress response relates to arousal rather than anxiety.
Anxiety differs from arousal in several ways: First, with anxiety, the concern about the stressor is out of proportion to the realistic threat. Second, anxiety is often associated with elaborate mental and behavioral activities designed to avoid the unpleasant symptoms of a full-blown anxiety or panic attack. Third, anxiety is usually longer lived than arousal. Fourth, anxiety can occur without exposure to an external stressor.
Cognitive factors, especially the way people interpret or think about stressful events, play a critical role in the etiology of anxiety. A decisive factor is the individual's perception, which can intensify or dampen the response.
One of the most salient negative cognitions in anxiety is the sense of uncontrollability. It is typified by a state of helplessness due to a perceived inability to predict, control or obtain desired results. These are among the factors considered as causes of anxiety disorders such as acute stress disorder.
Sources:
- American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition
- Anxiety and Its Disorders: The nature and treatment of anxiety and panic (Guilford Press)
- Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology
- American Journal of Psychiatry
- Journal of Anxiety Disorders
- Journal of Traumatic Stress
- Journal of Clinical Psychiatry
- War Psychiatry: Textbook of Military Medicine
- Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
- National Institute of Mental Health
- National Center for PTSD
- Department of Health & Human Services
Saturday, January 17, 2009
DREAMS
In the last post we talked about dreaming big and making it specific. Well, did you do it? Did you have any trouble? If you had trouble let us fix that right now. Get a pen and paper. Ready?
Let us begin the process of Destressing Yourself.
If I were a Magical Warrior Queen (I love the sound of that, sorry I tend to fantasize), I waved my magical wand over your head, you woke up the next morning, and your life was perfect, what would it look like?
Let me help a little more.
Where would you live?
Who would you live with?
What would you do for a living?
What would you do all day, every day?
What would you look like?
What kind of habits would you have?
What kind of habits would you eliminate?
Write the answers down! Let us create a miracle.
Don't just write general things like you would buy a house, be specific and write what the house looks like and where it is.
For each question above be specific.
Whether you want to dream big or small, whether you want to get rid of your anger or create happiness, whether you want to quit smoking or loose weight, whether you want to make money or be famous, you have it within you. You have the power to create your miracles. Decide what you want, today and let us begin the journey of destressing ourselves and making miracles.
We are setting goals so that we may move forward in life because if we are not moving forward we are moving backwards and that will cause stress. Let us set goals so that we have something to look forward to in life and so that we have something positive to focus on.
Your in the EMS and life may be easy or it may be hard, depending on where you are in life. Life tends to go in phases, easy sometimes and hard other times. Let us take responsibility for our lives and move towards a life we truly desire no matter where we are. We have the power.
Just a reminder, sign up for our free teleclass by signing up for our free weekly newsletter.
Have fun with this and keep it handy for the next post.
Don't forget to have fun and be playful, it is in your nature.
Elizabeth
Let us begin the process of Destressing Yourself.
If I were a Magical Warrior Queen (I love the sound of that, sorry I tend to fantasize), I waved my magical wand over your head, you woke up the next morning, and your life was perfect, what would it look like?
Let me help a little more.
Where would you live?
Who would you live with?
What would you do for a living?
What would you do all day, every day?
What would you look like?
What kind of habits would you have?
What kind of habits would you eliminate?
Write the answers down! Let us create a miracle.
Don't just write general things like you would buy a house, be specific and write what the house looks like and where it is.
For each question above be specific.
Whether you want to dream big or small, whether you want to get rid of your anger or create happiness, whether you want to quit smoking or loose weight, whether you want to make money or be famous, you have it within you. You have the power to create your miracles. Decide what you want, today and let us begin the journey of destressing ourselves and making miracles.
We are setting goals so that we may move forward in life because if we are not moving forward we are moving backwards and that will cause stress. Let us set goals so that we have something to look forward to in life and so that we have something positive to focus on.
Your in the EMS and life may be easy or it may be hard, depending on where you are in life. Life tends to go in phases, easy sometimes and hard other times. Let us take responsibility for our lives and move towards a life we truly desire no matter where we are. We have the power.
Just a reminder, sign up for our free teleclass by signing up for our free weekly newsletter.
Have fun with this and keep it handy for the next post.
Don't forget to have fun and be playful, it is in your nature.
Elizabeth
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