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 police officer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label police officer. 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.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
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
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 |
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
DESTRESS FOR THE EMS TELECLASS INFORMATION FOR APRIL
Please join us this Wednesday morning, at 6 am Pacific time/9 am Eastern, April 29, 2009, for our Destress for the EMS (Emergency Medical Service) Teleclass. We will talk about how we can Destress by discussing our stressful habits that we have and turning them into successful practices.
Dial in Number 1-309-946-5100
Access code 205356#
Please be on time for class because there are limited number of lines. Although this class is free, long distance charges apply. If you miss this class, it will be available in our store within a few days for a small fee.
I am very excited about this class because stress in the EMS is very common and there is no reason anyone should not live with happiness, energy, and vitality. This is gonna be fun! I can't wait!
Elizabeth
Friday, March 6, 2009
HAVING LUNCH WITH OFFICERS
I was having lunch with three public safety officers today and something came to my mind. When there is a Critical Incident and the emergency personnel seek out help I see four things.
1) The department is the organizer of the intervention.
2) The personnel, almost always, say that they are fine and they don't know why they need to participate, at the beginning of the meeting.
3) Once we get started, and everyone is involved, the personnel are okay with, and perfectly willing to participate.
4) After the intervention, the camaraderie with the officers is very close and jovial.
There is, nearly always, resistance to this sort of intervention and I will share my theory with you as to why.
When emergency responders have a critical incident, they are sometimes unwilling to participate in the intervention because it is seen as a weakness to indicate needing help. These personnel are heroes, they help people for a living, and needing help is not seen as part of the role.
I have met thousands of emergency workers, and many of them are truly emotionally stable individuals but, sometimes, when they experience an extraordinary event, that may be deemed as critical, they may experience mild, moderate, or severe signs and symptoms of stress.
Everyday there are police officers, paramedics, fire fighters, and emergency personnel, including doctors and nurses, that experience critical incidents, and then they have signs and symptoms that affect their ability to cope with everyday life.
They experience lack of sleep, too much sleep, anger, irritability, moodiness, increase in unhealthy habits, anxiety, depression, and/or an increase in physical injuries or illnesses.
Sometimes, the most happy, emotionally stable person can experience disruption due to a critical incident, which is totally normal. We are human, we have emotions, and therefore, experience stress.
If you are having a hard time with signs and symptoms of stress, chances are you need assistance. With that assistance you can become you again. What I mean by that is, when we experience this stress, we do not feel like ourselves because our life seems disrupted.
For a free audio on stress management, please visit our store. And for help with your happiness, energy, and vitality, please visit our website and sign up for our free newsletter, and free teleclasses.
Don't forget to have fun and be playful, it is in your nature.
Elizabeth
1) The department is the organizer of the intervention.
2) The personnel, almost always, say that they are fine and they don't know why they need to participate, at the beginning of the meeting.
3) Once we get started, and everyone is involved, the personnel are okay with, and perfectly willing to participate.
4) After the intervention, the camaraderie with the officers is very close and jovial.
There is, nearly always, resistance to this sort of intervention and I will share my theory with you as to why.
When emergency responders have a critical incident, they are sometimes unwilling to participate in the intervention because it is seen as a weakness to indicate needing help. These personnel are heroes, they help people for a living, and needing help is not seen as part of the role.
I have met thousands of emergency workers, and many of them are truly emotionally stable individuals but, sometimes, when they experience an extraordinary event, that may be deemed as critical, they may experience mild, moderate, or severe signs and symptoms of stress.
Everyday there are police officers, paramedics, fire fighters, and emergency personnel, including doctors and nurses, that experience critical incidents, and then they have signs and symptoms that affect their ability to cope with everyday life.
They experience lack of sleep, too much sleep, anger, irritability, moodiness, increase in unhealthy habits, anxiety, depression, and/or an increase in physical injuries or illnesses.
Sometimes, the most happy, emotionally stable person can experience disruption due to a critical incident, which is totally normal. We are human, we have emotions, and therefore, experience stress.
If you are having a hard time with signs and symptoms of stress, chances are you need assistance. With that assistance you can become you again. What I mean by that is, when we experience this stress, we do not feel like ourselves because our life seems disrupted.
For a free audio on stress management, please visit our store. And for help with your happiness, energy, and vitality, please visit our website and sign up for our free newsletter, and free teleclasses.
Don't forget to have fun and be playful, it is in your nature.
Elizabeth
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