CRITICAL INCIDENT STRESS AND SOME SOLUTIONS
STRESS MANAGEMENT TIPS
This information will help you identify if you have been through a particularly stressful event or an ongoing situation and then understand you could experience the symptoms of Critical Incident Stress as a result.
During the actual event your mind takes a mental picture of the scene or situation and then it becomes a memory. Your mind determines this is an extraordinarily stressful incident from all the information it receives from your senses. At that point, your survival systems kick in and once this process begins, there is nothing you can do to stop it. This is what we have always referred to as the Fight or Flight Response. This response is completely normal and is exactly what we need to do to survive or respond to the incident.
There are some things that you can do to work through these reactions and the symptoms of Critical Incident Stress, so they do not create additional problems for you in the days, weeks and months to follow. In most cases the symptoms will lessen, and you will begin to come through the situation you have witnessed, with additional coping skills.
ALWAYS REMEMBER: YOU ARE A NORMAL PERSON HAVING A NORMAL REACTION TO AN ABNORMAL EVENT.
SOME SYMPTOMS OF CRITICAL INCIDENT STRESS:
1. The mental picture and everything associated with that scene (not just what we saw, but what we smelled, heard and had to do) continues to show up (flashbacks)
2. Irritability/overly emotional at times
3. Sleep disturbance/feeling tired most of the time
4. Forgetfulness/difficulty making even the smallest decisions
5. Appetite disturbance/digestive problems
6. Being hyper-alert/always scanning your environment for threats/startle reactions
7. Loss of a connection with loved ones/isolation/we don’t want them to know what happened, so we don’t talk to them about the incident, they then begin to think we are hiding something from them
8. We might try to numb the memories/symptoms with mood altering substances/thereby creating another set of issues to deal with later on
9. We don’t dare let our co-workers know we are having a hard time lest they think we can’t handle the job/resulting in more isolation
10. Any part of the memory or trigger from the event, can re-create the whole scene and all the emotions connected with it (like a hologram)
SOME THINGS TO TRY:
1. Within the first 24-48 hours after the incident get some type of physical exercise to help burn off the Flight/Fight Response
2. After the exercise, then try to get some rest
3. Eat something healthy, even if you are not feeling hungry
4. There is always some healing in humor/be aware of who might be listening however
5. Try using the grounding techniques and learn to listen to your body, it will tell you what you need and where these emotions are stored waiting to be released
6. REVEAL TO HEAL – Talk to someone you can trust and let them know how this is effecting you – preferably a skilled counselor or one of your co-workers – this will not only normalize what you are going through but will help them as well to know that they and you are not alone in this
7. REMEMBER – In time with repeating the above suggestions you can lessen the impact of the incident and other incidents to follow – you can build a reservoir of skills/strengths to draw from and make this a part of your routine following a critical incident.
