SAR Fundamentals/Stress
From PCSAR
(Difference between revisions)
												
			
			| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| - | + | == Material covered ==  | |
| - | + | ||
: SAR Fundamentals Manual: Ch.16 "Stress in SAR"  | : SAR Fundamentals Manual: Ch.16 "Stress in SAR"  | ||
: Basic SAR Skills Manual: F-3  | : Basic SAR Skills Manual: F-3  | ||
| + | == Time ==  | ||
| + | : 0.75 hr   | ||
| + | |||
| + | == Aids ==  | ||
: (Floating Stone Video)  | : (Floating Stone Video)  | ||
* [[/Restricted|non publishable material]]  | * [[/Restricted|non publishable material]]  | ||
| + | |||
| + | == Lesson plan ==  | ||
| + | |||
| + | (Chris Jorgensen or Brian Sundberg probably created this)  | ||
| + | |||
| + | Shock value introduction  | ||
| + | * Play "Floating Stone" video -- without comment  | ||
| + | ** ''Do not allow any dicussion or comment''  | ||
| + | * Allow people to stew over it for some time  | ||
| + | * QUESTION: How does it make you feel?  | ||
| + | * QUESTION: Did you want to talk about it ... why?  | ||
| + | * '''You will see and do things that will streess you ... Finding a body ... Assisting with a removal ... Witnessing others' pain and loss'''  | ||
| + | |||
| + | '''Objective''' - to recognize  | ||
| + | the different types of stress and understand how they affect people.  | ||
| + | This includes symptoms and different coping methods  | ||
| + | |||
| + | * '''Comfort Zone''' - everyone has a comfort zone unique to them  | ||
| + | ** E.g. An undertaker, after dealing with 5 dead bodies in one moring may be thing ... Lunch Time  | ||
| + | ** A SAR worker would not normally want to see 5 dead bodies in a career  | ||
| + | ** '''What is your comfort zone ... do you know?'''  | ||
| + | |||
| + | * '''Types of Stress''' - ''(Thinking and Emotions Overhead [BASIC SAR 727])''  | ||
| + | ** '''GOOD STRESS (Eustress):''' person performs at a level not normally experienced.  E.g. mom lifting a car off her child.  A stage of '''"hyper-alert"''' or getting into the game of sports  | ||
| + | ** '''BAD STRESS (Distress):''' instead of lift the car of her child, mom steps in front of traffic.  Often results in alcohol abuse and other problems such as '''FEAR (chap. 5)'''  | ||
| + | |||
| + | * '''OVERHEAD - Four Stages of Fear or Distress''' [Slide 25]  | ||
| + | ** '''1. Alarm''' - A state of alertness as a result of some stimulus.  Anxiety appears as a natural reaction to what could happen  | ||
| + | ** '''2. Reaction''' - The body physically gears up for reaction  | ||
| + | *** Muscles tighten  | ||
| + | *** Sweat glands close down  | ||
| + | *** Sugar is released for energy  | ||
| + | *** Adrenaline is produced  | ||
| + | *** Heart rate increases  | ||
| + | *** If allowed to progress, anxiety can turn to '''OVERT FEAR'''.  At this point TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE (your comfort zone) come into play.  | ||
| + | **** '''''"You will NOT rise to the level of your expectations, but fall to the level of your TRAINING"'''''  | ||
| + | ** '''3. Response and Options''' [Slide 26]  | ||
| + | *** Fight or Flight kicks in  | ||
| + | *** Adrenaline rush occurs  | ||
| + | *** '''Methodical approach''' to the problem with a parn and precise moves... '''OR'''  | ||
| + | *** Scatterbrained thinking with no plan and refusal to believe the situation is really as bad as it appears '''(DENIAL)'''  | ||
| + | *** '''Complete panic''' with frozen limbs & mind (crying, trembling, naseau, vomiting)  | ||
| + | ** '''Rest'''  | ||
| + | *** Sharp emotional letdown after intense situation  | ||
| + | *** This will come whether wanted or not  | ||
| + | *** Often a complete emotional and physical drain  | ||
| + | *** Chances of shock is real  | ||
| + | ** '''ALARM > REACTION > FIGHT or FLIGHT > REST'''  | ||
| + | |||
| + | * Stress is only a problem with it overwhelms your coping mechanism  | ||
| + | |||
| + | * '''STRESS TYPES''  | ||
| + | ** '''Acute Stress / Delayed''' - single event or past event  | ||
| + | ** '''Cumulative Stress''' - burnout after extended time (can be weeks or years)  | ||
| + | *** EMT's / Paramedics in large centres generally have a care expectancy of approx. 15 years at which point they "burn out"  | ||
| + | |||
| + | * '''QUESTION''' - What causes stress?  | ||
| + | ** ''Have class give examples''  | ||
| + | ** Are they '''''Acute''''' or '''''Cumulative?'''''  | ||
| + | ** '''Biogenic''' - caffeine, nicotine, amphetamine  | ||
| + | ** '''Environmental''' - noise, light, dust, extreme temps, confined zpace (comfort zone)  | ||
| + | ** '''Psychological''' - relationships, conflicts, lack of appreciation, abuse  | ||
| + | ** '''Personality''' - need for love, guilt, fatigue, pain, sensitivity to criticism  | ||
| + | |||
| + | * '''OVERHEAD''' - ''Signs and Symptoms of an ACUTE Stress Reaction [SLIDE]''  | ||
| + | |||
| + | * '''Cognitive'''  | ||
| + | ** Blaming somenone  | ||
| + | ** Confusion  | ||
| + | ** Memory problems  | ||
| + | ** Poor attention span*  | ||
| + | ** Difficulties with decision making*  | ||
| + | ** Heightened or lowered aletness  | ||
| + | ** Difficulties with problem solving  | ||
| + | ** Disorientation  | ||
| + | ** Slowed thinking  | ||
| + | ** Poor caculations  | ||
| + | ** Poor concentration*  | ||
| + | ** Difficulty naming familiar objects  | ||
| + | ** Seeing event over and over  | ||
| + | |||
| + | * '''Physical'''  | ||
| + | ** Nausea  | ||
| + | ** Vomiting  | ||
| + | ** Tremors (lips, hands)  | ||
| + | ** Feeling uncoordinated  | ||
| + | ** Profuse sweating  | ||
| + | ** Chills  | ||
| + | ** Diarrhea  | ||
| + | ** Dizziness  | ||
| + | ** Chest pains  | ||
| + | ** Difficulty breathing  | ||
| + | ** Shock symptoms  | ||
| + | ** Rapid heard beat*  | ||
| + | ** Rapid breathing  | ||
| + | ** Excessively elevated blood pressure  | ||
| + | ** Headaches*  | ||
| + | ** Muscle aches  | ||
| + | ** Fatigue  | ||
| + | |||
| + | * '''Emotional'''  | ||
| + | ** Anxiety  | ||
| + | ** Fear  | ||
| + | ** Guilt  | ||
| + | ** Grief  | ||
| + | ** Anger  | ||
| + | ** Depression  | ||
| + | ** Sadness  | ||
| + | ** Feeling lost  | ||
| + | ** Feeling abandoned  | ||
| + | ** Feeling isolated  | ||
| + | ** Worrying about others  | ||
| + | ** Wanting to hide  | ||
| + | ** Wanting to limit contact with others  | ||
| + | ** Irritibility  | ||
| + | ** Feeling numb  | ||
| + | ** Startled  | ||
| + | ** Shocked  | ||
| + | |||
| + | * '''Behavioural'''  | ||
| + | ** Change in anxiety  | ||
| + | ** Change in speech  | ||
| + | ** Withdrawal  | ||
| + | ** Angry outbursts  | ||
| + | ** Suspiciousness  | ||
| + | ** Change in communications  | ||
| + | ** Change in interactions with others  | ||
| + | ** Increased or decreased food consumption  | ||
| + | ** Increased alcohol consumption  | ||
| + | ** Intense fatigue  | ||
| + | ** Antisocial acts  | ||
| + | ** Hyper-alert  | ||
| + | |||
| + | * '''OVERHEAD''' - ''Signs and Symptoms of a CUMULATIVE Stress Reaction [Slide]''  | ||
| + | |||
| + | * '''Stage 1: The Early Warning Signs'''  | ||
| + | ** Vague anxiety (feeling of impending doom)  | ||
| + | ** Excessive and constant fatigue  | ||
| + | ** Feeling of depression  | ||
| + | ** Boredom with one's job or home life  | ||
| + | ** Apathy  | ||
| + | |||
| + | * '''Stage 2: Mild cumulative stress reaction'''  | ||
| + | ** Lowered emotional control  | ||
| + | ** Increased anxiety  | ||
| + | ** Sleep disturbances  | ||
| + | ** Headaches  | ||
| + | ** Irritability  | ||
| + | ** Muscle aches and pains  | ||
| + | ** Loss of energy  | ||
| + | ** Depression  | ||
| + | ** Hyperactivity and restlessness  | ||
| + | ** Excessive fatigue  | ||
| + | ** The beginnings of withdrawal from friends, family and coworkers  | ||
| + | ** Nausea  | ||
| + | ** Increased  | ||
| + | |||
| + | * '''Stage 3: Moderate cumulative stress reaction'''  | ||
| + | ** Skin rashes  | ||
| + | ** Generalized physical weakness  | ||
| + | ** Strong feeling of depression  | ||
| + | ** Increased alcohol abuse  | ||
| + | ** Increased smoking  | ||
| + | ** High blood pressure  | ||
| + | ** Migraine headaches  | ||
| + | ** Loss of appetite  | ||
| + | ** Angry outbursts  | ||
| + | ** Marital conflict  | ||
| + | ** Loss of sexual appetite  | ||
| + | ** Ulcers  | ||
| + | ** Severe withdrawal from friends, family and coworkers  | ||
| + | ** Constantly feeling angry  | ||
| + | ** Crying spells  | ||
| + | ** Serious depression  | ||
| + | ** Serious anxiety  | ||
| + | ** Problems with clear thinking and decision making  | ||
| + | ** Problems with memory  | ||
| + | ** Rigid thinking patterns  | ||
| + | |||
| + | * '''Stage 4: Cumulative stress reaction'''  | ||
| + | ** Severe depression  | ||
| + | ** Severe anxiety  | ||
| + | ** Low self-confidence  | ||
| + | ** Inability to appropriately manage one's job or personal affairs  | ||
| + | ** Severe withdrawal  | ||
| + | ** Excessive alcohol abuse  | ||
| + | ** Uncontrolled emotions  | ||
| + | ** Suicidal thoughts  | ||
| + | ** Muscle tremors  | ||
| + | ** Feeling desperate and out of control  | ||
| + | ** Severe fatigue  | ||
| + | ** Overreaction to minor events  | ||
| + | ** Agitation  | ||
| + | ** Constant tension  | ||
| + | ** Hostile feelings  | ||
| + | ** Homicidal thoughts  | ||
| + | ** Chronic state of anger  | ||
| + | ** Accident prone  | ||
| + | ** Carelessness  | ||
| + | ** Development of moderate to severe thought disturbance  | ||
| + | ** Hallucinations  | ||
| + | ** Sleep disturbance  | ||
| + | |||
| + | * '''Defense Mechanisms'''  | ||
| + | ** Repression - don't talk about it "just leave it alone"  | ||
| + | ** Denial - deny that you have any symptoms of stress  | ||
| + | ** Rationalization - explain away poor performance  | ||
| + | ** Humour - not always used properly  | ||
| + | |||
| + | * '''Critical Stress Debriefing / Defusing'''  | ||
| + | ** Professional services are available  | ||
| + | *** Its most effective if you simply talk about things, and soon  | ||
| + | *** Get help for your team, and yourself  | ||
| + | *** Stress is not a weakness  | ||
| + | *** If you had bad vision, you would get it fixed  | ||
| + | ** EMS has the system in place, they use it, and SAR fell through the cracks  | ||
| + | ** Don't underestimate its effects  | ||
Revision as of 11:14, 11 March 2011
Contents | 
Material covered
- SAR Fundamentals Manual: Ch.16 "Stress in SAR"
 - Basic SAR Skills Manual: F-3
 
Time
- 0.75 hr
 
Aids
- (Floating Stone Video)
 
Lesson plan
(Chris Jorgensen or Brian Sundberg probably created this)
Shock value introduction
-  Play "Floating Stone" video -- without comment
- Do not allow any dicussion or comment
 
 - Allow people to stew over it for some time
 - QUESTION: How does it make you feel?
 - QUESTION: Did you want to talk about it ... why?
 - You will see and do things that will streess you ... Finding a body ... Assisting with a removal ... Witnessing others' pain and loss
 
Objective - to recognize the different types of stress and understand how they affect people. This includes symptoms and different coping methods
-  Comfort Zone - everyone has a comfort zone unique to them
- E.g. An undertaker, after dealing with 5 dead bodies in one moring may be thing ... Lunch Time
 - A SAR worker would not normally want to see 5 dead bodies in a career
 - What is your comfort zone ... do you know?
 
 
-  Types of Stress - (Thinking and Emotions Overhead [BASIC SAR 727])
- GOOD STRESS (Eustress): person performs at a level not normally experienced. E.g. mom lifting a car off her child. A stage of "hyper-alert" or getting into the game of sports
 - BAD STRESS (Distress): instead of lift the car of her child, mom steps in front of traffic. Often results in alcohol abuse and other problems such as FEAR (chap. 5)
 
 
-  OVERHEAD - Four Stages of Fear or Distress [Slide 25]
- 1. Alarm - A state of alertness as a result of some stimulus. Anxiety appears as a natural reaction to what could happen
 -  2. Reaction - The body physically gears up for reaction
- Muscles tighten
 - Sweat glands close down
 - Sugar is released for energy
 - Adrenaline is produced
 - Heart rate increases
 -  If allowed to progress, anxiety can turn to OVERT FEAR.  At this point TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE (your comfort zone) come into play.
- "You will NOT rise to the level of your expectations, but fall to the level of your TRAINING"
 
 
 -  3. Response and Options [Slide 26]
- Fight or Flight kicks in
 - Adrenaline rush occurs
 - Methodical approach to the problem with a parn and precise moves... OR
 - Scatterbrained thinking with no plan and refusal to believe the situation is really as bad as it appears (DENIAL)
 - Complete panic with frozen limbs & mind (crying, trembling, naseau, vomiting)
 
 -  Rest
- Sharp emotional letdown after intense situation
 - This will come whether wanted or not
 - Often a complete emotional and physical drain
 - Chances of shock is real
 
 - ALARM > REACTION > FIGHT or FLIGHT > REST
 
 
- Stress is only a problem with it overwhelms your coping mechanism
 
-  'STRESS TYPES
- Acute Stress / Delayed - single event or past event
 -  Cumulative Stress - burnout after extended time (can be weeks or years)
- EMT's / Paramedics in large centres generally have a care expectancy of approx. 15 years at which point they "burn out"
 
 
 
-  QUESTION - What causes stress?
- Have class give examples
 - Are they Acute or Cumulative?
 - Biogenic - caffeine, nicotine, amphetamine
 - Environmental - noise, light, dust, extreme temps, confined zpace (comfort zone)
 - Psychological - relationships, conflicts, lack of appreciation, abuse
 - Personality - need for love, guilt, fatigue, pain, sensitivity to criticism
 
 
- OVERHEAD - Signs and Symptoms of an ACUTE Stress Reaction [SLIDE]
 
-  Cognitive
- Blaming somenone
 - Confusion
 - Memory problems
 - Poor attention span*
 - Difficulties with decision making*
 - Heightened or lowered aletness
 - Difficulties with problem solving
 - Disorientation
 - Slowed thinking
 - Poor caculations
 - Poor concentration*
 - Difficulty naming familiar objects
 - Seeing event over and over
 
 
-  Physical
- Nausea
 - Vomiting
 - Tremors (lips, hands)
 - Feeling uncoordinated
 - Profuse sweating
 - Chills
 - Diarrhea
 - Dizziness
 - Chest pains
 - Difficulty breathing
 - Shock symptoms
 - Rapid heard beat*
 - Rapid breathing
 - Excessively elevated blood pressure
 - Headaches*
 - Muscle aches
 - Fatigue
 
 
-  Emotional
- Anxiety
 - Fear
 - Guilt
 - Grief
 - Anger
 - Depression
 - Sadness
 - Feeling lost
 - Feeling abandoned
 - Feeling isolated
 - Worrying about others
 - Wanting to hide
 - Wanting to limit contact with others
 - Irritibility
 - Feeling numb
 - Startled
 - Shocked
 
 
-  Behavioural
- Change in anxiety
 - Change in speech
 - Withdrawal
 - Angry outbursts
 - Suspiciousness
 - Change in communications
 - Change in interactions with others
 - Increased or decreased food consumption
 - Increased alcohol consumption
 - Intense fatigue
 - Antisocial acts
 - Hyper-alert
 
 
- OVERHEAD - Signs and Symptoms of a CUMULATIVE Stress Reaction [Slide]
 
-  Stage 1: The Early Warning Signs
- Vague anxiety (feeling of impending doom)
 - Excessive and constant fatigue
 - Feeling of depression
 - Boredom with one's job or home life
 - Apathy
 
 
-  Stage 2: Mild cumulative stress reaction
- Lowered emotional control
 - Increased anxiety
 - Sleep disturbances
 - Headaches
 - Irritability
 - Muscle aches and pains
 - Loss of energy
 - Depression
 - Hyperactivity and restlessness
 - Excessive fatigue
 - The beginnings of withdrawal from friends, family and coworkers
 - Nausea
 - Increased
 
 
-  Stage 3: Moderate cumulative stress reaction
- Skin rashes
 - Generalized physical weakness
 - Strong feeling of depression
 - Increased alcohol abuse
 - Increased smoking
 - High blood pressure
 - Migraine headaches
 - Loss of appetite
 - Angry outbursts
 - Marital conflict
 - Loss of sexual appetite
 - Ulcers
 - Severe withdrawal from friends, family and coworkers
 - Constantly feeling angry
 - Crying spells
 - Serious depression
 - Serious anxiety
 - Problems with clear thinking and decision making
 - Problems with memory
 - Rigid thinking patterns
 
 
-  Stage 4: Cumulative stress reaction
- Severe depression
 - Severe anxiety
 - Low self-confidence
 - Inability to appropriately manage one's job or personal affairs
 - Severe withdrawal
 - Excessive alcohol abuse
 - Uncontrolled emotions
 - Suicidal thoughts
 - Muscle tremors
 - Feeling desperate and out of control
 - Severe fatigue
 - Overreaction to minor events
 - Agitation
 - Constant tension
 - Hostile feelings
 - Homicidal thoughts
 - Chronic state of anger
 - Accident prone
 - Carelessness
 - Development of moderate to severe thought disturbance
 - Hallucinations
 - Sleep disturbance
 
 
-  Defense Mechanisms
- Repression - don't talk about it "just leave it alone"
 - Denial - deny that you have any symptoms of stress
 - Rationalization - explain away poor performance
 - Humour - not always used properly
 
 
-  Critical Stress Debriefing / Defusing
-  Professional services are available
- Its most effective if you simply talk about things, and soon
 - Get help for your team, and yourself
 - Stress is not a weakness
 - If you had bad vision, you would get it fixed
 
 - EMS has the system in place, they use it, and SAR fell through the cracks
 - Don't underestimate its effects
 
 -  Professional services are available
 

