November 2016 – Resilient Responder

November 24, 2016

Determination Wins!

I have been thinking a lot about determination since my last post. Willpower, purpose, intention…grit. So I am wondering…what am I determined about?

I am determined to not give in to the feelings I have about this job. I have truly enjoyed being a paramedic these 25+ years. Yes, there have been ups and downs. There are certainly some things, okay a lot of things, I prefer to not remember. Do you hate the question, “What’s the worst thing you’ve ever seen?” as much as I do? Nowadays, I just refuse to answer, politely but firmly. I do not need to relive those experiences. Once was enough.

Along with the stress of the job, I have had my share of personal issues as well. I still do not know how I managed to work my shift at night while taking care of my Mom during the day for over six years. All with only about three hours of sleep on my work days. (Thank God for slow nights!) How I managed to not kill my patients is beyond me. Not to mention, I was getting my bachelor and master degrees during this time too. Through it all, I was determined to do what I needed to do.

Today, I am determined to finish my Ph.D. I have an idea to do research on what motivates paramedics to do this job. Any ideas? For research purposes, I will have to look at things I can measure like personality traits, dimensions of resilience, coping skills, and such. It is an interesting project with a lot of potential to help medics stay on the job without suffering the debilitating effects of stress. It really doesn’t have to be that way. We just never learned how to handle it before we ran into it.

I am determined to do something to help my peers in EMS and first responders in other agencies. We started this at my agency with a peer support program. It still needs a little work, but it is a start. We need to know more about mental health and the effects of stress on our bodies and minds. We need to be able to recognize when problems start instead of waiting until we are overwhelmed by them.

There is a lot of great work already being done on this front. Code Green Campaign (https://codegreencampaign.org/) is a great effort to help all first responders by raising awareness and providing education. Safe Call Now (https://www.safecallnow.org/) is another excellent resource. They have a 24-hour hotline you can call when in distress: 206-459-3020.

While all of these focus on recognizing stress and providing support, I want to look primarily at not-the-stronger-the-one-who-never-gave-up prevention. I believe focusing on resilience and the things that help us to be strong and bounce back from adversity is a good way to start. I may not have as many supporters for this as I hope, but I am determined to keep trying.

What do you believe is important in keeping our medics and other first responders safe and sane?

Please share your thoughts in the “Leave a comment” below. Happy Thanksgiving!

November 21, 2016

The Ant is Determined

Have you ever thought about what it takes to be resilient? Turns out it’s not a mystery, though sometimes it feels like it is. Personal resilience is made up of four dimensions: determination, endurance, adaptability, and recuperability (Taormina, 2015). If you know how much you have of these, you can do things to improve your odds.

Let’s look at determination. Dictionary.com has 12 definitions for determination. Ready? Actually, you can focus on just a few words that stand out: resolute, setting a purpose, intention. Taormina (2015) said determination is willpower, perseverance, and the decision to succeed. Other synonyms are fortitude and grit.

Does this sound like you? I bet it does. As a matter of fact, you probably have a good degree of determination. Maybe you just haven’t thought of it as something that gives you resilience. Can you think of some things you do, or have done, when you were determined?

So what if you don’t think you are very determined? What can you do to change that? Keep reading.

Let’s look at one of the definitions: setting a purpose. To have the willpower to accomplish something, you have to have something to accomplish, right? So start with making a goal. What do you want to accomplish with your life? Or just with your day? You can start small if you need to.

So, now you have a goal. What do you need to reach that goal? This is where you figure out the steps you need to take. Your “To-Do” list, so to speak.

Look at each item on your list. Do you have the resources you need to check it off? If not, what do you need? How can you get it? Is there something you can substitute that would work?

If it seems simplistic, maybe it is a little. But, one of the things we do with problems is look at the big view of them. When we do that, it can get overwhelming. Do you have any challenges like that?

So look at your challenge. The challenge is the goal, right? Now break the challenge down. Look at the smaller pieces of it. Decide what parts of it are more important or have a higher priority. Make each part of it an item on your “To-Do” list.

Take one item at a time and figure out what you need to manage it or accomplish it. Then get to work! If you just focus on the smaller parts and get them done, you will eventually get everything finished and that challenge will be behind you.

Hey, if you want more information about how to do this, let me know! I’d love to help.

Oh, I almost forgot about the ant. You know, for such tiny critters they sure are determined. Take a look at this short video. Be warned! There’s a worm involved too. After you watch, come back and leave a comment at the bottom of the page. Let me know what you are determined about!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vK71x7ZjjRQ&w=560&h=315]

Taormina, R. J. (2015). Adult Personal Resilience: A new theory, new measure, and practical implications. Psychological Thought, 8(1), 35-46. doi:10.5964/psyct.v8i1.126

November 18, 2016

Is Resilience the New Buzzword?

There is a lot of talk about stress in EMS. It is legitimate. Being a medic is stressful. Some of the stress is good, some is not-so-good, and some is very bad. Maybe you have managed to have a long career in the business. You have seen a lot of change! Maybe you have managed to get by relatively unscathed. Unfortunately, there are many who have not.

So…what is resilience and why does it matter?

Dictionary.com defines resilience as “the power or ability to return to the original form, position, etc., after being bent, compressed, or stretched; elasticity.”

I like that.

Do you remember when you were a child? Nothing kept you down. No matter what happened, you picked yourself up and kept going, right? That was resilience. You were tough! You fell. You bent. You stretched. But you didn’t break. You returned to your original form At least that is the way it works for most kids.

So why is it so hard now. Life! The job! Somehow, you learned that you were supposed to suffer. Or maybe you finally reached a limit that pushed you beyond your capacity. Or you watched other people that seemed to have it all together and didn’t want to admit you did not…so you kept it bottled up. You stopped bending. You stopped stretching. When you compressed, you didn’t return to normal. Or you bent so far you broke. Or stretched so far you snapped.

That doesn’t have to happen!

So what now? Why does it matter anyway?

Medic class 101. The physical results of stress. Stress increases the heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure, and keeps you from being able to think clearly and make rational decisions. Under “normal” circumstances, you have stress. You have the symptoms. The stress resolves and the symptoms go away. Simple enough.

Except, what happens when the symptoms don’t go away? When you have stress that keeps nagging at you. Your heart rate, respiratory rate, blood pressure, and ability to think clearly and make rational decisions continues to be impaired. The bad thing is you don’t always notice it right away. So the stress hides inside you and you accumulate more and more. And finally you have a heart attack or stroke. More likely, though, you will get irritable or cynical, have anger problems, stop caring about the job, or the agency, or your partner on the job, or your significant other, or….you get the picture. On top of that, you don’t eat well or exercise regularly. Okay…now I’m meddling.

So I have one word for you. Stop!

Easy, right?

Trust me. I know it isn’t. That’s why I am here. To help you figure this out. To give you pointers so you do not have to suffer the consequences of the stress you get on this job.

I hope you will stay tuned. Please let me know what helps you become or stay resilient. I want to know your thoughts.

‘Til next time!

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