Dealing with Psychological Challenges due to Loss of Life

HLS-429 Homeland Security Response and Recovery

Candace Williams

March 3, 2013

Thomas Edison State College

First Responders have a tough job and part of that job involves dealing with

tragedy and intense situations on a daily basis. Every response plan that goes into effect

will have an area in it that addresses the psychological affect on first responders. This

will advise first responders with instructions and guidelines on how to handle stress and

psychological challenges they may face on their job.

The first thing that first responders will need to keep in mind is the fact that

trauma directly affects those who are impacted and also impacts those who are working

to help in the recovery efforts. When entering this line of work it is important to keep in

mind that your feelings will play a big part of your job. When a first responder responds

to a situation and there is a significant loss of life this can be a very emotional and critical

time for the victims as well as the first responders who witness it.

Dealing with loss of life of any kind is an overwhelming experience for anyone

close to the area. It’s important to take note of one’s feelings and speak out to others

about those emotions. First responders immerse themselves in the chaos and problems of

others live every day on the job. By doing this, they put themselves at risk of being in

traumatic situations. There are two basic categories of harmful psychological impacts that

can occur to a first responder. These are vicarious traumatization and compassion fatigue.

Vicarious traumatization “refers to the tendency of helpers to develop symptoms

similar to those with whom they are working” (IBM, 2008). Workers are put at risk when

they see horrific scenes, hear stories and work in traumatic events. By the victims

relaying their feelings and what they are experiencing onto the first responder, they are

pulling that person into the feeling with them. The first responder starts imagining the

images of what they hear and this causes stress to develop on the worker.

Compassion fatigue has a lot to do with a person’s empathy level. When a person

experiences empathy for a person they are putting themselves in that person’s shoes.

They are relating and wanting to help the person, who sometimes is suffering or has died.

This will end up taking an emotional and physical toll on the first responder and can

leave them unable to feel empathy and care for anyone anymore. These incidents that

cause these strong emotions and/or physical reactions are titled critical incidents. And

they have the potential to interfere with a responder’s ability to help on scene and can

also affect them later in either their personal or work lives.

It is believed that “85% of emergency responders experience symptoms of

critical incident stress which may include impaired job performance, difficulty

concentrating, short-term memory loss, tardiness, loss of interest in work and/or

pleasurable activities, loss of motivation, absenteeism, and physical health problems”

(Fay, Kamena, Bushco, & Nagle, 2001). First responders are usually reluctant or refuse to

seek out help. This is dangerous for their lives as well as the lives of those that they are

working to help. First responders must understand how to seek out treatment and how to

address the challenges that they face during disasters.

There are many ways for first responders to deal with the stresses and

problems they face emotionally and physically. The first thing that must be done is to

recognize that this is a real thing that happens to many first responders. It is important to

understand that having problems dealing with situations like significant loss of life does

not mean that they are unable to do the job. It only means that they need to take

precautions to make sure that they are not defeated by these feelings.

There are three main things that should be done to ensure that the worker

is taking care of him or herself and staying work ready. These three things are:

1. Awareness – Stay aware of feelings and thoughts about situations. Keep a

journal to document feelings and how to deal with them. Pay attention to

any personal needs that might arise and deal with them without feeling

guilty.

2. Balance – Find other things to do besides work. Have friends and hobbies

that do not pertain to work. Make sure that there is not too much time

spent working with victims and then not taking care of oneself. Get

enough sleep every night. Find relaxing things to do, such as yoga or

exercise. Eat and stay healthy.

3. Connection – Attend and participate in social events as much as possible.

Find things that are enjoyable and spend time doing them. Try not to

spend too much time alone. Be surrounded with family and friends. Stay

positive.

(IBM, 2008)

Being a first responder is a tough job, and it takes a toll on the worker physically

and mentally. It is important to be able to recognize when one is too involved with a case

and get help as needed. Getting help isn’t a sign of weakness, but a show of strength. Any

changes in mood, feelings, or physically being drained can be a sign of an underlying

problem, especially if one has recently worked on a disaster that dealt with a significant

loss of life. First responders must take care of themselves so they will be able to care for

those who are in need.

REFERENCES

Fay, J., Kamena, M., Bushco, A., & Nagle, D. (2001). Emergency Responder Exhaustion

Syndrome. Retrieved March 1, 2013, from

www.wcpr2001.org/news/ER_Exhaustion_Syndrome.pdf

IBM. (2008). Psychological Support for Survivors of Disaster. Retrieved March 01,

2013, from IBM: https://www.ocps.net/.../IBM_Trauma_Guide-Adults_Nov08%