Not only victims and survivors of a disaster experience adverse reactions. Volunteers, responders and others in the helping professions may also be vulnerable to similar reactions. Working days after days that are often consisting of hour upon hour of seeing things that are distressing may easily lead to burnout, compassion fatigue, getting sick or injured yourself, abusing substances (caffeine, energy drinks, comfort foods...), doing remarkably impulsive and risky things, and no longer can function effectively.
Burnout
What's burnout? A slow erosion of psychological and physical resources.
What are the symptoms? procrastination, fatigue, cynicism, lateness, difficulty experiencing anything resembling happiness, pessimism, a sense of a foreshortened future, loss of satisfaction in your career or your life, and questioning your faith. It happens slowly over time. It's hard to pick up. You don't feel or see the changes. But someone who hasn't seen you in awhile can notice it.
Guilt
There are three types of guilt: guilt for doing something you shouldn't have' guilt for not doing something you should have; and survival guilt.
Psychological Trauma may result from listening to or from seeing the trauma of others. Trauma can be contagious.
Compassionate Fatigue
Developing some signs and symptoms of post traumatic stress disorder simply by observing the trauma of others -- depression, difficulty in sleeping, hyper-vigilance, nightmares, anxiety, obsessive thoughts of the trauma, PTSD, and other symptoms of burnout
What to do about these challenges to our psychological and physical well being?
Stress management techniques can be used to meet our psychological needs:
- relaxation techniques like breathing techniques,
- social support, having someone to talk to, having lunch/dinner together, gathering around a campfire,
- focus on what you're doing well, not on what needs to be done,
- find some positivity in adversity; look at the glass half-full,
- do the best you can every day, because you believe it matters, your presence matters,
- go to primary (re)sources whenever possible for help.
George Everly, Jr. (Johns Hopkins University)
