![]() Spend time with others or alone doing the things you enjoy to refresh and recharge yourself.Make as many daily decisions as possible to give yourself a feeling of control over your life.Reconnect with family, spiritual, and community supports.No matter what the event or an individual’s reaction to it, workers can follow some basic steps to help themselves adjust to the experience: Over time, workers’ impressions and understanding of their experience will change. Recommendations to Maintain Health Following the Incident Communicate with your loved ones at home as frequently as possible.Recurring thoughts, dreams, or flashbacks are normal-do not try to fight them.Give yourself permission to feel rotten: You are in a difficult situation.If your employer provided you with formal mental health support, use it!.Talking about an event may be reliving it. You decide when you want to discuss your experience. ![]() Recognize and accept what you cannot change-the chain of command, organizational structure, waiting, equipment failures, etc.Eat and drink in the cleanest area available. Whenever possible, take breaks away from the work area.Try to eat a variety of foods and increase your intake of complex carbohydrates (for example, breads and muffins made with whole grains, granola bars).Drink plenty of fluids such as water and juices.Maintain as normal a schedule as possible and adhere to the team schedule and rotation. Mental fatigue, particularly over long shifts, can greatly increase emergency workers’ risk of injury. Rescue and recovery operations take place in extremely dangerous work environments. Responders who are exhausted, stressed, or even temporarily distracted may place themselves and others at risk. Coworkers may be intently focused on a particular task and may not notice a hazard nearby or behind. Rescue and recovery efforts at the site may continue for days or weeks. ![]() Control the organization and pace of the rescue and recovery efforts These guidelines should be read while at the site and again after workers return home. The following guidelines contain simple methods for workers and their team leaders to help themselves and their team members. This is especially true if recovery efforts stretch into several weeks. Often responders do not recognize the need to take care of themselves and to monitor their own emotional and physical health. Responders must be able to stay focused on the job in the dynamic, changing emergency environment. Responders need to take care of their own health to maintain the constant vigilance they need for their own safety. Recommendations to Monitor and Maintain Health On-Site ![]() Emotional symptoms include:Īs a result of a traumatic incident, workers may notice the following behavioral changes in themselves or coworkers: Workers should seek mental health support from a disaster mental health professional if symptoms or distress continue for several weeks or if they interfere with daily activities. Strong emotions are ordinary reactions to a traumatic or extraordinary situation.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |