Mindfulness

In our fast-paced world and our specialty profession of public safety, stress is a constant companion. It has a negative connotation and for a good reason. However, stress is a necessary component of the human experience. Stress is the psychological perception of pressure and the body's response to it. It is part of the flight or fight response of our biological systems which spring into action that aids in survival. For example when a snake appears the body sends a surge of hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol through the body to engage the muscles and heighten the nervous system to make a fast decision of whether to flee or fight the snake.

This natural stress response to potential danger is a system built for short-term situations. It isn't well suited to sustained and heightened levels of stressful situations. It was appallingly apparent during The Great War, WWI, when the term "shell shocked" was coined by Charles Myers in 1915 to describe what we now call PTSD or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Soldiers, both professional and conscripted, who were to fight on the Western Front succumbed to shell shock while waiting in their trenches for the word to "go over the top" and cross "no mans land" and assault the enemy lines. In that style of warfare, men were killed by the tens of thousands in a single battle, and that was on just one side of the fight. Men in their trenches knowing that they were likely to be cut down had to face their inevitable death. The soldiers would live in rat and lice infested trenches for weeks, months and years trying to gain 100 yards of ground from the enemy. Living in the conditions and being shelled daily by enemy artillery waiting for the order to go over the top drove some mad because of the extreme stress they endured without respite.

Those days are over, but stress is all the same to the body, and it's physical and mental responses to it. Overwhelming stress from the World War I battlefield to the overwhelming stress of losing someone close, to working in a high-stress job for long hours can have similar effects on an individual.

Stressors come in all forms from every direction in life and affect us all in unique ways. The profession we serve in to help protect the public and render them aid in their desperate times of need is also a high-stress environment. There are times when the workload isn't so bad, but there are plenty of times when it's overbearing and pushes our stress levels to the maximum. It's not a profession for everyone, just as law enforcement, fire service, EMS service, and military service isn't for everyone. As professionals in the 911 service, you indeed are the first responders because you're the first, and sometimes the last, person someone will be speaking with during their emergency. It is stressful for them, but it's also stressful for you as you tend to their needs and then pick up the next call for help.

You the 911 professional should never be forgotten in the grand equation of public safety. Your levels of stress should be acknowledged and offered relief before it does irreparable harm to you.

The way I deal with stress is through mindfulness and meditation. Mindfulness is the ability to be present, to rest in the here and now, fully engaged with whatever we’re doing at the moment. Meditation is about training in awareness and getting a healthy sense of perspective.

There are all sorts of meditation rituals that date back as far as 1500 BCE. I don't follow any spiritual or religious form of meditation but instead, focus on a kind of reflection whose goal is to reduce stress and calm the mind and body. I use an app on the iPhone (also available on Android and the web) called Headspace to guide me on my daily meditations. It's all about being mindful of any particular topic that you can find in the various packs or of anything that might be bothering you. Thinking about the thoughts in your mind while focusing on breathing and having an awareness of the environment around you is what this is all about.

I will meditate anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes at a time using the guided sessions of the app. Over time this has tremendously helped me to reduce my stress levels and mitigate physical manifestations. Those are usually huge knots I get in my back and shoulders. With continued practice, I alleviate a lot of stress this way.

Thinking of your stress levels in your life, whether they're personal or professional, can you identify them? Whatever causes you the most stress know that you can help to minimize it. We can't eliminate stress, but we can reduce it. Meditation is one way, but certainly not the only way.

There are two apps, Headspace the one, and Calm the other. They each regularly win App Store awards for how good they are. Consider checking them out and seeing if they can help you with your stress relief.

Even if you don't want to use them, I do encourage you to make good use of your allotted break times during your 12-hour shifts. Step out of the room and have a seat on the couch in the break room. Sit up straight and take a few deep breaths, breathing in through the nose and out through the mouth. Then gently close your eyes and resume normal breathing. Try counting your breaths, one on inhale, two on exhale. Count to 10 and start over again. Try to focus on how you feel while doing that. Then stop counting and let your mind think whatever it wants. Count your breaths for a couple of minutes longer and then finish by gently opening your eyes.

See how you feel afterward and then return to duty hopefully feeling refreshed. With continued practice, you may find you feel a great deal better and have a new perspective on things.

Lastly, if you're feeling overwhelmed, overstressed or need someone to talk to, please reach out to me or someone you trust to talk about it. Together we can work to find ways to reduce and relieve what may be bothering you and help you feel better. There is no shame in reaching out for help because we all need help from time to time.