Common Signs & Symptoms of Stress

obsessions, religious compulsions, religious Common Signs & hallucinations or delusions. Things to Try When Symptoms of Stress Facing Excessive Stress These may last for a few days or a few months depending on the severity of the event. Exercise to reduce physical stress. Talk to people; talk is very healing. Physical: chills, thirst, fatigue, nausea, Avoid using alcohol to relax. fainting, twitches, vomiting, dizziness, Reach out – people do care. weakness, chest pain, headaches, elevated BP, rapid heart rate, muscle tremors, shock Maintain as normal a schedule as possible. symptoms, grinding of teeth, visual difficulties, Spend time with others. profuse sweating, difficulty breathing. Do things you enjoy doing. Avoid making major life changes/decisions. Thinking: confusion, nightmares, uncertainty, Get plenty of rest. hypervigilance, suspiciousness, intrusive Eat well-balanced and regular meals. images, blaming someone, poor problem Share this information with others. solving, poor abstract thinking, poor attention /decisions, poor concentration/memory, disorientation of time, Suggestions for Family place or person, difficulty identifying objects or people, heightened or lowered alertness, and Friends increased or decreased awareness of surroundings. Listen carefully. Spend time with the person affected. Emotional: fear, guilt, grief, panic, denial, anxiety, agitation, irritability, depression, Offer you attention and listening ear. intense anger, apprehension, emotional shock, Reassure them that they are safe. emotional outbursts, feeling overwhelmed, loss Give them opportunity for private time. of emotional control, inappropriate emotional Don’t take their responses personally. response. Familiarize yourself with the signs and Behavioral: withdrawal, antisocial acts, symptoms of stress. inability to rest, intensified pacing, erratic movements, change in social activity, change in Chaplain: ______speech patterns, loss or increase of appetite, hyperalert to environment, increased alcohol Phone: ______consumption, change in usual communications. Email: ______Spiritual: anger at God, questioning of basic Case #: ______beliefs, withdrawal from place of worship, crisis of faith, faith practices and rituals seem Funeral Home: ______empty, loss of meaning and purpose, uncharacteristic religious involvement, sense of ______isolation from God, anger at clergy, religious Phone #: ______Critical Incident Stress

You have been involved in a significant or critical event. Even though the event may be over, you may be experiencing, or may experience later, some strong emotional or physical reactions. It is very common, in fact quite normal, for people to experience emotional aftershocks, or critical incident stress, Central Oregon following such an incident. Critical incident stress may appear immediately Police Chaplaincy after the event, after a few hours, a few days, weeks, or longer. “Serving the Hearts and Minds of Central Oregon’s First Responders” Critical incident stress is the physical, mental, and emotional reactions that go along with living and working day to PO Box 1898 day in the midst of pain, chaos, hurt, Redmond, OR 97756 and loss. This stress, if not dealt with www.copchaplain.com in a healthy way, can and will affect us, no matter how well trained, conditioned, or streetwise we may be. Critical What is a traumatic event or critical incident? They can be any incident which causes us to experience Incident unusually strong emotional reactions which interfere with our ability to Stress function, either at the time or later. Incidents or situations do not have to be major disasters to cause stress. Management Cumulative stress (“Burnout”) is often a mix of home and work stress, building up over time, which eventually erodes Information our personal resources. Critical Incident Critical Incident Stress Management Stress Management (con’t) Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) is a comprehensive approach Critical Incident Stress Debriefing to traumatic stress management. It (CISD): This is a 7-phase structured encompasses a wide range of group discussion, usually provided 1 to programs and intervention strategies 10 days post crisis (3 to 4 weeks post designed to manage traumatic stress. disaster). It is designed to allow The core components of CISM are participants to discuss their thoughts defined below: and reactions about a significant or traumatic event in a confidential and Pre-crisis preparation: This includes structured format. stress management education and training for individuals, groups, and Individual Crisis Intervention: One- organizations. on-one crisis intervention, counseling or psychological support. RITS: Rest, Information, Transition Services: for emergency response Pastoral Crisis Intervention: One on personnel. one or group crisis intervention, counseling to provide spiritual, faith- Crisis Management Briefings (CMB): based support. for civilians, schools, and businesses. Other Group Support: Family crisis Defusings: This is a 3-phase, intervention and/or organizational structured small group discussion consultation. provided within hours of a crisis for purpose of assessment, triaging, and Follow-up and referral: Additional acute symptom mitigation. mechanisms for assessment and treatment, as necessary.