The Emergency Responders’ Guide to Self-Care

‘Nemo dat quod non habet’ in other words, ‘You can’t give what you don’t have.’?

Emergency respondents play a very crucial and challenging role in life-and-death situations. But we have to accept the fact that they’re human beings as well, who face personal struggles, stress, fatigue, trauma, and others. Thus, if you’re a responder, for you to be able to respond urgently and effectively to emergencies, you need to be physically well, and most importantly, you need to take care of yourself and handle the situations ahead of you.?

The only certain thing about emergencies is that they are uncertain, and you need to be prepared any time and anywhere.? According to VMEDO, a recent study found that 27 percent of annual deaths occur alone due to the non-availability of emergency first aid within the "Golden Hour," which refers to the first hour of an emergency. These victims can be saved if they get the appropriate medical aid, but they only die because there was no one around to provide it to them during that time.

Here are important Self-Care Techniques responders need to take in order to ensure that you will be able to fulfill your roles and duties during the most challenging situations.

Response Preparations:

1. Identify your role and the things that you’ll need to do. Clarify the task delegations, and inform others if you think that your role is too much for you.
2. If you will be working late or will be traveling for long hours, inform the people you live with and keep your communications open with them.
3. Assess whether you are physically and mentally healthy at the moment, and seek consultations if otherwise.

During Response:

Stress and burnout can build up during experiences of crisis, and you’ll need to know the signs to resolve them. According to the Centers for Disasters Control, here are some signs that you can take note of:

Signs of Burnout

• Despair, melancholy, or apathy
• prone to frustration
• Criticism of others and irritation
• Lacking emotions, indifferent
• solitude or estrangement from others
• Lack of self-care (hygiene)
• Weary, fatigued, or overloaded
• Feeling like: A failure

Signs of Stress:

• Extremely anxious or fearful of something horrible happening
• Easily startled or constantly "on guard"
• Manifestations of stress (e.g. racing heart)
• Recurrent nightmares or thoughts about the tragic event
• The impression that someone else's trauma is yours.

Self-Care Techniques for Responders:

1. Set working hours boundaries- To avoid burnout and overfatigue, limit your shift to no longer than 12 hours.?
2. Collaborate- Working with teams is very important, to provide not only a support system but to also have someone to monitor your health and condition all throughout the shift.
3. Try Journalling- As a responder, you had seen and experienced a lot, and it’s no good when stressful things or situations pile up in your head and thoughts. Journaling will be of great help for you to let go of your thoughts, express yourself, and clear your mind.
4. Communicate with others- Talking to a professional when you experience health issues is certainly a must, as not doing so can make what you’re going through worse, and may affect your job. It’s helpful as well to talk with your family, relatives, or loved ones to be able to express the feelings and things that you need to talk about.
5. Practice Calming Techniques - You’ll need to get to know the different breathing and relaxing exercises that may help you to stay calm and to release tension.
6. Have adequate sleep and eat healthily- This is a no-brainer already because you physically need to be fit and healthy for you to do your job.

Things You Should Remind Yourself:

1. Prioritize your own needs. You might think that the needs of survivors are more important than yours, but you really can’t hand out help if you need it as well. You have to prioritize yourself first before you can do so for others.
2. It’s okay to set boundaries. Most of the time, you might feel that you always have the responsibility to be the one to respond first and stay on the frontline. Nevertheless, you have to think about yourself and your health as well. It will be better for you to set boundaries and not push yourself too much, for you to have better performance and help all you need to.
3. Working nonstop does not guarantee that you will make the most valuable contribution. As a responder, you're already giving out enough contributions, and you don’t have to neglect your needs on behalf of your duty.
4. To do your job well, you need to take care of yourself well.?

As a responder, experiencing stress and other instabilities is inevitable, but knowing how to manage them will make you a better responder. The act of providing aid in the aftermath of a natural catastrophe may be both gratifying and difficult. You may maintain your health by acknowledging that you are under stress and developing strategies to deal with it when it arises. This will enable you to continue assisting people who are being impacted.