- Be aware of your emotional wellbeing!
It is important to be aware of your emotional wellbeing as an emergency responder because it can help you to better manage stress and anxiety, improve your overall health and wellbeing, and help you to provide better care for those in need. Monitoring how you are feeling day by day can help you to support yourself and better identify effective coping strategies.
- Connect with those around you!
It is important to connect with your family, friends and work colleagues so you can talk about your feelings and prevent yourself from isolating away. Dealing with a variety of emergency situations can cause anyone stress and high levels of emotions. Therefore, it is important to reach out to colleagues, managers or family and friends to speak through your experiences and find solutions to your problems.
- Integrate effective coping strategies into your day!
It is important to integrate effective coping strategies into your day so to make sure you are providing yourself with the care you need. Effective strategies can include taking breaks, eating healthy food, exercising and connecting with your work colleagues. Understanding that you are human and need time for yourself is essential!
- Learn to identify signs of burnout and secondary stress!
It is important to learn to identify signs of burnout and secondary stress so you can implement coping strategies to combat this. Some of the signs of burnout and secondary stress include confusion, disorientation, poor concentration, poor problem solving, difficulty identifying familiar objects or people, memory problems, nightmares, or irritability. By being aware of all of the signs, you will be able to take of yourself and give yourself the break you may need!
Click here to check out our top tips from last week which covered how to help those who are struggling with mental health problems.