Following are some signs and symptoms a person may experience if involved in a critical incident. When we, as the VPD CISM Team, meet with officers, we try to impress upon them that they may experience all or none of the signs, and at any intensity. We also try to impress upon them that whatever they are going through is a normal process, and we also stress the importance of seeking additional professional help if needed.
SIGNS & SYMPTOMS
Behavioural
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Any change in normal behaviour
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Changes in activity level, appetite, sexual interest
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Withdrawal, irritability, anger, inattentiveness
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Breaking the ‘rules’ or adhering to them without flexibility
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Absenteeism, procrastination, poor performance
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Increased anxiety
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Sleep problems
Physical
- Fatigue
- Low pain threshold
- Muscle tension or pain
- Changes in breathing (hyperventilating)
- Cardiac and circulatory changes
- Dry mouth
- Excessive perspiration
- Blurring of vision
- Stomach and digestive problems
- Exacerbation of existing problems (spine and back problems, migraine headaches, arthritic and rheumatic conditions, asthma, skin disorders)
Cognitive
- Indecision
- Denial of problem
- Depression
- Pessimism
- Feelings of loss of control or isolation
- Overly sensitive
- Hypercritical
- Memory loss
- Poor concentration
This list is not exhaustive, but a guide to help people suffering from critical incident stress understand what their bodies are going through, and to assist them with their recovery.
Last week I introduced you to the Critical Incident Stress Management Team of the VPD.
Today, I’m going to cover some things to consider if you have been involved in a critical incident. The list of ‘do’s and don’ts’, compiled with the assistance of the ICISF, are suggestions only – all with the intention of educating those suffering from critical incident stress that what they are feeling is NORMAL.
It should be noted that critical incidents are not experienced only by those in law enforcement. Any event outside the range of normal human experience can happen to anyone, such as witnessing or being the victim of a violent crime. The following is information we give our police officers after they have been involved in a critical incident, but can be applied to anyone:
SUGGESTED POST-CRITICAL INCIDENT DO’S AND DON’TS
DO:
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Do expect the incident to bother you
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Do maintain a good diet, cutting down on caffeine and sugar
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Do exercise
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Do remind yourself that post-trauma symptoms are normal
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Do spend time with family and friends
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Do get extra help, if necessary
DON’T:
- Don’t drink alcohol excessively
- Don’t use legal or illegal substances to numb post-trauma symptoms
- Don’t withdraw from family and friends
- Don’t think you are ‘crazy’
- Don’t think you are the only one affected (if it was a large incident)
- Don’t have unrealistic expectations for recovery
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There are several reasons for the ‘do’s and don’ts’. By eating right, you give your body the nourishment it needs to help you recover. Exercise releases endorphins, making you feel better. If you numb the symptoms by drinking too much or taking some other type of drug, you are only delaying the onset of symptoms and your ultimate recovery.
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You don’t have to start doing marathon sessions in the gym, or forgoing your usual glass of wine with dinner. All you have to do is to remember to look after yourself, because you’ve just gone through a pretty horrible experience.
Hopefully, you will never have to put into practice the tips I’ve provided above. Tomorrow, I’ll provide a list of symptoms that may be experienced after a critical incident – again, knowledge is power.
I try to touch on a specialty squad each Thursday, and while the following section is a team within the VPD, it is more a peer support group than an operational squad. Also, this is in direct response to comments regarding my last post, ‘Reptilian Brain Stem’, where I recount an assault on my partner.
Formed in the mid 1990’s, the Vancouver Police Department’s Critical Incident Stress Management Team (CISM, and formerly called the Trauma Team) was created to address the need for officers involved in serious incidents to receive some type of peer support. While there are a number of psychologists who assist with the team, the CISM Team is comprised of police officers, and there are several different functions the team fulfills. As I’ve been a member of the CISM Team since 2003, I can give you an idea of how the team functions.
First off, our mandate is to ‘Do No Harm’. We are a group of police officers who are ready and willing to listen and help other officers who have been involved in a critical incident. We are not psychologists, and we are not mental health professionals – we are simply there for peer support, and to give the effected officers information on how their minds and bodies may react after the incident. Knowledge is power, and by doing this, we prepare officers to be better able to cope with the fallout of a critical incident.
Our second mandate is confidentiality. Whatever is said during a debriefing or a defusing stays in the room – if there is no confidentiality with people’s raw emotions, then the team becomes ineffective.
Third, the CISM Team works closely with a number of psychologists and we go through extensive ongoing training.
Some facts about critical incidents:
- Critical Incident – a cataclysmic event that serves to overwhelm one’s normal coping mechanism. An event that is outside the range of a normal or usual human experience.
- Critical Incident Stress – The body’s normal response to an unnatural situation.
The Vancouver Police Department has identified the ‘Big Ten’ critical incidents most likely to cause stress:
- Line of Duty death
- Line of Duty serious injury
- Suicide of a co-worker
- Disaster or multi-casualty incident
- Police involved shooting
- Accidental killing or wounding of a civilian
- Significant events involving children
- Prolonged incidents ending in failure
- Excessive media coverage
- any other powerful event
So let’s say a group of officers is involved in a call where the suspect is killed. Everyone involved in the incident is brought together before they are allowed to go home, and the CISM Team conducts a diffusing. The primary function of the diffusing is to see how everyone is doing, to give everyone a chance to see how their co-workers are, and for the team to pass on some coping tips. The Team gives the involved members a handout outlining possible stress symptoms they may experience, and points out that all the symptoms are normal. If anyone’s interested on the symptoms, I can do another post with the list.
Then, at a later date (within a week), the same group is brought together again for a debriefing. This time, a psychologist is present, and the debriefing is conducted at a location other than the police station. It’s important to remember this is not an operational debrief, this is a check to see how everyone is coping. Also, if one person says they are not coping well and are not sleeping, it may help the next officer who is feeling the same. It’s all about ensuring the officers know that their bodies are having a NORMAL response to an UNNATURAL SITUATION.
All members of the VPD’s CISM Team are trained through the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation, Inc..
