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ysabetwordsmithWhile researching conventional triage systems, I also found this empath triage system. It's aimed at everyday encounters, however, rather than disaster scenes. I have personally handled emotional first aid at a disaster scene, so let me create a basic triage routine for that:
* The first thing you do in an emergency is case the scene. The second is pick a job. If you have selected Emotional First Aid, then:
* Do a wide sweep of the whole scene looking for people who are obviously melting down. If these are present, treat emotional meltdown first. These are the people most likely to go into shock, run into traffic, or otherwise suffer bad outcomes without immediate aid. In a mass-casualty incident, you will need to judge who needs your help the worst and who you can help the most. Probably you can treat just one severe emotional casualty. These people need the most help because they are invisibly bleeding out. Some won't be able to talk, and the ones who can, usually can't think clearly. They need someone to keep them physically safe and mentally buffered until they calm down enough to make their own decisions or you can hand them off to a friend or professional. Regrettably local-America doesn't offer much emergency psychological care unless the person is trying to hurt themselves or someone else, but helplines and a few other resources do exist.
* If nobody is melting down, make another sweep looking for people who are crying, throwing up, or otherwise showing moderate signs of distress. Sometimes you can get several of these to come together a little distance from ground zero so you can talk to them all at once. Stay calm, say reassuring things, and help them regain their emotional equilibrium if possible. Refer them to outside sources if those become available. This group has fairly consistent needs, mainly someone to lean on, and you can usually get them settled enough to begin self-care, which is mostly what they need to recover.
* If there are no obvious signs of distress, move through the crowd and look for people who are quietly upset. Try to identify who witnessed the event and/or knows someone involved, as they are likely to be upset even if they don't show it. If you pass the word that you're offering EFA, the "walking wounded" can come gather around you. Should the incident be big enough to last a while and involve supplies, put up a sign saying "Emotional First Aid." In local-America you may be the only one with those skills, but occasionally a professional may show up and take over for you. Among this group of people needing help, what some of them need will be a practical task to do. Look around, there's almost always something that needs done at a disaster scene. Some people can minimize their risk of crystallizing intrusive memories if they ram in something more positive. Others need to talk or sit quietly. You'll see the most diversity in this group, and you need to talk with them to find out what each person needs.
* Keep an eye out for secondary casualties. In a bad scene, sometimes one of the citizen responders or first responders will stagger away to go throw up, cry, or lean against a tree trying to pretend they're not freaking out. It's most prone to happen if they lose a patient, especially a child, but sometimes sheer overload or something else will do it. Ask how they are and if they need help. Responders of any type are more likely to have enough coping skills to say what they need. They're also more likely to snap "I'm fine!" Well, at least you tried.
* After you have taken care of other people's emotional needs, do a self-check. How are you feeling psychologically and physically? Do you need to use the bathroom, eat, drink, or lie down? How do you plan to process your experiences? Depending on the situation, you may feel relatively okay, somewhat stressed, or freaked out. Try to estimate the amount of damage you have taken, if any, and treat it accordingly. Here's a checklist for when you feel awful that covers most of the basics.
Remember, if all you do is keep someone from getting hit by a car or developing PTSD, you probably just saved a life. Go you.
Now here's a routine for ushers, soul workers, and other people with gifts relevant to helping the dying or dead instead of the living:
* Case the scene and select a job. If you have selected soul assistance, be as discreet as possible! It is not widely practiced in most modern societies, and if people catch you doing it, they may well knock the mop out of your hands before you can finish up. Consider these steps:
* If you can help the dying, start there. (See combat triage tips for physical clues to impending death, but most people who choose this task have subtle senses for that purpose.) You can prevent the most damage in this position. Just because they are "expectant" doesn't mean it's okay to let them suffer.
** If you can get close enough to touch them, try to find a relatively undamaged hand or other body part to hold. Talk to the person and work to keep them calm. They are more likely to have trouble transitioning if they are panicking. (In this, it's exactly like childbirth, and some of the same techniques help.) If they can breathe well, you can coach them on calm breathing or pain control breathing. If they're struggling to breathe, you can try muscle relaxation or invite them to listen to your breathing. Different techniques will work depending on why they are dying. What matters most is making sure they know they're not alone, and offering them something to focus on. If they can speak, ask about their religion if any. Knowing that lets you make a specific call for assistance from the death escort(s) of that tradition, or provide passing prayers if you or the victim know them. Otherwise you'll have to rely on your own.
** If you can't get close to the dying person, which is common with emergency personnel on scene, then you can still help by making a call to whatever death escort(s) you work with. It's basically like calling an ambulance, just for a later stage in the journey. If you're on good working terms with the most common religion in that locale, ask for their assistance too. In addition to spirit work, you also have the option of notifying a nearby church or prayer circle, which is a good idea with a messy incident that's going to hit tomorrow's papers. Some congregations have established methods for handling this stuff.
** Ethics vary by tradition and individual regarding whether or not to assist in the direction of a soul's travel. However, the majority seems to consider it acceptable to help the soul in whichever direction it is striving toward, whether it is trying to kick free of a mangled body or cling as long as possible. Sometimes souls make a choice that might have fraught outcomes, but it's their choice. It is advisable to know your stance before encountering this dilemma, as some individuals are only comfortable helping in one direction and others not at all.
* If nobody is actively dying, check for the recently dead. Quite often, a sudden violent death confuses the soul, and they're prone to getting stuck instead of moving on. You can help them and everyone else by assisting them on their way.
** If a soul is obviously panicking, first try to calm them down. Discourage them from wandering away at random, attaching to the spot of demise, or trying to crawl back into their dead body.
** If you can read the "ticket" that comes with religious affiliation, you can put them directly on that "route" yourself. People with strong faith typically know what they should expect upon death, but sudden death is as disorienting as a whack over the head and anyone can be knocked off course by it. This group of souls is easiest to help because all they need is a reminder and a nudge -- they'll usually snap out of the daze and make a beeline for their beloved destination.
** If you can open a door between worlds, just doing that is often sufficent to attract newly deceased souls to go through it; if not, you can gently shoo them along. If they have a preset destination, it will automatically take them there; if not, it lets out into the collective "bus station" where they will quite probably have no idea what to do, but that's okay because there are death escorts whose job it is to gather up the lost ones and help them figure out where to go. All you really need to do is get them through the gate. Remember that opening this door tends to be exhausting and is likely the last thing you'll be able to do. Make sure you have appropriate backup before doing it.
** If you can't do either of the more advanced things above, then call whatever death escort(s) you work with and ask them to handle the situation. They have more resources than you do.
* If you're not sure whether or not someone has died on scene, follow your tradition's guidelines for that situation. Souls who bounce well may fall out of their body and go right to their chosen route, even after an unexpected departure, and those rarely leave a trace. But some traditions have stuff you're supposed to say or do to keep the area clean and safe after any major mayhem or possible death.
* Sometimes the dying or the dead may give you a message to pass along. This may or may not be possible, but do your best.
* After taking care of others, check your own spiritual and other welfare. Apply self-care as needed.
* After leaving the scene, you may wish to plan for prayer, ritual, or other spiritual activities to soothe the soul(s) of the departed and the bereaved.
Remember that many people are afraid of dying in general and dying alone most of all. If what you can do is ease that passage, you've done a good job.
* The first thing you do in an emergency is case the scene. The second is pick a job. If you have selected Emotional First Aid, then:
* Do a wide sweep of the whole scene looking for people who are obviously melting down. If these are present, treat emotional meltdown first. These are the people most likely to go into shock, run into traffic, or otherwise suffer bad outcomes without immediate aid. In a mass-casualty incident, you will need to judge who needs your help the worst and who you can help the most. Probably you can treat just one severe emotional casualty. These people need the most help because they are invisibly bleeding out. Some won't be able to talk, and the ones who can, usually can't think clearly. They need someone to keep them physically safe and mentally buffered until they calm down enough to make their own decisions or you can hand them off to a friend or professional. Regrettably local-America doesn't offer much emergency psychological care unless the person is trying to hurt themselves or someone else, but helplines and a few other resources do exist.
* If nobody is melting down, make another sweep looking for people who are crying, throwing up, or otherwise showing moderate signs of distress. Sometimes you can get several of these to come together a little distance from ground zero so you can talk to them all at once. Stay calm, say reassuring things, and help them regain their emotional equilibrium if possible. Refer them to outside sources if those become available. This group has fairly consistent needs, mainly someone to lean on, and you can usually get them settled enough to begin self-care, which is mostly what they need to recover.
* If there are no obvious signs of distress, move through the crowd and look for people who are quietly upset. Try to identify who witnessed the event and/or knows someone involved, as they are likely to be upset even if they don't show it. If you pass the word that you're offering EFA, the "walking wounded" can come gather around you. Should the incident be big enough to last a while and involve supplies, put up a sign saying "Emotional First Aid." In local-America you may be the only one with those skills, but occasionally a professional may show up and take over for you. Among this group of people needing help, what some of them need will be a practical task to do. Look around, there's almost always something that needs done at a disaster scene. Some people can minimize their risk of crystallizing intrusive memories if they ram in something more positive. Others need to talk or sit quietly. You'll see the most diversity in this group, and you need to talk with them to find out what each person needs.
* Keep an eye out for secondary casualties. In a bad scene, sometimes one of the citizen responders or first responders will stagger away to go throw up, cry, or lean against a tree trying to pretend they're not freaking out. It's most prone to happen if they lose a patient, especially a child, but sometimes sheer overload or something else will do it. Ask how they are and if they need help. Responders of any type are more likely to have enough coping skills to say what they need. They're also more likely to snap "I'm fine!" Well, at least you tried.
* After you have taken care of other people's emotional needs, do a self-check. How are you feeling psychologically and physically? Do you need to use the bathroom, eat, drink, or lie down? How do you plan to process your experiences? Depending on the situation, you may feel relatively okay, somewhat stressed, or freaked out. Try to estimate the amount of damage you have taken, if any, and treat it accordingly. Here's a checklist for when you feel awful that covers most of the basics.
Remember, if all you do is keep someone from getting hit by a car or developing PTSD, you probably just saved a life. Go you.
Now here's a routine for ushers, soul workers, and other people with gifts relevant to helping the dying or dead instead of the living:
* Case the scene and select a job. If you have selected soul assistance, be as discreet as possible! It is not widely practiced in most modern societies, and if people catch you doing it, they may well knock the mop out of your hands before you can finish up. Consider these steps:
* If you can help the dying, start there. (See combat triage tips for physical clues to impending death, but most people who choose this task have subtle senses for that purpose.) You can prevent the most damage in this position. Just because they are "expectant" doesn't mean it's okay to let them suffer.
** If you can get close enough to touch them, try to find a relatively undamaged hand or other body part to hold. Talk to the person and work to keep them calm. They are more likely to have trouble transitioning if they are panicking. (In this, it's exactly like childbirth, and some of the same techniques help.) If they can breathe well, you can coach them on calm breathing or pain control breathing. If they're struggling to breathe, you can try muscle relaxation or invite them to listen to your breathing. Different techniques will work depending on why they are dying. What matters most is making sure they know they're not alone, and offering them something to focus on. If they can speak, ask about their religion if any. Knowing that lets you make a specific call for assistance from the death escort(s) of that tradition, or provide passing prayers if you or the victim know them. Otherwise you'll have to rely on your own.
** If you can't get close to the dying person, which is common with emergency personnel on scene, then you can still help by making a call to whatever death escort(s) you work with. It's basically like calling an ambulance, just for a later stage in the journey. If you're on good working terms with the most common religion in that locale, ask for their assistance too. In addition to spirit work, you also have the option of notifying a nearby church or prayer circle, which is a good idea with a messy incident that's going to hit tomorrow's papers. Some congregations have established methods for handling this stuff.
** Ethics vary by tradition and individual regarding whether or not to assist in the direction of a soul's travel. However, the majority seems to consider it acceptable to help the soul in whichever direction it is striving toward, whether it is trying to kick free of a mangled body or cling as long as possible. Sometimes souls make a choice that might have fraught outcomes, but it's their choice. It is advisable to know your stance before encountering this dilemma, as some individuals are only comfortable helping in one direction and others not at all.
* If nobody is actively dying, check for the recently dead. Quite often, a sudden violent death confuses the soul, and they're prone to getting stuck instead of moving on. You can help them and everyone else by assisting them on their way.
** If a soul is obviously panicking, first try to calm them down. Discourage them from wandering away at random, attaching to the spot of demise, or trying to crawl back into their dead body.
** If you can read the "ticket" that comes with religious affiliation, you can put them directly on that "route" yourself. People with strong faith typically know what they should expect upon death, but sudden death is as disorienting as a whack over the head and anyone can be knocked off course by it. This group of souls is easiest to help because all they need is a reminder and a nudge -- they'll usually snap out of the daze and make a beeline for their beloved destination.
** If you can open a door between worlds, just doing that is often sufficent to attract newly deceased souls to go through it; if not, you can gently shoo them along. If they have a preset destination, it will automatically take them there; if not, it lets out into the collective "bus station" where they will quite probably have no idea what to do, but that's okay because there are death escorts whose job it is to gather up the lost ones and help them figure out where to go. All you really need to do is get them through the gate. Remember that opening this door tends to be exhausting and is likely the last thing you'll be able to do. Make sure you have appropriate backup before doing it.
** If you can't do either of the more advanced things above, then call whatever death escort(s) you work with and ask them to handle the situation. They have more resources than you do.
* If you're not sure whether or not someone has died on scene, follow your tradition's guidelines for that situation. Souls who bounce well may fall out of their body and go right to their chosen route, even after an unexpected departure, and those rarely leave a trace. But some traditions have stuff you're supposed to say or do to keep the area clean and safe after any major mayhem or possible death.
* Sometimes the dying or the dead may give you a message to pass along. This may or may not be possible, but do your best.
* After taking care of others, check your own spiritual and other welfare. Apply self-care as needed.
* After leaving the scene, you may wish to plan for prayer, ritual, or other spiritual activities to soothe the soul(s) of the departed and the bereaved.
Remember that many people are afraid of dying in general and dying alone most of all. If what you can do is ease that passage, you've done a good job.
(no subject)
Date: 2018-08-24 11:51 am (UTC)Thoughts
Date: 2018-08-24 11:53 am (UTC)I was kind of appalled when I realized nobody had written down this stuff. But well ... that's local-America for you. >_
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2018-08-24 12:00 pm (UTC)Re: Thoughts
Date: 2018-08-24 01:25 pm (UTC)As for L-America... don't get me started. I will say this, Ysabet. This is part of why you're here. A good bard is also a teacher.. many don't do this explicitly, but let their work hold the lesson... you take the time to *point it out* so we don't miss it.
Thank you. *squish*
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2018-08-24 01:35 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2018-08-24 05:58 pm (UTC)I'm not a responder, but I work in a field with a higher-than-average psychological impact (information security, will Do It To You much the same way as some of the more obvious risk factors.) Most recently, I shook someone's sense of safety by accident in a casual chat about an interesting thing I found. *sigh* You live in this stuff all day, and it's easy to forget that not everybody /does/ and that in a half-decent world, not everybody would even think about it.
This stuff? The things you post about EFA have gotten me to the point where I'm doing way better about handling other people's distress, and sometimes helping with my own.
Hm. I've been to two talks now about the state of mental health in infosec (both of which were the same guy, both of which were focused hard on telling the horror stories rather than what we can do about it). At the risk of pigeonholing myself into nontechnical topics, I think that's one of those niches that's being poorly served right now...
Thoughts
Date: 2018-08-24 08:21 pm (UTC)*bow, flourish* Happy to be of service.
>> I'm not a responder, but I work in a field with a higher-than-average psychological impact (information security, will Do It To You much the same way as some of the more obvious risk factors.) <<
I can see that quite clearly.
>> Most recently, I shook someone's sense of safety by accident in a casual chat about an interesting thing I found. <<
Yeah, I have accidentally flattened more than one medical professional by talking about the table plates. To me, it's a cool clue-by-four because I've known about the antibiotic-loss problem for decades. But to someone who's unfamiliar with it, it's like getting flayed. Oops. My safety awareness toward other people is often kaput when I'm in an office.
>> *sigh* You live in this stuff all day, and it's easy to forget that not everybody /does/ and that in a half-decent world, not everybody would even think about it.<<
Exactly.
>> This stuff? The things you post about EFA have gotten me to the point where I'm doing way better about handling other people's distress, and sometimes helping with my own. <<
I am so happy I could help!
>> Hm. I've been to two talks now about the state of mental health in infosec (both of which were the same guy, both of which were focused hard on telling the horror stories rather than what we can do about it).<<
By the way, what you do with horror stories is an incident analysis. Identify the worst problems. Look for patterns of repetition. Identify where and how to interrupt that pattern. Deploy solutions. Let people vent, sure, but as soon as you start seeing pattern problems, fix them. Teach people that talking about those problems isn't whining, it's data collection, and therefore constitutes doing something about the problem. You just have to make sure there's a listener with excellent pattern sense and the power to initiate problem-solving steps.
>> At the risk of pigeonholing myself into nontechnical topics, I think that's one of those niches that's being poorly served right now... <<
I'm sure it's poorly served, because EFA is poorly served in general, and it takes a huge amount of time to make advances. People are just starting to realize that PTSD is contagious and can come from nonphysical causes. Let me lay out some keys you may find useful in your specific situation ...
* The biggest cause of traumatic stress seems to be feeling helpless rather than specific details of the stressor itself. That is, someone who experiences lower threat level but higher helplessness may have a worse outcome than someone with higher threat but lower helplessness.
Therefore, the most crucial thing to do in an emergency is to minimize feelings of helplessness. Some people deal with stress by craving something constructive to do. Give them that if at all possible. Others need to have expectations removed to take the weight off them, and be reassured that things can be done to address the problem but not all of that needs to be done immediately while they're too upset to think straight.
Effective ways to help would include:
** Get some people at work trained in psychological first aid. First, one to support your stressed-out geeks. Second, put your customer support crew through a mass training program if you can afford it. Computer problems make users feel helpless; a company which can relieve that feeling should grab market share hand over fist if your goods/services are any use at all.
** As much as feasible, support user control of goods/services. Much stress and argument comes from computers being arcane and hard to control. If there's a simple toggle to change settings, and users control it, and it really does what it claims -- like being able to turn off your location if your relatives are harassing you -- that's a huge help. Nothing saves the day like customer support saying, "It's okay. There's an easy fix for that problem. Go to Screen A ... Menu Tab B ... and uncheck Box C. Now go to your Status screen and confirm the change. Got it? Good. Have a nice day."
** Make some lists of concrete things that staff and users can do to reduce helplessness. Maybe one for each group addressing everyday issues and emergency issues. So whenever someone wails, "What can I do?" hand them the appropriate list and make sure they've done everything on it. This helps the "I need to take practical steps" crowds.
* Have resources for preventing PTSD in an emergency. You're never going to quash all of it but you can lower the numbers.
** You're in a great place for one of the most promising treatments: play any sorting-stacking game such as Tetris. Given how cheap handheld devices are nowadays, it's worth your while to collect and emergency basket of them loaded with sorting-stacking games and relaxing games or meditative soothers. Like any other recording/replay device, the brain cannot simultaneously record and replay, nor can it simultaneously store a short-term memory and do a complex task of totally different topic. So if you make the brain focus on something else that demands attention, like Tetris, that undermines its ability to form traumatic memories. The particular nature of stacking-sorting games also puts the brain in filing mode, and since PTSD is fundamentally a filing error, that helps the brain put distressing events in proper sequence, reducing the chance of them becoming misplaced trauma triggers.
** When traumatized, some people need to talk while others need not to talk. Make sure your company does not have mandated debriefing sessions, which are implicated in making PTSD worse. Conversely, don't abandon them or pressure them to suppress trauma and act fine. Offer options and let people choose what feels helpful in the moment.
* Get ahead of the emergency.
** Teach general coping skills, problem-solving, distress tolerance, stress reduction, and emergency management techniques. You might want to do an informal survey, or a formal one if the company can afford it, to identify which areas need help the most and concentrate on fixing them first. "No emergency is so bad that panic can't make it a lot worse."
** Provide tools and resources to cope with stress. If you don't yet have a quiet room, make one out of a spare office, breakroom, or even a closet. Include books or posters of copings skills and a basket of geek fidgets. Also put a basket of fidgets everywhere people are likely to feel stress, such as waiting rooms. Use the budding results of best practices studies to place stress-reducing decor such as nature scenes, houseplants, and/or aquaria. But double-check local outcomes because some geeks are nature-averse or indifferent and might do better with scenes of floating cities or happy robots.
* Pile up some resources on chronic stress, traumatic stress, prevention of PTSD, and emotional first aid.
** Look for checklists. Examine each item in a checklist while thinking about your workplace. Is this appropriate for your needs? If not, cross it out. Then look at the shape of the remaining list. Does it cover all the steps needed in your workplace? If not, add missing items. Lather, rinse, repeat with remaining lists. Now look at the whole set of lists. Do they cover all the types of problems that distress geeks and users in your context? If not, note what is missing. You will need to make checklists for those. Now go to your supervisor with this information. You'll need to meet with coworkers individually and/or in a group meeting to get feedback on whether these lists are a good fit, and if not, how to tweak them. When folks feel it's ready to test, deploy the checklists in a small area, get more feedback, tweak, and redeploy in a larger area until you're satisfied with the results. Just treat it like any other problem that needs the engineering problem-solving loop routine, it'll work.
** Someone should have the responsibility of scanning the cutting edge of the above listed topics for new developments. Don't wait for other people to solve a problem you're having. They are slow as a party server at peak demand. Gank their discoveries, give credit to the source, and use that to advance your own developments.
I know how to skip ahead and make obvious changes to things that aren't obvious to most people, so if you need help on this topic, I can be a sounding board or can be hired to write nonfiction. While I'm not fully fluent in geekspeak, I am good enough to get close and then one of your technical writers/editors could polish it up to company standards.
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2018-08-24 08:29 pm (UTC)That's good to hear.
>> As for L-America... don't get me started. <<
Sooth.
>> I will say this, Ysabet. This is part of why you're here. A good bard is also a teacher.. many don't do this explicitly, but let their work hold the lesson... <<
Yeah. It just took me several decades to find a method that worked. I've been doing activism since about the time I could talk. Ironically, the most effective method I've found isn't protesting or direct action; it's storytelling. This is a surprise in a culture that places little social value on storytelling, and all the more so that the best effect is coming from poetry in a culture that actively disdains poetry.
>> you take the time to *point it out* so we don't miss it. <<
*chuckle* Well, I have ulterior resources. I already know how value-added content works for storytelling in the silicon age. It's just a matter of cramming it into extant technology as best I can. Took me a while to remember I should be doing that, but I was initially occupied with shoving the advance of electronic publication to go faster. Had to put the wheels on the wagon first. ;)
Wait a hundred years, and there's a fair chance I'll be remembered as one of the first people to provide actionable footnotes in entertainment, rather than academic ones in research. By then, nobody will want to read the classics because they're all "flat" (not networked like what I write) and people will be employed in upgrading those. Mine will be some of the earliest work that's footnoted in the author's original hand. (Hi, future geeks! Rosetta stone formatting is your friend.) It's fun.
You may forget but
let me tell you this:
someone in some future time will think of us.
-- Sappho
>> Thank you. *squish* <<
You're welcome. *squish*
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2018-08-24 09:08 pm (UTC)no, this isn't irony. This has been this way since time immemorial. You can lecture someone about the goodness of an idea, but if it's not one they've already bought into, it will bounce off their shields... but science has shown that a story or a song will slide behind those shields and hit your intended target, the same as if you'd hit Smaug's missing scale.
This is why the role of Bard has existed for as long as we remember... and why they're so important.
Hell. How did Joshua ben Joseph get his most important points across?
STORYTELLING.
Hillel? STORIES.
Siddhartha? STOOOOORY.
So.... it does work out okay? Obviously if you have that farmemory we didn't utterly kill ourselves off.... this is good.
You may forget but
let me tell you this:
someone in some future time will think of us.
-- Sappho
Wise lady. But you knew that alreddie...
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2018-08-24 09:28 pm (UTC)I have a notes file I'm building on this, and I'm going to need to come back to this one when I can hook the notes file to a real keyboard, but.
>>Get some people at work trained in psychological first aid.<<
This, I think, is step #1. I have enough of a platform that I can do a pilot, and if it works, publish results where the wider community can get at them. But step 0 is compiling training, so that's what I'm looking at now.
>>feeling helpless<<
I have this one on my list already. \o/ Doing something right, anyway.
...this is rapidly becoming A Project. Eep.
>>like being able to turn off your location if your relatives are harassing you<<
Oh man, I could get /going/ about Google's abuses of data. >:(
>>So whenever someone wails, "What can I do?" hand them the appropriate list and make sure they've done everything on it.<<
OH OH OH. Checklists. I can DO checklists. :D
>>Have resources for preventing PTSD in an emergency.<<
I feel like we're halfway there on a number of important points, not just at my company but my industry. And it's a really good point about Tetris and other brain-toy games. I play Zen Koi for soothing - you're not stack-sorting quite the same way, but it's a pleasing, hypnotic, zero-pressure sort of game.
>>Make sure your company does not have mandated debriefing sessions, which are implicated in making PTSD worse.<<
Um. :( We have audits to meet.
That doesn't mean any /given/ person has to be in the room, but it does mean that, frex, if it was Bobby who caught the malicious traffic surge, it's Bobby who makes sure the report is correct. They don't have to /write/ it, but the expectation is that they will. That's something we can maybe work on, or at least provide aftercare options when it's unavoidable.
>>But double-check local outcomes because some geeks are nature-averse or indifferent and might do better with scenes of floating cities or happy robots.<<
If it's on a screen, no reason we can't have options. Pick happy robots, fish, happy robots WATCHING fish. In a forest. (Uh, I'd stare at that. Oops. XD)
Speaking of soothing geek toys: someone made a bunch of beautiful animated environments. Beware, some of the non-clear weather statuses have sound effects.
>>Just treat it like any other problem that needs the engineering problem-solving loop routine, it'll work.<<
That's the nice thing about having a self-correcting process. ;)
>>Someone should have the responsibility of scanning the cutting edge of the above listed topics for new developments.<<
Yeah. Right now that's me, acting out of annoyance at the state of my industry. I wonder if there's a group already working on this stuff..? If there is, bet I can find them.
>>They are slow as a party server at peak demand<<
I snickered, I admit. :D
>>I know how to skip ahead and make obvious changes to things that aren't obvious to most people, so if you need help on this topic, I can be a sounding board or can be hired to write nonfiction.<<
Oooooh. I will take you up on that.. um, when I get this thing out of concept and research and moving toward implementation? I'm sorry to say I don't know when that's going to be.
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2018-08-24 10:07 pm (UTC)*Bow, flourish* Happy to be of service.
>> This, I think, is step #1. I have enough of a platform that I can do a pilot, and if it works, publish results where the wider community can get at them.<<
YAAAYYY!!! 3q3q3q!! :D
>> But step 0 is compiling training, so that's what I'm looking at now. <<
I recommend that you visit my Memories page and read the How To posts, where I have compiled many relevant resources.
Also, a handful of companies offer formal training in EFA. Look at their resources to see if any of them sound helpful and affordable for your workplace.
>> Oh man, I could get /going/ about Google's abuses of data. >:( <<
Now add the crippling effects, and I mean that literally, of forced updates for people with disabilities. These tend to wipe out accessibility settings, which effectively bricks the device until an abled assistant can fix it.
>> OH OH OH. Checklists. I can DO checklists. :D <<
Huzzah!
>> I feel like we're halfway there on a number of important points, not just at my company but my industry. And it's a really good point about Tetris and other brain-toy games. I play Zen Koi for soothing - you're not stack-sorting quite the same way, but it's a pleasing, hypnotic, zero-pressure sort of game. <<
There's a wide variety of games and apps that help people deal with stress. Not everyone needs the same thing. Stacking-sorting games are specific to preventing PTSD for biological reasons, but other types have their own value in various contexts.
>> Um. :( We have audits to meet.
That doesn't mean any /given/ person has to be in the room, but it does mean that, frex, if it was Bobby who caught the malicious traffic surge, it's Bobby who makes sure the report is correct. They don't have to /write/ it, but the expectation is that they will. That's something we can maybe work on, or at least provide aftercare options when it's unavoidable. <<
How to address this:
* Make sure everyone understands at least the basics of PTSD, its causes and preventive measures. Then discuss what can make it worse; mandatory debriefing now counts as a known risk. Document that. Then explain that because it is a known risk, if your company does it to an employee who then develops PTSD and decides to sue, a good lawyer could easily make a case that the company knew or should have known that the practice was harmful, and is now liable for workman's comp for the lengthy and expensive treatment of PTSD. As most companies prefer to avoid losing such lawsuits, they are likely to work with you on avoiding that.
* To minimize this risk, first capitalize on the fact that people respond to stress in diverse ways. If even a handful of people are involved in a stressful event, probably at least one of them will want or need to talk about it. Make a point of asking about this and selecting the person(s) who wants to talk over the one(s) who feel worse talking about it when several possible people could write or review a report, etc. Get that in your company's standard operating procedure documents for that situation. It is easy, free, and saves a ton of trouble.
* Second, and this is crucial to avoiding employee injury and possible lawsuits, DO NOT force people through mandated debriefing if they are already showing signs of acute stress. The chance of meltdown is high and the chance of effective performance is low. Acute Stress Reaction is a normal response to an abnormal event, and the person is upset but can cope. It can be treated with self-care and social support. Acute Stress Disorder has the same context and symptoms, plus additional complications or intensity such that the person cannot cope and keep functioning. They may need short-term professional help, or more if it worsens into PTSD. When someone shows ASR symptoms, it means they are already at the limits of their cope and any additional stress could push them into decompensation and ASD. This is a critical point of intervention to prevent the problem from getting worse.
* If anyone sees that an employee, who just went through a stressful event or has a routinely stressful job, is struggling to cope then someone skilled in EFA should talk to them privately and see whether they are doing okay or need help. Compile a list of resources in your company and town for individuals needing extra support. Many counselors have short-term modules on things like coping skills, stress relief, and cognitive-behavioral therapy that deliver a lot of bang-for-buck.
* Other people find a support group helpful, and group therapy is often cheap or free. If your company has a huge disaster affecting many employees, an efficient way to address that is to call for volunteers to lead a support group, or hire one if no volunteer is available. You can minimize costs by paying for at least a handful of employees to take facilitator training so they can provide this service when needed, rather than having to hire an outsider every time it's needed. Identify criteria for when a support group would be indicated and put that in your disaster management or surge plan, so people know when to activate that solution. Another option is to have a generic support group that runs on a regular schedule, open to anyone experiencing work-related stress. But the needs and techniques are a bit different for closed (event-specific) and open (general work stress) groups, so having the option of both is better. Consider starting a general group first so you have the concept in place before an emergency requires launching a specific group. Promote this free mental support option as part of your employee benefits package. Since few companies offer mental care, this can be a competitive advantage.
>> If it's on a screen, no reason we can't have options. Pick happy robots, fish, happy robots WATCHING fish. In a forest. (Uh, I'd stare at that. Oops. XD) <<
That's a great option. However, bear in mind that screens cause more eyestrain than paper or houseplants, a crucial issue in a job that requires people to stare at screens all day like most geek jobs do. Options let people choose what they need in the moment.
Consider having a few coffeetable books: one landscapes, one animals, one abstract, one geeky. People can turn to pages they like. If budget is tight, buy suitable books at a used-book store or yardsale. Heck, put up a swap shelf for relaxing and self-help books in your breakroom. That doesn't have to cost anything.
>>Yeah. Right now that's me, acting out of annoyance at the state of my industry. I wonder if there's a group already working on this stuff..? If there is, bet I can find them. <<
Advances often start with one person. Ask around, someone may be doing more, but they're not doing a lot of it in public or it'd come up in a search. I'm still crossing my own breadcrumbs more often than other people's activity in several areas. But you plus me equals the seed of a group, and unlike me, you are in an environment to deploy the solutions at work with other people. That's useful.
>>Oooooh. I will take you up on that.. um, when I get this thing out of concept and research and moving toward implementation? I'm sorry to say I don't know when that's going to be. <<
That's fine. The problem will still be there when you're done compiling and ready to start drafting ideas for next steps.
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2018-08-25 05:31 am (UTC)Re: Thoughts
Date: 2018-08-28 04:39 pm (UTC)The droid’s photoreceptor winked off and on. Finally, it said, “There is no prohibition against that. A story cannot do damage.”
Anakin’s scarred face stretched in a wide, painful grin. “Is that what he thinks?” he murmured. “Good.”<\i>
- https://archiveofourown.org/works/7173134
Re: Thoughts
Date: 2018-08-28 04:40 pm (UTC)Re: Thoughts
Date: 2018-08-28 04:41 pm (UTC)Re: Thoughts
Date: 2018-08-28 04:42 pm (UTC)