Unplugging In Our Digital Age, A Necessary Break

Unplugging  can be hard in this world where everything seems to be connected to everything else. I see a lot of posts on line that ask about unplugging. The only problem is that to be unplugged means you are disconnected from everything. Wait though, isn't that the point? In emergency services we are surrounded by media, radios, MDT's, cell phones and we are constantly being bombarded. We spend four days glued to these devices and then when we are on days off we are surrounded by tablets, TV's, super phones, GPS and more! This is not healthy. Unplugging is one of the most freeing and necessary things you should do. Unplugging is easy, though many people are too afraid to try it.

I think that some people in emergency services have recently started to learn that getting away from everything is healthy. It is exciting to be in this time in EMS, although there is a lot of darkness and storms still to weather. As the story goes though it is always darkest before the dawn. The media attention and public admissions of people under duress in our industry is ushering in changes that have been necessary for decades. This change will still take a long time as old ways of thinking take a long time to die, but the most unwise thoughts we can have is "we have always done it this way." In the meantime I encourage people every where to unplug.

Before my last post, I needed some time to reflect on my problem, and on the solution. The steps I will take to ensure I break this habit. The two days before I wrote my last post I decided it was time to unplug. I literally shut my phone off, and took time for me. I spent time with a good friend and went on a long hike. I also spent some time cooking and avoided television, especially the news. This time was for me and was important. It is also something I plan to embrace often. When we are surrounded by digital media and constantly bombarded our psyche takes a beating. We may not notice it as it is now just what we are used to. We are surrounded by it in every aspect of our lives.

I encourage you to take the time to shut off your computer, shut off your phone, and even shut off your television. Take time to be outside, enjoy nature, look at wildlife. It is one of the most therapeutic things you can do for yourself. When your mind is full of stressful situations, and some of the awful things we see in our career, clean air, blue skies, trees and nature are an almost certified treatment. Of course it is not always just that easy, but when things are getting you down it is a good stop gap that can cleanse your mind and help you regain perspective.

Perspective of our place in the world is vital to ensuring we continue to provide our best work in our career. We are not machines, and we are far from perfect. We strive to be, but at times we are not going to get there. It's important to take that pride in what we do, as our career can literally be life and death, but we can not let it define us. Those decisions that we make, right or wrong, will carry with us always. It's how it works. Gaining perspective will help us to realize that we don't have to be perfect. We strive to always be as perfect as we can, but dwelling on things that may or may not have made a difference will take a much deeper toll on your psyche than you think. It is time to unplug, and refocus your perspective on things. This allows for recovery, and for healing, which in turn makes us better practitioners.