The Never Ending Search for Resilience.

 

Introduction

Resilience is a complex concept. It's the ability to bounce back from hardship and stress, and it's what helps us survive difficult situations. But how do you achieve resilience? How do you know if you're already a resilient person? And how can you become more resilient in your life? These questions are at the heart of me, so I'll share with you what I've learned over the years about resilience — hopefully this will help give you some insight into how to build your own personal resilience skills!

How did you become a resilient person? What is resilience?

Resilience is the ability to bounce back from adversity, adapt to change and recover from setbacks. It allows us to withstand stress, maintain a positive attitude and thrive in the face of adversity. The term resilience is often used interchangeably with the words perseverance, tenacity or strength but it actually means something different than those terms do. According to Dictionary.com resilience means “the power or tendency of something (as a material) that has been stretched or compressed to return toward its original size and shape after being compressed; elasticity".

In short: Resilience is what allows you to keep going when things get tough!

What is a resilient person?

A resilient person is someone who has the ability to bounce back from difficulties and setbacks. Resilience is a quality that helps you overcome adversity, adapt to change, recover from trauma and loss, recover from grief or trauma.

Resilience is not something you are born with but it can be developed over time through resilience training.

Why are you resilient?

Resilience is not a fixed state, but rather a process of continued growth. This means that all of us have the capacity to be resilient, even if we have previously experienced trauma or challenge. The key is to identify and develop our personal strengths as well as our strategies for coping with adversity.

Resilience is rooted in our sense of self or identity—the idea that we are unique individuals with goals and values that guide us through life’s journey. Our sense of self allows us to realize when things are out of alignment with who we truly are and gives us the power to take action on behalf of ourselves by making changes in our lives that align more closely with who we want to be.

Our ability to cope with stressors depends upon how much support we receive from others (friends/family) during difficult times; however, it also requires an individualized approach based on what works best for each person due to their unique physical, psychological and/or social needs at any given time in order for optimal health outcomes over time

How did you survive the hard times in your life?

What is resilience?

Resilience is the ability to bounce back from hardship. It’s the skill of keeping your head up when life gets rough and finding a way through the tough times. And while it can be hard to define, we all have it in some form—maybe it’s an ability to meet challenges with optimism, or maybe it’s simply knowing that you always have something positive to say about yourself and your life. Whatever your resilience looks like, it's likely something that's helped you achieve great things over time.

What advice can you give other people who want to become more resilient?

Resilience requires self-compassion. If you are feeling like your life is falling apart, give yourself permission to feel that way. After all, it's human! Take time to listen to your body and slow down so that you can breathe deeply and make decisions with more clarity. This will help you feel more grounded as well as others around you.

Be kinder than usual to others during this time as they may also be going through something similar. And finally, if possible: be kinder than usual to the earth! The planet is our home base—we all live here together—and we need her now more than ever before in order for humanity's future generations' resilience potentials (that's a fancy word for "potential") not only survive but thrive too.*

Find the message of hope and healing within.

Acknowledge your feelings, but don't dwell on them.

Don't let negative thoughts take over and define you. Remember—you are stronger than you think, and with practice, you'll get better at dealing with your emotions. But in the meantime there are things you can do right now to help yourself feel more positive and resilient:

• Focus on the positive aspects of life: There is always something good going on in any situation, so try to identify what that is for you right now (for example, maybe someone called to check up on you or took time out of their day to talk).

• Use your strengths as resources: Identify the things in life that give meaning to who you are (for example, being a good listener) and use these qualities when faced with difficult situations or negative emotions like stress or anxiety.* Be grateful for what's important: What makes each day worthwhile? Think about how lucky we are as human beings because we have basic needs met such as food/water etc., which others all over the world do not.* Do something fun! Activities that require physical activity such as sports teams/clubs/recreation classes will give us energy levels back up again after hard days at work since we're using different muscles than sitting behind desks typing away all day long!

Conclusion

I hope my story has given you some insight into what it means to be a resilient person. I also hope that it has shown that there is no one-size-fits all approach to resilience, because each of us has our own unique challenges and experiences that shape who we are today. But most importantly, I want everyone who reads this article to know that no matter what happens in life—no matter how hard things get—there is always hope for tomorrow. There’s always someone out there who will listen when you need them most; the trick is just finding them!

It's On Fire, We Are On Fire, Everything Is On Fire....

Image by F. Muhammad  from Pixabay

 Well, things have not improved! In fact, I would say they continue to get worse. I have heard tell that we are still running super short staffed, and it directly affected me on my last night! 

I won't go into too much detail as the call is still very fresh, both in terms of what happened, when it happened, and how it's sitting with me. Since this pandemic began and responses became longer and longer, and more staff have had to go off due to the stress induced by this nightmare I have had one fear. 

That fear is that I will be alone, on a call, that is critical and back up will be a long way off. Well the other night this fear became a reality. The good news, I got through it! The Bad News, A patient waited for almost 35 minutes for a transport capable ambulance to transport them to the hospital. The result, the patient was far worse off than they should have been on arrival to the Emergency Department. I did all I could for this patient, and managed to keep them alive, and then when my transport arrived we were able to quickly move them to the ambulance and to the hospital. At the hospital the treatments started on scene and enroute were beginning to work, however, the patient still has a lot to go through to get better. 

This type of call should NEVER be waiting that long for a transport capable ambulance. As a Paramedic Response Unit Operator I am tasked with being on scene first to higher acuity calls, however the job of Paramedics remains the same! We arrive on scene, stabilize critical life threats, extricate and transport to the hospital. THAT IS THE FUNDAMENTAL ROLE OF A PARAMEDIC. And let me tell you, NO ONE does it better than we do with the wheels moving! 

Did you catch them last three words?........ THE WHEELS MOVING.... When we are stuck on scene due to ambulance and staff shortages, the wheels aren't moving! Many of our calls are time sensitive, even if the patient is stable! 

It's not just that they have to wait, it's the follow up costs that become associated with their recovery that no one is talking about. The longer a patient is delayed from treatment, in some cases, the longer their recovery becomes. Once they have a longer recovery, they are in hospital, or using health care resources for a longer period of time. We are blessed that we have a health care system that will do this, but it's so stretched right now. There are delays in surgeries, which are causing people to rely on health care dollars to help them be at home while waiting. There are back ups in the ED meaning people that are critically ill are being delayed to triage, which is having negative outcomes. This is NOT the fault of our front line staff. The system is decimated, from top to bottom! 

So what's the fix? I don't have a concrete answer. What I do know is that we need to watch out for each other, Paramedics, Police, Firefighters, Nurses, emergency Doctors, Emergency support staff, and so many others. We are all out here, showing up, doing the best we can, and we have to support each other. Stay strong my brothers and sisters and everyone! 

If you like what you are reading, please Click Here to have my blog sent straight to your email when new posts are published, and let's build a real community of heroes! That's what you are as a first responder or supporter of first responders and public health care. 

Pandemic, Short Staffing, Record Call Volume, Oh MY!

 

It's really like every day is a full moon lately isn't it? The Call Volume has been incredible, we and our colleagues are burnt out, book offs are at an all time high, and the level of staff off on physical or mental health injury is higher than it's ever been. I want you to know that I see you! 

I see everyone of you. I see you SHOWING UP wherever you are, including if you are off! This last two years has stolen so much from all of YOU! I see you! At work, you are tired, you are angry, you are hurting. I. SEE. YOU. 

The point of this post is that the only thing we have left to rely on is one another! Management has failed us, the government is determined to destroy us, our biggest fans have turned against us and the only people who appreciate anything we do, are our patients in the moment they need us. I want us to change our thinking! We have to be fully aware of each other. 

You are way too important to be left out here on your own. You have worked your ass off during this pandemic and you deserve to be recognized, however don't hold your breath. It seems that there are people that would like that work to be unrecognized. But I recognize you! You have pushed yourself beyond the limits of your believed end and found new strength and resilience. I am so proud of every one of you, as you continued to show up day after day, and continued to bust your ass. You still generate high positive patient satisfaction. I have not forgotten those of you that were injured, and had to take a rest. You pushed yourself further than the rest of us, and your health and healing is the ONLY thing you should focus on! DO NOT push yourself back to work, HEAL FULLY PLEASE! 

There is no more message to this post other than, I SEE YOU! I see our newest staff, coming in, and immediately being thrown into the fire! I see you excelling despite the lack of support that is there. I see you excelling through equipment failures, truck failures, shift disruptions, partner book offs and more! I want everyone to know that I am here for you! If you need to talk, or at least know you are supported in some way, I am here! Keep being the amazing paramedics and health care staff that you already are. YOU have NOTHING TO PROVE! If you are hurting and have had too much and need to take time for you and your family and time for healing, TAKE IT!!! 

Thank you for continuing to follow me and read what I write, this article was a long wait, and I will always continue to try to be more consistent. If you got some value or you want people to know they are seen, please like, comment and share this post with everyone!