RESILIENCE IN A TIME OF WAR: TIPS FOR EDUCATORS AND CAREGIVERS

Helping Others

	Ask survivors how they are doing and listen carefully to the answers.
	Allow people to talk but acknowledge their right to just listen.
	Encourage people to share information about their losses or feel free to just communicate about whatever is on their minds.
	Accept all feelings and reactions as valid.
	Be prepared to hear “worse case” scenarios related to the crisis.
	Respect and confirm the confidentiality of the information shared (as related to individual contacts with survivors).

Signs of Burnout

· Overwhelming fatigue

· Physical symptoms including gastrointestinal (GI) problems, headaches, aches and pains

· Sleep disturbances

· Inability to express yourself --verbally or in writing

· Inability to make decisions

· Loss of objectivity

· Irritability leading to anger or rage

· Cynicism

· Depression

· Suicidal thoughts

· Pessimism

· Fear

· Feeling ineffective

· Personal identification with victims and families

· Becoming cold and unfeeling

Preventing Burnout

· Crises will personally affect all participants including caregivers.

· Training and emotional discipline will help you function at desired levels in a crisis, but they will not eliminate the potential for personal reactions that can create problems at the scene or afterwards.

· Past history of personal losses or trauma may resurface and are often characterized as “vicarious victimization”

· Although people expect you, by virtue of your title or professional background, to be available to assist, you may have been traumatized by the events and truly be unprepared to render assistance to others.

· Know your limitations and with what you can feel reasonably comfortable or uncomfortable handling in a crisis.

· Ask for support from family and friends in terms of reducing pressures or demands during the crisis response.

· Be sure to maintain appropriate and healthy dietary and water intake.

· Take periodic rest breaks at least every couple of hours while on crisis response.

· As much as possible, try to get some restful sleep, preferably without the use of sleep aids or alcohol.

· Consider brief intervals of vigorous exercise as a natural stress reliever.

· Connect with trusted friends or family who can help take the edge off of the moment.

· Take time at the end of each day while to process or debrief the events of the day with team members or colleagues.

· When back at home, seek out a mental health colleague or trusted other to talk about your experiences and feelings.

· Recognize that your reactions are normal and occur frequently among many well-trained crisis professionals.

· Be kind and gentle on yourself and others, as you have all shared exposure to a life-changing event.

The UPSTATE CENTER for TRAUMA and PREVENTION RESOURCES (UCTPR)

“Tips for Educators and Caregivers” is part of the UCTPR Series
The Connection between Trauma and Substance Use, Abuse and Addiction
a program of the Council on Alcoholism and other Chemical Dependencies of the Finger Lakes.
Funding for this project was provided by the NYS Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services
under a grant from the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention of SAMHSA.
Material was adapted from the National Association of School Psychologists.
For more information, visit the webpage at: www.trauma-and-alcoholism.com.