Most of us like to think that should we ever be called upon to help someone in trouble that we would be able to give them what they need. (It’s kinda nice to imagine ourselves as a life-saving hero.)
But even if you are highly trained and skilled in say delivering CPR, there is always the question of what happens to you AFTER you help someone?
(We were reminded of this recently because a graduate of one of our classes literally had to perform life-saving CPR on someone close to them, within days of completing their first-aid training with us.)
How can delivering first aid affect you?
There’s no doubt that it can be a pretty confronting experience to have someone have a heart attack in front of you. If you’re trained in first aid and feel confident that you know what to do, often the adrenaline will kick in and you will just jump into action and help them.
If you know what you are doing, you should produce a positive outcome (but not always). But no matter what happens, you may find yourself dealing with some of the after effects of delivering first aid, which can actually be quite strong.
From reports it seems a lot of people experience reactions like these after delivering first aid to someone, especially if it's a particularly serious situation:
Shock
Emotional ups & downs
Anxiety or flashbacks
Blaming yourself (particularly if the outcome wasn’t good)
Wanting to be left alone
Feeling numb or hopeless
If you find yourself suffering from any of these after giving someone CPR, just remember everyone has different ways of coping after they experience what can be a traumatic event. Try to remember that if you have these feelings they will most likely lessen and pass with time.
How to get over the effects of delivering first aid in a traumatic situation
There are some practical things you can do to lessen the impact of the event.
Talking to friends and family about the incident and going over it again can help displace some of the upset.
It can also help to spend a little extra time taking care of yourself. Do some things you enjoy, like going for more walks in pleasant places or spending time in a beautiful garden or at a lovely beach or somewhere else nice.
It can also help to read up a bit more on what happens during say a heart attack or cardiac arrest so you understand more about what was going on with the person while you were trying to help them.
Such incidents rarely have long-term effects and there’s no need to get overly worried if you don’t feel too good for a few days or even a few weeks after the incident. The last thing you want to do is start worrying your feelings are permanent, generally they’re not.
And please feel free to contact us if you find yourself in this situation, Our trainers are very experienced in this area and a quick chat could help you. Call 1300 661 065 anytime. We'd be happy to help talk you through it.
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