Hello! Welcome to Day 14 of the 2022 First Responders Are Human event. Today is the LAST day of our event, although this won’t be the last you hear from us. Over the last two weeks, we have shared a tool each day that you can add to your toolbox. These tools ultimately help first responders be resilient on and off the job. While many of the stressors first responders face are systemic, it is still important that we be able to maintain our own mental health.
Today’s Tool: Resiliency
Today’s tool isn’t so much a tool on its own, as it is the end result of using the tools we’ve been discussing to create your toolbox. Resiliency is the ability to manage stressors and return to a pre-stressor state of being. Resiliency doesn’t mean that you won’t be changed by the stressors, but that you will experience positive change instead of negative consequences.
What Does Resiliency Have to do With Anything?
Think of your ability to handle stress/trauma as a bucket that you carry around. Stressful and traumatic events fill up the bucket. Resiliency helps you empty the bucket faster or make the bucket bigger. First responders tend to work in positions where we deal with a lot of stressors. Both because of the nature of the work itself and because of systemic issues involving workplace culture, staff management, wages, and scheduling.
Resilience is something that we have to develop. Some people are forced to develop it through acutely stressful situations. Other people are able to develop it by purposefully engaging in things that can make us more resilient, like the tools we’ve been discussing. Resiliency is important because it can help us have mentally and physically healthy careers and lives.
How Can I Be Resilient?
There are a bunch of things you can do to be more resilient! All the tools we’ve discussed over the last two weeks are things that you can do to improve your resiliency. Broadly, people who are resilient tend to have the following traits:
Able to tolerate uncertainty and remain flexible in response to new events and information.
Able to set goals, manage if they don’t meet those goals, and quickly develop an alternative goal/plan.
Manage strong emotions proactively and avoid negativity in stressful situations.
Recognize the good in others and situations.
Embrace the present and future, and avoid dwelling on things in the past they can not change.
Are able to maintain a strong social support network.
Able to set healthy boundaries and adhere to them, and know when to ask for help.
Spend time alone in order to process and reflect on their experiences.
You don’t have to have all these traits to be resilient, just like you don’t have to put all the tools we’ve talked about in your toolbox. Your resiliency can also be affected negatively if your basic needs aren’t met. It is hard to cope with stress when you’re tired, hungry, and cold.
Final Thoughts
We hope that over the last two weeks you’ve explored the tools that we have shared and have begun building your toolbox. Maintaining your toolbox is an ongoing process, and there are always additional tools out there for you to explore.
Today’s content was developed with the assistance of Kelly McWeeney Curran
Helpful Links & Sources:
To Do:
Follow the event on Facebook, Instagram, and join the Strava group.
Download the daily posters to use on social media.
Reflect on today’s tool and how you’ve incorporated it into your life or how you might incorporate it.
Post your reflection and physical activity on social media or the participant’s group to help spread the word and to encourage accountability and camaraderie.
Use the hashtags #movementismedicine and #firstrespondersarehuman on social media.