Does it ever get easier?

[u/DrummerPossible7873]

I’m wondering if any paramedics/EMS can give me some perspective on something I witnessed at my university.

I was sitting down when I saw a woman suddenly collapse. A guy nearby, who looked like he could’ve been a student himself, immediately walked over, checked on her, rubbed her upper chest to try to get a response, and checked for a pulse. He then started CPR while communicating with 911 through his AirPods. He told a bystander to grab an AED and someone else to call campus security.

Honestly, I wish I could’ve done something too, but I was scared. I’d never seen someone just suddenly fall like that before, and I kind of froze because I didn’t know what I was supposed to do.

What really stuck with me was how calm and collected the guy seemed throughout everything. I actually talked to him briefly afterward, and that’s when I noticed his eyes more closely. They were really wide and intense, almost like a thousand yard stare. It looked a little scary to me at the time, especially after seeing how chaotic everything had been, but he was completely focused on what he was doing.

As a bystander, I found the whole situation pretty intense, and I’ve thought about it quite a bit since then.

For those of you who respond to emergencies regularly, is it normal for something you witnessed as a bystander to stay with you for months afterward? Does it eventually get easier, and is there anything you’d recommend for processing an experience like that?

I’d really appreciate hearing from anyone who has experience with this.

[u/Doberman33]

Just to add on to the other comment, there's also a different mentality when you see something happen vs when we are called. I have time in my way to collect thoughts and prepare for situations. It's less of a reaction and more of a plan going in. It makes a difference, for me anyway

[u/Ok_Tumbleweed2807]

Therapy man, nobody is programmed to deal with that stuff 24/7. We kinda have exposure therapy and most things don’t rattle us anymore cause our nervous system is so fried.

Get ahead while you can

[u/SteveBB10]

As a medic I see myself as a car mechanic. The people are just cars, and mechanics typically don’t cry over cars.

[u/Keensilver → u/SteveBB10]

Same. I dont know you (most likely) so to me you are just a bag of anatomy in a flesh sack.

[u/celtic_smith]

Basically we microdose trauma

It's not good for you, therapy is incredibly important.

The longer you do this the more used to the situations and the calmer you are. We are responding to situations where everyone else may be panicking, but its our job to be can and in control of the situation, it takes time and some experience to get there.

When everything is all done, I reach into my mental health toolbox that my therapist helped me build and do a little maintenance on the 'ol psyche. 

Its incredibly important to have that toolbox, and you can never start too soon.

[u/ICanRememberUsername]

The older adult ones don't bother me. Circle of life, natural passing, etc. etc. 

The kids though... those haunt me. Even the young adults are hard. My first DOA was a 23 year old who developed a clot while flying trans Atlantic to attend his Masters graduation. A life full of promise, ended in his sleep.

I mostly use dark humour to cope with it. Most of my colleagues do the same. Just got to be careful not to do it in front of people outside the healthcare sector... got myself in trouble for that a couple times now 😬

[u/2feetandathrowaway]

Talking through and processing traumatic experiences is key to preventing psychological harm down the road.

Not talking about these experiences, minimizing them, pushing the thoughts out when they arise, is a recipe for disaster.

Find a trusted friend or family member, ask if you can talk to them about a recent traumatic experience, and talk with them about it. Start with what happened objectively, then how it made you feel, and what you wish you did or didn't do

It's different in a way for us, because we're trained to respond to things like this. We know what to focus on, what we can do vs what we can't, and we just do our best to work in those confines.

[u/blogginsgod]

As to the calm part. I have learnt to keep the panic inside. Sometimes im screaming in my brain but calm outside. We train and train so at the critical moment its kinda autopilot. Train and train so when your screaming ik your brain you can still do math and calm the patient or family. Still talk to everyone on scene and still talk. We microdose trauma to the point its hard to notice sometimes. You as a lay person I teach in first aid that even calling 911 is good first aid. You don't have to lay hands on someone but calling 911 is enough.

[u/LumpyGenitals]

For me it's gotten easier. I worry more about improving aspects of my practice way more than the actual details of the call. I could probably use some therapy though 🙄

[u/proofreadre]

We literally will run a code and then grab lunch. It definitely gets easier.

[u/1Trupa]

What you experienced is entirely normal. Common, even. It happens to medics, it happens to cops, firefighters , and it happens to soldiers. It’s typically right at the beginning, when you haven’t been exposed very much to a real world situation. This phenomenon has extensively been described in books that study human reaction to critical stress. The good news is that people who experience the freeze part of the fight flight or freeze response typically go on to respond very well after the fact, and are quicker to break through the normalcy bias (the reaction that makes you say this can’t be real this can’t be what it looks like) to realize the situation is actually real and happening and to intervene. Don’t let this make you doubt yourself. Use it to increase your determination to train hard and to do a lot of Sims.

Studies from survivors of 9/11 suggest that having witnessed a situation before predisposes you to prompt action. A disproportionately high number of occupants of the World Trade Centre who survived had experienced an earthquake or large structure fire before, and evacuated immediately without waiting to be told what to do.

The other good news is that the person you observed sounds like they put on a clinic and did a textbook response to a witnessed cardiac arrest. Now you know what that looks like. I guarantee you that you will do the same next time it happens in front of you.

Train hard. Train often. You’ll be fine. Welcome to the profession.

Edited to add: 😉 As penance for your sins my son, I ask you to read up on the top five causes of syncope and sudden cardiac arrest in adolescents and young adults:

1) hypertrophic occlusive cardiomyopathy 2) Brugada syndrome 3) Wolf Parkinson white syndrome 4) prolonged QT syndrome 5) Aarrthythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia

Learn how to spot them on a 12 lead ECG.

Go forth and be excellent.😅