Education

Stress Injuries

Stress injury is the term used by the military in Combat and Operational Stress First Aid and adopted by many first responder agencies to describe occupational injuries that occur in the presence of overwhelming stress and exposure to psychological stress in the line of duty (professional or volunteer).

While Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is often used synonymously with stress injuries, occupational stress injuries occur on a continuum, with both early and late changing effects of stress exposure. PTSD often represents later changing reactions.

Anyone can be injured. Like other injury types, stress injuries are best supported when recognized early and mitigated.

Guides can often experience stress injuries due to repeated stressors in our jobs and lifestyle.

Learn more at The Responder Alliance

Commons stressors for guides:

Near misses and repeated near misses over a trip or season
Antisocial hours and lifestyle – hard to maintain personal relationships
Lots of travel
Guide training and exam stress
Performance anxiety

Once you add an accident or death of a colleague, client, or friend, guides are at high risk for severe stress injuries.

Stress Recovery and Self Care Strategies

In some cases, people resort to unhealthy coping strategies to deal with stress and stress injuries. Such as:

Substance use
Going climbing to disassociate and avoid
Socially isolating

Some healthy coping strategies for preventing stress injuries include:

Develop a mindfulness practice
Reach out for help – create connection and community. Talk to people you trust about what you are going through
Get good sleep and adequate rest
Eat and drink well – avoid excessive alcohol or drugs
Try other forms of movement such as yoga or tai-chi
Connect with a mental healthcare professional

Learn more about Stress Injuries in this interview with Laura McGladrey from the Responder Alliance