Jan. 16, 2020

After the storm. Bushfire special series with Liz Crowe - Part Three

After the storm. Bushfire special series with Liz Crowe - Part Three
Apple Podcasts podcast player icon Spotify podcast player icon RSS Feed podcast player icon
Apple Podcasts podcast player icon Spotify podcast player icon RSS Feed podcast player icon
Season 1

Welcome to our third and final episode talking about dealing with trauma, loss and grief in a crisis situation, and specifically as it relates to the bushfire catastrophe that we are currently experiencing in Australia, with our super-star social worker Liz Crowe. In this episode Liz speaks to us about the weeks and months after the firestorm has passed: what happens once the crisis has abated and the world has stopped talking about it, but the victims, and those who went to help them, are left to pick up the pieces and deal with what they had experienced? The advice from this episode goes far beyond this particular situation: Liz gives some invaluable input into burnout and compassion fatigue in everyday life, and how to deal with it. 

Here are those resources again if you want to read more about Liz' work:

https://lizcrowe.org/about/

https://www.stemlynsblog.org/wellbeing-for-the-broken-part-1-liz-crowe-for-st-emlyns/

https://www.stemlynsblog.org/wellbeing-for-the-broken-part-2-st-emlyns/

Treatment advice for burn wounds and smoke inhalation: https://www.animalemergencyservice.com.au/news/vetapedia/emergency-burns-info/

The Australian Veterinary Association Benevolent Fund to provide assistance to affected veterinarians: https://www.ava.com.au/donate/

 

 

Welcome to our third and final episode of talking about dealing with trauma loss and grief in a crisis situation, and specifically as it relates to the Bushfire catastrophe that we are currently experiencing here in Australia with our Superstar.Social worker, Liz grow in this episode.
Liz speaks to us about the weeks and months after the fire storm has passed.What happens once the crisis has abated and the world is stop talking about.But the victims and those who went to help them on live to pick up the pieces in deal with what they had.Experienced the advice from this episode, also goes Way Beyond this particular situation.
Let's give some invaluable input into burnout and compassion fatigue in everyday life and how to deal with it, have a listen to the previous two episodes.If you want to hear more about what Liz had to say, and don't forget to share this with anyone who you think might benefit from having a listen, enjoy.
You're talking before about the acute effects, you critical stress?Yeah, phase.So that's that's when it's still occurring and still in it.But then you said that the post-traumatic stress like phase of what happens is, how long is that, that could be years later or could he?
So the acute stage is currently now.And like and then, and then, two months, three months after, or is it?There's a really defined like that or not really look.I'm not an expert in these fields are not claiming to be but But my understanding is so, you know, we had seen event at work and it's very confronting and the event has stopped and then people have a phase of acute critical stress disorder that could go on for, you know, a day or several days or a couple of weeks and usually it reduces as you get further away from it.
Yeah, if it doesn't reduce and people still become symptomatic.And then they also, you know, they're hyper aroused by noises and screams and sounds and smells, you know, then that can go on and PTSD can continue for a long time.Not my field of expertise but these guys are still in the crisis.
So they can't even stop be too critical stress symptoms because it's still going going going.And so their brain is in this constant, you know, fight flight or freeze response and we'll have to stay there potentially for a, for a period of time yet.
And then, we have to see, certainly Charles Figley did a lot of research on victims, you know, like the soldiers from the wall coming from Dennis tan because, you know, we can look at things retrospectively with the Vietnam, vets that Afghanistan has been a current thing.
Yeah.And what they've shown is, regardless of the event, there are five to ten to fifteen percent.Some of them, say, some of those high as 20, but most of them are around 5 to 15 percent on either extremes.So, a year, after a big event, there's five to ten to fifteen percent, who may have PTSD and other.
This 5 to 10 to 15 percent who have post-traumatic growth.Wow interesting right.So and no one ever talks about post-traumatic growth does occur at the site.That's what jobs would be.Glee's research has shown and the bulk of people in the middle will have return back to normal.
Mmm, okay, regardless of what the event is.So again, you know, we have we really live in a society that pathologize has all emotions and we hear about it were talking about resilience but they're often talking about it, like resilience around exam.As University which just, you know, it's part of university life.
What we're talking about here is is a complete crisis, you know, people are talking.It looks like a war zone, it feels like a war zone.People don't even have the basic necessities of electricity and, and people still may not even be physically safe yet for a while.
Their property may not be safe for a while, so they're there in the thick of it.They are absolutely in a crisis, but what they're saying is so a year down the track.There's a small subsection of people who will have post traumatic stress.You know, proper post-traumatic stress disorder and that doesn't mean I'll have it for life, and they a year down the track, they have, it is a sub-portion of people who have post-traumatic growth and I'm happy to talk about that further joint action question, and the bulk of people will have recovered three.
I remember when you came in and came to our Symposium and you shared that, like the loss of a partner can take like eight years and I'm sure if you said that but can take up to eight years and that's normal for people to grieve.Yeah, for that, for that side, right?
If it's a significant person.Yeah.It's a lifetime as a lifetime.It doesn't mean that it impacts you the same as it does in the acute phase of it.Yeah, but it is a lifetime of grief because at any point if you say to someone, you know, my sister's been dead at, you know, Mellie, my whole life and someone said to me tomorrow, you can have your sister back.
I'd take it.Yeah, you know because it's a Glasses.It's a grief.It's never going.It doesn't mean that every minute of my day is absorbed by that but it's a profound life event and I guess if we you know, if you want to hear more about post-traumatic growth, it's really when people you'd say to them look, if you had the opportunity to have never gone through that experience, people, it's to be like, yeah, I'd never go through this period.
Yeah.But for some people like say someone's had a heart attack then, you know, you down the track.You look at a population.Some people might have Have PTSD about that, some people might have post-traumatic growth.And what that is, is like, you know what, a year ago, I had a heart attack and I was on the treadmill, man.
I was just working working working.And yeah, I thought the be stress in my life was getting a bigger house.Or how can I say for a holiday?Yeah, a heart attack and I thought, you know what, life is limited.Yeah, and actually, my marriage is not as bad.As I thought it was.My kids are actually pretty great, you know, my career is great, but it's not my whole life and they change something about themselves, they do.
Life with this whole new awareness about still wish I'd never had a heart attack but if I'm going to be here this is how I'm going to make the most of my life now.And so they actually are happier post the event because of what they've seen.Now, I'm not for one second sister.
Wow yeah there's that's out there going to say so glad that you know Court of the Australia was on fire and yeah but for some people down the track they might say this was something that you know some people We'll go into politics, I'm going to change the world, I'm going to climate change.Yeah, like whatever and you know if for me just as a citizen is not being directly impacted.
I one thing that gives me great hope is I am seeing Australia come together as a community more solidly than I ever have experienced in my whole life.Still wish we didn't have to have the Bushfire still wish people didn't have to suffer but if something good can come out of it, you know, that you guys want a podcast today.
Hmm.It means that we are back in touch with the fact that Our Humanity, we have more in common with each other.Yeah, then we have differences and that is a positive thing.Hmm.I've got to say, I've been just astounded by the support from around the world, you know, it's incredible to see that and I think it was, that, that photo that was on the front page of the New York Times on New Year's Day of the kangaroo across thick going across the burning building.
And all of a sudden, the world was like Australia needs help.Yeah, and just the, you know, the messages.And the support and of course the donations because let's face it, it's just a huge rebuild that's going to require is going to require millions and millions of dollars and that's what has been pledged.
It's just yeah, I think I would want people over there overseas to know how much that's meant to people here.You know, to know that the world is behind us and you know for some of our better in the thick of it, you probably know in touch with that you don't have time to come home and, you know, turn on the news and say, oh, what's happening like How much of people teaching you're in the thick of it.
And to be honest, at this point, if you listen to this podcast, while you're in the acute stress, I'd say don't tap into that, don't come home and look at the news and see what's happened, don't you don't look at pictures of how bad it is four hours away from you or you are in enough Christ.
As you don't need to flood yourself with more images and things around that.What I want people to hear is that there are people in every corner of this universe.Earth who are thinking of you who are sending well, wishes to you and your community that people are pledging to do things like for myself.
I'm thinking in the next 12 months, I'm going to cry and visit Kangaroo Island for the first time as a tourist and spend dollars.And, you know, contribute something that way like people are thinking of you and what you're doing, we think is phenomenal and extraordinary and takes great, courage and selflessness.
So if you get to listen to the podcast tap into self care and know that What you've done today is being appreciated and valued.The other thing I just wanted to talk about and I'm happy to send you the links for all of this.
And I'm certainly not comparing this to what happened.But I think, you know, you can have it if you spoke at the beginning about me, either talking to someone an older vet, who had a cat, that was a stray that all of a sudden.It was that cat that tipped him over the edge.And he felt quite emotional about it.
You can have an acute grief reaction to things and then you can have a cumulative reaction and all of us have the Potential to have that cumulative stuff.So even maybe we have bet through On The Fringe, who are still receiving animals because they're throwing up, they're not in that actual crisis, their own Community is safe, but the cumulative effect of just seeing things over and over and over again, even for an average bit practice can become, you know, tiring over time.
Lots of people talk about burnout.I have quite a strong view on that.I think all of us at any point of our career doesn't matter if you're a hairdresser or Bo can feel burnt out like this.I'm so sick of this job.I should have done something else and everybody else's job looks better the forest and Postman, you know, I should have it doesn't matter what your career is.
But I think when you work in critical care, whether you're a vet or a nurse, or a doctor, and an ambulance or police or, you know, in the Defence forces, it's on a whole different scale again.But I think, you know, all of us anytime can suffer this cumulatively overwhelming, and it can sneak up on On you and one day, it's just almost crippling, it's got a term, it's called compassion fatigue or it's just like I cannot give one more thing to one more person that is recoverable.
All of us will have, you know, I say you should expect compassion fatigue.One of the things I'm curious that may happen to the vets.That certainly happens to us when we, you know, been impacted by a big event is that everybody else, annoys you buy their triviality.
Yeah.You know like are you like oh yeah.Darius, you know like that you get a pig but no idea.Can you say what's going on?And you know, like wait where you almost just you're tired of giving to people continually but also people whinging about things that just now seeing completely pointless to you.
You have a very low threshold for that and it's a, you know, it's kind of an indicator for us for our mental health, about how like man, I need a holiday or actually need a weekend off or I need need to not be giving giving giving.And what happens is, you probably went into that planting because you're a bit of a nurturing person.
Yeah.And you be like us, you go to dinner parties and people like what do you do?I'm a bit, but Bud Gene.That's not quite himself.Yeah, you know, for me everybody wants to tell me my kids think that I've got this like sixth sense like you know where the fourth person the check out the grocery store or at the supermarket we get.
There I go.How's your day?And the girl starts crying.You know, like Writing, you know, real barrels and creams big empathy right out obviously.But give it a rest, man, you know, like, I don't have to care about your pet every single waking moment of my life.
So there's that kind of cumulative, compassion fatigue thought of it.That people may have already been suffering before this happened.Thank you quite jaded.So just, you know, check in, when people get a bit of come up for air, check in with yourself.Like, how were you before?For this.
Yeah.And why is this crisis now made?You feel like they have you got resources for that?Because how do you that's people listening to this are going to go.Yeah, that's me.That's what I feel like all the time.What can I do about it?You might have to ask me back.We might have to have this kind of the other thing that I thought that I will send you.
The is exactly.So I obviously involved in a child's death, every few days.Work.And then you have those weeks where you have several deaths over a couple of days and then you have a couple weeks break and then it, you know?
So again, I'm not comparing myself to what's going on with the bush buyers, but I know what it's like to be in a heightened kind of Satan responding and give giving all the time.And then something happened to me. 12 months ago, unprecedented will never happen to me again in my career and it lured me to the point that I thought.
Yeah, I think I'm done.It's don't think I can do this.Work anymore, but what people do in that crisis is they either run or they get busy like, oh my God, I'm not coping, I can't let anyone know that.So I made sure that all my committee stuff was up to date and I, you know, I kind of the new PhD.
Yeah, trying to cover it and it was I was in such a profoundly dark place over that events.Like what could I have done to change things?How could I've influenced this and intellectually was beyond my control had nothing to do with me emotionally.
It was like I'm a bad person if you know and you visualize like some of these bets might be doing you visualize about if I got nothing out earlier.Yeah could I have done this?Could I have, you know, if I'd worked two hours later, could I have saved seven more Co-op, you know, like where you just you're in a crisis in, you're unable to kind of think rationally about things so I have to Blogs about that, one's called wellbeing for the broken.
Because I think we talked about self-care in this whole like how do you everyday?Look after yourself and yeah, but this is like what do you do when you're actually broken?We feel completely trashed where you feel like there is nothing in the tank is that nothing left to give nothing?Left to give that, you know, you almost.
It is an existential crisis because from us being a bet for these guys and, you know, women and men would be a big part of who they are and these Community there are Entity.So in this cross that you start to think, I don't think I can be a vet anymore.Am I my life is going to have their purpose and meaning.
I've got no way to feed.You know, my, my family and I can't play the house mortgage anymore.Either like you're getting this crisis.So I've done two blogs about that first one is like, how bad does it?Look for those of you are in a dark place, don't read the first one.Now, it may not be helpful if you want to, if you want to read it to know, can you be in that dark place and survive, read it then but you know, like I talked about Not being able to sleep and being panic-stricken about being not able to sleep and then thinking God, you know, I've got to go into the intensive care tomorrow and work and I'm not going to be good at it and then you start to think of every failure you've ever had in your life.
Like why did my marriage breakdown and I described it at picking at every psychological wound I'd ever had it was like nail under the scan pic pic pic, you know?So the first blog is about like how dark and get what does it look like?And the second blog is about how do you recover and for me Routine with everything.
I'm a bit of an obsessive person anyway, but it didn't matter what time I actually fell asleep when it was tender for, you know, five plus two in the morning, 4:55 a.m. the alarm went off and I forced myself to get up and go to the gym.I made decisions about meals on a Sunday and I stuck to it with my brain was to fatigues.
And so I've got to feed my kids, why I needed a routine and I needed a framework to just survive and and for the for the Vets, who may be feeling like that have a routine, doesn't matter what's going on.So you're going to get up and you may not be able to go for a walk.
You know you're Jim may not exist anymore do some push-ups, do some sit-ups if you've never done that, don't do it because it's going to be really good damage, your body in a different way.But like, routine routine routine, I'm going to get up.And I'm going to have a shower and eat my breakfast.
And I'm going to take 15 minutes, I'm going to read a fictional book as a means of escapism and Going to face the day but it's like, don't otherwise, you wake up in the morning and you think I'm, I'm still in this terrible place.I'm still in this dark place and I can't make a decision.Like do I go to work today?
Sure I stay home.Do I exercise do?I not exercise.You know, should I be on a Paleo diet today?Like would that be helping your like we're trying to make too many decisions.Take as much of that, out of the equation as you can you let you know you are in a complete crisis you know, look after self take the decisions out and just be gentle.
As gentle as you possibly can be a friend to yourself during this time, don't be your world's biggest critic.You have to nurture note to nurture and even if you have an internal voice saying, you haven't done the right thing or you could have done more, you need to say, hey how would I treat a friend who is saying this you know stop that voice inside your brain from being so critical to slow everything down and then you know how do you recover and for me?
It's been 12 months.You know for the first time in my life I went through a counselor to work through that and you know I found will this cumulative grief over the course of my career that I've obviously tucked away or grief about you know, failed relationships or fight you had with the kids, it all came up and you know, I kept working, I didn't leave the job, still love that about to finish my PhD, you can come around the other side of that.
And, you know, we talk so much about not being able to cope Pope and burnout, and depression, and anxiety, and all those things happen.But actually, I'm the whole people are, ridiculously resilient know you go into our children's hospital.
You go into an adult Hospital.You go into a war zone, people still fall in love, people still worried about their body.People still eat people, still engage in life's people still find a way and so we have to believe in that part of our human spirit that Just goes on and you know if that wasn't true the world would have ended a hundred times over.
Yeah you know we can get very fixated but in actual fact, as weird as it sounds, this is the most peaceful time.The world has ever seen.We've never known peace on a world scale.Despite what's going on in Iran and everything.We've never known peace on a world scale like we are now we look we've lost sight of that.
You know the whole world is trying to fund Australia.We have Canadians and Americans flying in to fight bushfires.We have bets from around the world offering to come and help.You know, there is so much more that connects us then, you know, separates us and, you know, again, I so this tragedy, we need to remind ourselves of that and not in a platitude Pollyanna, like a, we lucky that we had these bushfires that away but just, you know, don't it's easy to look at the despair but here, Our voices, people who genuinely care, we're genuinely reaching out.
We have no other capacity on a Sunday morning in Brisbane, when we are not in the fires to do anything but you know, give money and give, you know, our time and our energy to say people actually are caring about you.We're respecting you we do you what you do and in 3 6 12 months time we're still going to be interested and we're making that commitment.
Yeah.I think we've got to stop.I could listen to you all day, but I think that's a great place to wrap it up.I have witnesses to you saying that you're going to come back on the podcast.Guys, we have because we have more to talk about.
But for this one, thank you so much.That was fantastic.I'm sick of the sound of my own voice and I just think I just like to say that, you know, a lot of the things you touched on then.Obviously, the reason why we talk about this today so bushfires, but There's just a lot of things there.
Yeah.Why would apply to B and the importance of self-care in the things that they go through just in their course of being a veterinarian?Yeah that I think a great lessons for people to take away wherever their event.Yeah and we don't this is where you know like bits of never been exposed to this level of trauma Bushfire or elsewhere like a lots of animals died at home or died on this, you know, on the road where run stood around thought.
Wow.That was a bad accident that dog nothing's gonna have, you know, like it's different like it's like exactly like us.We having to see more children with these life-limiting conditions.Like it's just, it's a changing world.And so we have to change and part of that.You know, people talk about these are the soft skills its crack, anyone can learn.
Most people can learn technical skills.Yeah.For like the other day, you know, I was doing a podcast and someone said, you can teach a monkey how to use a ventilator, but it's the Human skills.It's the human emotions.That's a tough stuff that's good.
The really tough stuff.And I think, you know, we talk about expectations like, you know, Society expects us, you know, expects it of us now like to extreme levels and it's the stuff that actually can break you the technical stuff.Nothing much.It's the emotional.
Yeah, I still struggle with ventilators now I feel All right.
Thank you again for listening.We hope you found value in that.And if you did ask you again, please share it with anybody who you think could benefit from listening to this episode.For those of you who are out there who want to help out at want to contribute, there is a community of people who still need our support and that Community is your fellow that narrations in the areas in Australia which are affected by the fires.
Veterinarians are, they're treating Wildlife treating domestic pets, even treating and taking care of livestock and these veterinarians have themselves.Also, either lost the clinic, lost their homes.May have lost loved ones or I've actually lost the community that is supporting their business.
If you want to support those veterinarians on the ground in these areas that I urge you to donate towards the AV a benevolent fund the Australian Veterinary Association benevolent fund.You can find it on www.ada.gov com.au forward slash donate

Liz Crowe