Fight and Flight Response Stress Abated

On one of my many shifts in the of the ER I came out of a patient room and a group of one person in handcuffs being escorted by no less than 4 police officers passed in front of me enroute to the Psych unit which was part of our ER. State Police was assisting the local city police dept so they obviously called for backup.

I walked with them to get a read of the situation and to help get him settled in and noticed the last officer in the line was carrying his backpack. Pointing at the patch on his pack I asked the officer "Bought it or earned it?". "Earned it" the officer replied and my readiness increased 100% as I was looking at a patch for the US Army 101st Airborne unit. The famed Screaming Eagles of WW2 and Viet Nam fame.

They have seen combat in almost every conflict since they were formed in 1918. The Screaming Eagles were referred to as "the tip of the spear" by former U.S. Secretary of Defense, Robert Gates,^[13] and the most potent and tactically mobile of the U.S. Army's divisions by General Edward C. Meyer, then Chief of Staff of the Army.^[14]

They are trained to parachute behind enemy lines to secure and hold their objective for 14 days on their own, until other units broke the line and could hook up with them. They jumped in before the ships arrived on D-Day and they continue to see active duty in the Gulf. This man served in the Gulf War and like many, brought parts of it home with him that continued to haunt him.

He was not resisting but was obviously didn't want to be there. Turns out he was well known to every local police officer, hence the extra officers escorting him in,and every time he was brought in he was cooperative until he was told he was being admitted at which point he became violent and had to be physically subdued and then chemically restrained. He has never gone to the in-patient psych unit awake. He always got violent requiring physical take down, restraints and sedation.

Psych people sought early medications based on his history, the ER attending preferred to wait and see if it could be avoided. After about an hour we heard a loud BANG that shook the walls. Sure enough he knew he was being admitted as he was asked to change into a hospital garb. At that point he picked up the hospital gurney and and threw it against wall resulting in a "Manpower Alert" and massive influx of any male personnel in the area.

He was pacing the room like a caged animal knowing what was coming. The Doc nodded to the request of meds. As police and others piled in and filled the observation window for a show of force I stepped in the door of the room.

"Dude. You know the drill. You've got about 2 minutes to regain control or your going nighty night. The drugs are already on their way" He glared at me and nodded. "I'm going to stand right here and show you a technique you do on yourself to put you back in control. Your choice but if you don't, you lose all control and good night. Are you interested?"

He nodded yes.

From across the room I showed him a basic technique that I used extensively in public classes and in my many years in the the ER. Immediately he felt the shift and started to calm down.

Out of the corner of my eye I saw the nurse arrive with the meds, the Doc signaled 'Wait" to the nurses. He was visibly calming down, no longer pacing, not trembling or clenching fists, all signs of aggression fading rapidly. He volunteered "I can feel it!"

He was now standing calm, focused on what I was saying and following along with everything I said. As was every police officer watching. The entire ER was doing it on themselves with numerous nods confirming they all felt the difference.

After 5 minutes of working with it I was able to bring the Social Worker in the room and contract with both of them that if either one felt things getting out of control they could call a "Time Out" and he would do this technique. If he felt he was losing control he would call "Time Out" and use technique to regain control. If Staff felt he was losing control or getting angry they could call a "Time Out" and he would do the technique. I also made sure that the Social Worker would inform the floor staff of this contract so he could use it up there.

After a group practice with the three of us (and numerous Police watching through the window) he agreed to be admitted and to change into hospital garb. When I stepped out of the room I was surrounded by the police who wanted to learn more about it.

An hour later the female Social Worker walked this man unescorted up to the In-Patient unit for admission for the first time ever. When I showed up for my shift the next day I found out that not only was he cooperating with his care plan, but he was in group therapy he was teaching everyone how to use the technique which went over quite well. When a Trooper came in for an Motor Vehicle Accident report he told me he used it in the field that night with great results.

So that was an impromptu and incomplete application of a technique in an acute crisis situation. Think what will it do for your client when done properly and thoroughly in a safe environment of your office working on a relatively well known situation?

And this is only one of the over two dozen techniques we have available.

Each person has a different life history and different circumstances that had them end up in your office. The system we use is designed with this in mind.

Unlike mono-therapies, we are trained in multiple systems and multiple pathways. Thus we adapt to using the best learning pathway to get the best results as quickly and comfortable as possible.

Questions? Call to set up an phone consult. Then again actions speak louder than words . . . we can run a group stress management class for your whole office.