Download ECB Project: Stress, Trauma and Resilience

Emergency Capacity
Building Project
People Issues in Emergencies
Understanding and Addressing Staff Turnover in Humanitarian Agencies
Humanitarian Practice Network 2006
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Insecurity
Attacks on person
Surrounding poverty and violence
Demanding relations with beneficiaries and local authorities
Health risks or poor facilities
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Difficult living conditions
Dislocation – social, cultural, spiritual
Heavy workload
Tense relationships in the team
Job insecurity
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HR issues in preparation
Management issues (bureaucracy, decision making
Programme roles and objectives (unrealistic or ambiguous)
Sector culture - macho
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Limited contact with home
Pressure from home
Lack of experience
Unrealistic expectations and motivations
Poor self-care behaviour
Psychological history
Behavioural
Change
Cognitive
Change
stress
Emotional
Change
Physical
change
The change may be beneficial or harmful!
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Headaches, chest pains, other physical
complaints
Tension in shoulders, neck, back,
grinding teeth
Excessive sleeping or insomnia
Stomachache, indigestion, nausea
Diarrhea or constipation
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Racing thoughts, difficulty in focusing
Inability to concentrate, inability to
recall incident/ events
Rigidity, difficulty in seeing options
Reduced attention span
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Restlessness, agitation, argumentative
Loss of appetite or excessive eating
Excessive use of alcohol, drugs, tobacco
Promiscuity, sexual dysfunction
Uncontrollable laughter, uncontrollable
crying
Losing things, accident prone
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Anger, anxiety, guilt
Blaming others, negativity
Feelings of isolation, sadness
Frustration, anxiety
Depression, low energy, boredom
Stress reaction can be:
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Immediate
Delayed
Cumulative
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A blow to the psyche that overwhelms the coping mechanisms of
an individual or group that often results in stress
Intensity of event
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Duration of incident
Perception of danger
Level of exposure
Individual profile
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Coping skills
Social characteristics
Previous experience
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Distancing attitude
Black and white thinking
Self-destructive behaviour