Working Through Trauma
“Why did you choose health care?” If we asked our represented employees that question, we’d get answers as diverse as our workforce, but we’d see a common theme: We work in health care because we want to help people. That’s probably clear for those who have direct patient-care roles, but you’ll also see that answer from those working in support or administrative positions. Financial analysts make more money in the private sector, there are restaurants with better working conditions than OHSU’s cafés and there are a lot easier things to clean than an operating room. We chose OHSU because we believe in its stated mission.
We’re here to help. Helping has its rewards, but it also has its burdens. The concepts of compassion fatigue and vicarious trauma are hardly new. We often see people on the worst days of their lives — giving them the care they require and deserve can be taxing under the best of circumstances, like when people have a stable home life, job security and optimism about the future.
But we’re not living under the best of circumstances or a stable period in history — we’re living in the textbook definition of “interesting times.” While we support the demands for justice for our BIPOC coworkers and the broader community and join the fight to end systemic racism, the nightly protests in Portland are a source of stress for ourselves, our families and our neighbors. Many of us are front-line workers, serving at risk during a global pandemic that is currently seeing another surge of infections. The economic impacts of the pandemic are still unclear, so our financial security could also be at risk.
While family time, favorite hobbies and other forms of self-care can help us disconnect and relieve some of the pressure, extended periods of high stress can have long-lasting effects. Many think of post-traumatic stress disorder as something that only happens after dramatic or violent life-changing events, but there are hundreds of studies showing that being exposed to high-stress situations for long periods of time can also cause PTSD symptoms like insomnia, anxiety, eating disorders, increased alcohol consumption and depression.
Research with combat veterans shows a greater impact the longer they had been deployed. This study even shows significant differences between three and six months of deployment. As of today, we’re about four months into the COVID-19 pandemic, but we don’t have an end date to look forward to — this is just our job for as long as we’re willing and able to do it. It may seem dramatic to compare the work of health-care workers to that of combat veterans, but until the research studies have been conducted on the front-line workers who are facing COVID-19 every day, it’s a reasonable data set to pull from.
If you’re struggling right now, please know that you are not alone. You’re not weak. You’re not failing. Health-care workers and other essential employees all over the world feel like you do right now. We really are all in this together. It’s okay if you need help to get through this.
At OHSU we have a great employee assistance program that you should absolutely use as a starting point in getting access to mental-health resources if you need them. Just call (800) 433-2320 any time, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In addition to offering immediate assistance when you call, the EAP counselors can schedule you for three free appointments with a therapist. If you still need assistance after your initial three appointments, the copay is $25 per session.
There are also peer-assistance programs and other options and opportunities available to you at OHSU and in your communities. Please feel free to comment with information about the groups or resources you’ve found to be helpful in this stressful time.
As helpers, we’re often bad at accepting care ourselves. The advice we’d give to a patient may be something we feel that we don’t deserve ourselves or should save for those who have it worse. But none of us can get by without a little help sometimes — that’s what your benefits and your union are for. We are stronger together than we could ever be as individuals. Let your union ease some of the burden, if we can. Please call our SMART Center at (844) 758-6466 or contact a steward, executive-board member or AFSCME staff representative for assistance — we’re all here to help.