Emergency Psychiatry

https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/ps...level-psychiatric-emergency-department-models


Good morning all,

Per ...

Worth reading and surfing around this website for material that could help your mental preparedness.

In the emergency responder community. we're taught that a "victim/patient" on the ground and singing is an indicator of mental stress of some sort. In this area, in a big emergency, it taxes the "system" just to work the basics like stop bleeding, prevent shock, ...

In a disaster, pass out the music sheets for the singing; very limited resources will be available.

Goal 6 of Zeller's Six surely explains the patient's costs and the public's costs - if it's real treatment with real after care.

Admittedly, I am a cynic. I've done volunteer work at a VA medical center and can guess about "Zeller's Six".

Cross Reference: Virginia's pending legislative hearings on bake sales.

 

Sure maybe you have your "head on" but what about a spouse or other family member that can't deal? Maybe your 20 something son/ daughter/ niece/ nephew or your 4o or 50 something sister/ sister in law/ brother/ etc... can't deal with it and has issues. Isn't it better to be ready to handle that?

 

Good morning Lonewolf,

Agree; If psychologically stressed during a large emergency, that's the end of story for person. Hopefully person not accompanied with kids/pet(s).

Citizens trained as volunteer emergency responders - not the professional EMTs and professional SAR teams - have the basic training to"triage" the singing patient, here meaning to separate this victim/patient from the others. In all my experience, there are not enough volunteer emergency responders to do this and watch the victim/patient, even from a distance.

 

No, but maybe a little knowledge would help in getting a lot of people thru a brief rough patch, not all are gonna have a complete loonybin meltdown. I think for some it's more of a shock thing where their body has their mind kick in like a circuit breaker helping them cope. Once you can get them thru a few days or a couple weeks most I think could reset.

Though that brings up a tough subject. What do you do with those that don't "reset". What do you do with the person sitting in the corner catatonic or the one that is batshit crazy singing at the top of their lungs or screaming. They're consuming resources, not contributing and potentially a security risk.

 

I get that but are you going to walk your wife out to the back pasture and put a bullet in her head or slit her throat with a knife? That's my point, these are loved ones you've spent your life protecting

 

Good afternoon Country Guy,

Regarding a few days or a couple of weeks, what could someone, even with much basic knowledge, do ?

I've already written here at Forum, that I believe the nation's weak link in emergency response and recovery is Emergency Support Function 8, Mass Medical.

I've taken many psychiatry and psychology classes/courses and can say clinical type intervention, even for a family member, is minimum, at best.

 

I'll have to start a kit for panicking people. What to include?

> Valium (diazepam)
> Marijuana
> Tobacco cigarettes
> Duct tape
> Handcuffs
> Soap-in-a-sock
> Rubber hammer
> Bucket of cold water

Psychiatric nurses and orderlies deserve medals for simply getting through a "routine" week. Me, I have precious little tolerance for aggressive psych cases. When they start getting hinky, then it's time for the meds. Callous me, yet they don't hurt themselves and they don't hurt staff. This is a good thing, right? Right.

 

...we all know you only care about you and yours and everything else you hope to die off, we get that. I'm talking about the rest.

And just because someone is strong, just because there isn't "family history" you don't know how anyone will react until in a situation. You can think you know how they (or you) will do or how they will react but until it happens it's all assumptions and hopes. There are military guys that train for years to be the toughest, most lethal killers on the planet, supposedly able to get thru the worst of the worst and yet even amoungst those elite there are a few that when put under real fire, real life and death they collapse. We have seasoned military that again are to be toghened and able to get thru anything yet the quoted stat is that 22 a day here can't deal with the mental demons (when they are back home and safe) and commit suicide.

Enough of a soap box. OG might be on to it best in having something to help them take the edge off with out them becoming addicted like they currently do.

 

The thing about mental illness is that it covers a HUGE territory. After every disaster, you will have people that come through untouched and others that will be damaged. In a systemic collapse, the casualties will be huge. There will be more people having problems than people that are “fine”. Actually when the entire world has gone to crap and death is stalking everyone people that seem to be just fine may be the most messed up of all.


Being strong has nothing to do with it. I have a friend that is a decorated navy Seal that has a problem with PTSD. On New Year's Eve, the fireworks made him nervous enough that h had to leave. You don’t make it through the seal training if you have a weakness. They search for them and eliminate you if you show a sign of weakness either physical or mental.

There is a saying that at times insanity is the only possible SANE response to an insane situation. It is like paranoia. If someone really is out to get you, over time, your paranoia will become a problem as it will spread into other parts of your life. When the world is coming apart around you then being paranoid is going to be a plus survival trait. A certain level of detachment will be forced on you! MANY are going to crumble, unable to deal with the constant stress and fear they will crack. When people crack you never know what direction they will go.

Suicide will probably become a leading cause of death even after things begin to settle down. Those people are not going to be much of a problem. Some of the others will become predatory. Killers that just do it for some sort of sick pleasure. Some of these people are already cracked but they keep it under control because of the threat of legal prosecution. I have known Kluckers that were like that. They hated anybody that was different and saw them as a danger that they needed to exterminate. When you take away the legal controls these people will become monsters.

I have often talked here about the importance of having games and recreational tools. If all you do is survive you will shrivel up inside and die a slow miserable death from the inside out. You will need to start LIVING again as soon as possible. Living has to include more than work, eat and sleep. You need to eat more than just basic gruel. That might be enough to survive but eating needs to be a pleasure as often as possible. When you are in a secure place you need to relax, have a little fun and sleep soundly. That is hard to do if you are alone.

I know that some of you feel that you don’t need other people but all evidence says that when you isolate a person, they over time lose their humanity. There is a reason that solitary confinement is a dreaded punishment in prison. Hermits are usually crazy as hell in one way or another!

I do plan to have various drugs for these problems on hand. People throughout history have turned to recreational drugs in hard times or just to relax. booze, caffeine, nicotine, marijuana, cocoa, even chocolate are all psychoactive drugs. While they all are a problem when overused they all nonetheless have been a part of every culture in the world. That doesn’t even include the opiates and magic mushrooms. I will also have drugs for pain. People are going to get hurt and with primitive untrained medical care pain is going to be an ongoing problem.

Being crazy doesn’t always preclude someone from being functional. Dude, if you want to believe that you are Napoleon that’s fine with me as long as Napoleon pulled his share and is dependable. I have some training and experience with mental illness and mental handicaps. Some things can be worked through and dealt with. Other problems are not actually mental problems. They are physical problems with the chemistry of the body and the “mental” problems are caused by the physical problems just like someone with diabetes, it can be treated. These people are going to have a lot of problems as they come off their drugs and I don’t know how much it can be helped.

 

Good afternoon TexDanm,

What's a definition of "Kluckers" ?

Speaking of games and recreational events;

During WWII in the forests of eastern Europe, one of the partisan groups had developed at their camp site, 2 (two) theater companies !

Matters and events outside of one's usual routine causes stress - even prep or traveling on a vacation is stressful, whether recognized as such - thus the NEED for games, recreational events and the related.

I'm a routine consumer of coffee and much chocolate is ready for my BOB.

 

A Klucker is a KKK Klansman usually with an IQ that is well to the left side of the bell curve. I was raised in Klan Country.

Both Coffee and Tea have a big place in my kits. When you are stressed the ceremony of making and drinking coffee or tea is comforting and familiar. Chocolate is a must. Whenever we have gone to war we carried it along. In bad times the little things become more important. Every bag has a deck of plastic cards, 6 dice. pencil and paper and a book. Keeping a journal can be a good thing when everything in your world goes to pieces. If nothing else it will help you keep track of time.

 

I have spent many years working in private and public homes and schools with people with mental instabilities, on the spectrum, and developmentally disabled, and in all but one of those situations, disaster preparedness was something very VERY planned for. Most SHTF plans would put many would be "preppers" to shame. Contingency plans, BOBs, specific routes for specific outcomes, rendezvous points, BO locations with backups.... very organized and very awesome to work within a system that values preparedness.

My worry is the meth head/crack head epidemic. They are an endless cause of my headaches in my area. Theft, vandalism, general apathy and selfishness.... Not someone I want near me or mine if disaster hits!

 

Psychological First Aid....it is taught to many volunteers that may be the first ones to respond to an incident. https://learn.nctsn.org/
I have taken some of the classes and it helps deal with people that aren't dealing so well.....