No More Practice Bleeding

The military, firefighting, emergency management, police, and other front line organizations have "exercises".  These are "what if" imaginary scenarios of some sort of trauma or incident where the front liners will have to spring into action.  It could be a tornado, a terrorist attack, a train derailment, a battlefield.

In these scenarios, the folk are told what is happening and they are to act out what they would do.  For example, in the case of a mass casualty incident (maybe a roof collapse), the "players" would do their jobs, such as establishing a safe area, tending to wounded, contacting engineers, perform search and rescue, and buddy aid for their injured co-players.

They might be given an "inject" (the next step in the imaginary story of what happens) that a partial wall fell on 3 of their fellow players, injuring them.  Then everyone has to adjust and figure out what they need to do.  For example, they need to make sure it is safe to get those folk out.  They need to triage, stop bleeding, stabilize limbs, etc.

Here is what they are NEVER told during an inject:  "Inject number 23:  A partial wall has collapsed where Alpha Team was looking for survivors.  All three Alpha team members are hurt.  Everyone needs to just sit where they are and imagine the pain.  Let the shock and horror race through you.  Picture your limb crushed beneath cinderblock.  Taste the blood from where you got your lip busted.  Imagine your life fading from you in agony.  Imagine being stripped naked in the hospital as needle after needle after needle is placed everywhere.  Imagine how scared and terrified you are.  Picture the look on the face of your loved ones when they come in and you are barely recognizable.  Imagine that you have only 5 seconds left on earth.  How does that feel?"

Freaking.  No. 

That would be, truly, one of the worst ideas possible short of actually blowing up a building to practice with.  The players NEVER are told to just be inept and suffer.  These exercises are meant to train the brain to succeed, to do WELL automatically.  In these exercises, even a bad situation like this has an answer, has a series of steps to save the lives of Alpha Team, not just give up and cry.

But this is exactly what those with anxiety and panic disorder and OCD do.  Somewhere, deep inside, they always picture the worst.  They never picture success or strength or problem solving.  This is why your anxiety is bad.  It is merely practice bleeding.  It does not make you stronger.  In fact, when we think anxiety helps us "be ready" or "prevent bad things", it actually just builds an emotional tidal wave that will be released if, God forbid, something bad ever did happen.

If soldiers or police or firefighters or em's were told to focus on their emotions during incidents, they would be paralysed, unable to move or thing.  You can ACT (mind/spirit) or you can REACT (emotions), but you can't do both.  You can't freak out and problem solve at the same time.

So no more practice bleeding.  No more picturing your worst nightmares.  No more magical thinking of "If I just am afraid of this, it won't happen".  If a horrible scenario  pops into your head, you either need to boot it or "exercise" it.  Picture yourself victorious.  Picture yourself strong and capable.  Work. The. Problem.

You are an Outlier.  You can do this.