What happens AFTER you give someone CPR?

NOTE: This is an important subject that is not often talked about. We present this article to help give the issue some clear air and help those who might be affected by it.

It's always kind of nice to think of ourselves as doing the right thing. Most of us like to think that should we ever be called upon to help someone in trouble that we would be able to give them what they need. (Imagining ourselves as a life-saving hero is a positive thing.)

But even if you are highly trained and skilled in say delivering CPR, there is always the question of what happens to you AFTER you help someone? You might be surprised that sometimes it doesn't go as you would imagine.

(We were reminded of this recently because a graduate of one of our classes literally had to perform life-saving CPR on someone close to them, within days of completing their first-aid training with us.)

While many of us like to think we will be a hero one day and save someone's life, even if things turn out well for you and the patient, the act of being involved in a life and death situation can affect you in surprising ways.

How does delivering first aid affect you? (Positively and negatively)

There’s no doubt that it can be a pretty confronting experience to suddenly have someone have a heart attack in front of you. If you’re trained in first aid and feel confident that you know what to do, often the adrenaline will kick in and you will just jump into action and help them.

If you know what you are doing, the chance are you should produce a positive outcome. But this is not always true even for the best trained.. But no matter what happens, you may find yourself dealing with some of the after effects of delivering first aid, which can actually be quite strong.

From reports it seems a lot of people experience reactions like these after delivering first aid to someone, especially if it's a particularly serious situation:

• Shock (often delayed)

• Emotional ups & downs

• Anxiety or flashbacks

• Blaming yourself (particularly if the outcome wasn’t good)

• Wanting to be left alone

• Feeling numb or hopeless

If you find yourself suffering from any of these after giving someone CPR, just remember this is perfectly normal. Everyone has different ways of coping after they experience what can be a traumatic event.

Try to remember that if you have these feelings, that they will most likely lessen and pass with time.

How to recover from the effects of delivering first aid in a traumatic situation

Luckily there are some practical things you can do to lessen the impact of an event like this that can help you overcome negative reactions.

These can include:

• talking through the event with family and friends

• spending time on personal care

• doing some research to gain a more objective viewpoint

• going on a long walk in a nice place.

First off, talking to friends and family about the incident and going over it again can help displace some of the upset. It's usually best to talk to people who just listen and acknowedge, without overly evaluating for you about the incident or who tell you what you should or shouldn't be thinking about it.

Feeling like you have been listened to, understood and acknowledged is a wonderful thing and can make you feel so much better.

It can also help to spend a little extra time taking care of yourself. Do some things you enjoy, like going for more walks in pleasant places or spending time in a beautiful garden or at a lovely beach or somewhere else nice.

"Walking it off" is an old and very valid therapy.

It can also help to read up a bit more on what happens during say a heart attack or cardiac arrest so you understand more about what was going on with the person while you were trying to help them.

You might find out things you never knew before that can help you stop "blaming yourself" if it didn't end well.

Such incidents rarely have long-term effects and there’s no need to get overly worried if you don’t feel too good for a few days or even a few weeks after the incident.

The last thing you want to do is start worrying your feelings are permanent, as generally they are not. It can sometimes take up to a week or more for an incident like this to work its way out of your system.

And please feel free to contact us if you find yourself in this situation, Our trainers are very experienced in this area and a quick chat could help you. Call 1300 661 065 anytime. We'd be happy to help talk you through it.