WEBVTT - A paramedic on how to stay calm in stressful moments

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<v Speaker 1>Hey there, welcome to Healthy Ish. This is, of course

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<v Speaker 1>your daily podcast Frobody and Soul. I am your host

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<v Speaker 1>for LISTI Harley. Now, we all want to stay calm

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<v Speaker 1>rather than feel overwhelmed in life's stressful situations, and my

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<v Speaker 1>guest today is going to help you do just that.

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<v Speaker 1>He is a paramedic and author of a new book

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<v Speaker 1>called The Paramedic Mindset. His name is Lee Anderson, and

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<v Speaker 1>today he joins us to share the tools he uses

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<v Speaker 1>to stay calm under pressure in his extremely stressful job. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>if you want more from Lee, I highly recommend you

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<v Speaker 1>tune into Extra Healthy Ish, where he talks about how

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<v Speaker 1>he copes with the trauma involved with his job, and

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<v Speaker 1>he also shares more tools on how he thrives under pressure.

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<v Speaker 1>He can search for Extra Healthy Ish wherever you get

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<v Speaker 1>your podcasts Lee, thank you for joining us on healthy

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<v Speaker 1>Is today.

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<v Speaker 2>Thank you so much for having me, And well done.

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<v Speaker 1>On your new book. How does it feel it's out

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<v Speaker 1>there in the world now.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, it's It feels like I thought I would be relieved, Like, wow,

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<v Speaker 2>I can I don't have to stay up till midnight

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<v Speaker 2>riot I think and deal with the stress of writing

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<v Speaker 2>a book. Yeah, but I'm kind of a bit nervous now.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm a bit apprehensive about how it's going to go.

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<v Speaker 2>Like I've put myself in the public sphere, so that's

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<v Speaker 2>new to me, so it makes me a bit nervous.

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<v Speaker 2>But we'll see.

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<v Speaker 1>I like that you said that it's stressed for writing

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<v Speaker 1>a book, yet you've probably been in some of the

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<v Speaker 1>most stressful situations that any human could possibly be in.

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<v Speaker 1>Talk to us about this whole concept of the paramedic mindset.

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<v Speaker 2>What is it? Yeah, So the paramedic mindset is basically

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<v Speaker 2>I like to use the word poise, So it's about

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<v Speaker 2>when we're faced with stress, how can we make really

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<v Speaker 2>good decisions in that face of that stress, so we

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<v Speaker 2>don't get that tunnel vision because we like the research

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<v Speaker 2>shows the most thing that stress does to all of

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<v Speaker 2>us is make us really poor decision makers. So it's

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<v Speaker 2>about clearing your mind to make good decisions. And I

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<v Speaker 2>just use the paramedic as the example on how to

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<v Speaker 2>manipulate our biology to make good decisions and prepare for

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<v Speaker 2>stress and then turning stress. Instead of looking at stress

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<v Speaker 2>as stress, we can change it and look at it

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<v Speaker 2>as arousal. So when you look at it as arousal.

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<v Speaker 2>We start to relate that to performance, so you can

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<v Speaker 2>see stress is a good thing. It's a thing that

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<v Speaker 2>actually enhances our performance and makes our lives better. It

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<v Speaker 2>just becomes when stress becomes overwhelming and there's a point

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<v Speaker 2>where we drop off that cliff. So it's about trying

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<v Speaker 2>to avoid that. So I use the paramedic mindset as

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<v Speaker 2>usually this word poison. I define that as this self

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<v Speaker 2>assurance and composure under pressure. So I always imagine it's

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<v Speaker 2>like you're walking through a tornado. There's cows flying, cars flying,

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<v Speaker 2>and you're just walking there composed, solid, shoulders back, and

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<v Speaker 2>you're able to deal with that situation despite all that

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<v Speaker 2>chaos around.

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<v Speaker 1>That's a good summary. Well, I mean I think it's

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<v Speaker 1>all good. And while being a paramedic've you spent years

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<v Speaker 1>perfecting this or perhaps you know, trying to at least

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<v Speaker 1>how can the everyday person adapt this mindset?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah? So, like I said before, I'm just using the

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<v Speaker 2>paramedic as the example. So the science and the research

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<v Speaker 2>that I include in the book is all about how

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<v Speaker 2>humans react to stress. So every human if you go,

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<v Speaker 2>like for me, going up and doing public speaking events,

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<v Speaker 2>which I have to do now for the book, and

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<v Speaker 2>I get very stressed for public speaking, So I use

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<v Speaker 2>the exact same tools stuff that manipulate my stress to

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<v Speaker 2>perform when I public speak, that I learned as a paramedic.

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<v Speaker 2>It's just that paramedics are put under stress every day,

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<v Speaker 2>and you know, the decision making in that moment is

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<v Speaker 2>can be life threatening. Notes it's do or die. Sometimes

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<v Speaker 2>it's not always, but it does happen.

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<v Speaker 1>So can you give us some tools that can help

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<v Speaker 1>us well stay calm under pressure and build our poise.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, so I call them psychological skills. And probably the

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<v Speaker 2>best one and easiest one to remember or for me anyway,

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<v Speaker 2>is this acronym called beat the stressful. If you remember

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<v Speaker 2>mister T from the A Team, I do imagine him

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<v Speaker 2>and it. Yeah, so it's like beat the stressful. So

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<v Speaker 2>B is for breathing. So there's a few breathing techniques.

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<v Speaker 2>Andrew Human made the physiological size sighing, so that's two

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<v Speaker 2>inhales and one exhale. He made that quite popular recently.

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<v Speaker 2>There's also box breathing, which is where you breathe in

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<v Speaker 2>like you inhale for four seconds, you hold your breath

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<v Speaker 2>for four seconds. You exhale for four seconds and then

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<v Speaker 2>hold your breath for another four seconds, so it's like

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<v Speaker 2>a box YEP. And then TEA is for talk, so

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<v Speaker 2>that's positive self talk, so you're just having little phrases

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<v Speaker 2>in your mind to a positive self talk within your

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<v Speaker 2>internal dialogue. And another way you can do that is

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<v Speaker 2>to talk to yourself in refer to yourself in second person,

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<v Speaker 2>so you say your name, so it's like Lee, I

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<v Speaker 2>can do this, or Lee you can do this, Lee,

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<v Speaker 2>you are good, You've done this before those little phrases.

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<v Speaker 2>That's a bit of positive self talk. And then S

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<v Speaker 2>is for C so visualization, so it's about closing your

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<v Speaker 2>eyes and visualizing doing or performing the task before you

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<v Speaker 2>do it m m and taking that pause to do that.

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<v Speaker 2>And the other one is focus, so you use little

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<v Speaker 2>focus words. I like to in Q words, So you

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<v Speaker 2>come up with a word before you do something simply

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<v Speaker 2>as like for a paramedic, it might be smooth, So

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<v Speaker 2>before you perform a surgical intervention or something, you say smooth,

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<v Speaker 2>or you say the word focus itself. So you come

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<v Speaker 2>up with these little Q words, and there's single words

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<v Speaker 2>that snap you out of that tunnel vision. So beat

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<v Speaker 2>the stressful.

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<v Speaker 1>I like that. I like that. So when you come

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<v Speaker 1>upon a situation, you know, which could be life and death,

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<v Speaker 1>is this what's going on your head? The self talk,

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<v Speaker 1>the breathing. I mean when you're in the ambulance and

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<v Speaker 1>you're on your way, I mean, how does that work

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<v Speaker 1>in your mind?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, Well, there's like a lot of preparation goes in

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<v Speaker 2>before you put yourself in that situation. We call it

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<v Speaker 2>stress and oculation. So it's training and education and that

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<v Speaker 2>sort of thing about mastering your skills. But yeah, essentially,

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<v Speaker 2>when you're in those pressure moments before you do something,

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<v Speaker 2>I'll be like, as I'll walk into a scene, I'll

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<v Speaker 2>be breathing before I perform a task. I'll say a

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<v Speaker 2>single word or a cognitive pause is another one where

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<v Speaker 2>you just physically step back and move your body. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 2>and you look at the horizon and stand there for

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<v Speaker 2>thirty seconds, remove yourself from the situation before you make

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<v Speaker 2>a decision. Yeah, I'll actively do those things. And you

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<v Speaker 2>can do those things without anyone noticing around you. And

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<v Speaker 2>that's the beauty of these little tools and skills is

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<v Speaker 2>that you can perform it next to someone and they

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<v Speaker 2>don't even know you doing it.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, you make it sound very simple and very easy

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<v Speaker 1>to stay calm when under pressure. It was I found

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<v Speaker 1>that you talk you write about in your book about

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<v Speaker 1>an experiment that you conducted with your podcast, and the

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<v Speaker 1>finding was around maintaining poise under pressure. It was more

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<v Speaker 1>about individual's well being than their experience or preparedness when

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<v Speaker 1>it came to a stressful situation. Can you tell us

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<v Speaker 1>more about.

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<v Speaker 2>This, Yeah, it was quite fascinating that people prioritize their

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<v Speaker 2>own well being and they stated that that is a

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<v Speaker 2>having a what we'd like to call flourishing. So flourishing

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<v Speaker 2>in life is a key performance indicator of being able

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<v Speaker 2>to deal with stressful situations when they come up. So

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<v Speaker 2>if you walked in like it's you know, it sounds

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<v Speaker 2>pretty if you put it this way, it's pretty simple.

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<v Speaker 2>It's like if you're feeling depressed and anxious and then

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<v Speaker 2>someone throws something at you, it makes you really stressful.

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<v Speaker 2>You're not going to perform very well. Whether if you

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<v Speaker 2>walk into it and you're feeling like you're functioning in life.

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<v Speaker 2>You can deal with obstacles and hurdles that you come

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<v Speaker 2>across to achieve that is, through achieving well being and

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<v Speaker 2>probably the biggest thing that sets people up in that

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<v Speaker 2>was that they do it in service of others. So

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<v Speaker 2>it's helping others gives them that resilience in that well being,

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<v Speaker 2>which I thought was really interesting that it's not about

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<v Speaker 2>trying to do something for your individual it's about helping

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<v Speaker 2>other people and that's what gives you resilience.

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<v Speaker 1>Is that why you're a paramedic? What was your desire

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<v Speaker 1>to become a paramedic?

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, yeah, well a part of it, for sure is

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<v Speaker 2>that desire to help others. But it's also so I

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<v Speaker 2>was injured and quite sick when I was around fifteen sixteen,

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<v Speaker 2>and yeah, I had the ambulance come out to me,

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<v Speaker 2>and I know, they were amazing, and I just looked

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<v Speaker 2>up to them and thought, you know, what they did

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<v Speaker 2>for me and how they treated me was incredible. And

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<v Speaker 2>then at the time, it used to be like a

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<v Speaker 2>diploma program where you had to apply and you had

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<v Speaker 2>to have like a lot of life experience before they

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<v Speaker 2>would accept you. Yeah, but then the tertiary and universities

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<v Speaker 2>opened it up and started doing it as a program

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<v Speaker 2>at university level. And as soon as I saw that,

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<v Speaker 2>it just it was a calling. I'm enrolled in that

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<v Speaker 2>course and.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh you're an undervalued occupation. Lee, thank you so much

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<v Speaker 1>for joining us on Healthy.

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<v Speaker 2>Is Not a problem. Thank you for having me well.

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<v Speaker 1>If you do want more tales from the front line,

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<v Speaker 1>make sure you grab Lee's new book. It is called

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<v Speaker 1>The Paramedic Mindset it is. It's really good. Actually, it's

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<v Speaker 1>got a lot of wisdom in there about how to

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<v Speaker 1>well flourish under pressure. If you did enjoy this chat,

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<v Speaker 1>jump on rate and review it, or of course you

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<v Speaker 1>can subscribe to this podcast. Anything else, head to Body

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<v Speaker 1>and Soul dot com dot you followus on socials, grab

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<v Speaker 1>our print edition which is out in your local Sunday paper,

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<v Speaker 1>and until tomorrow, stay healthy ish