Health-Care Workers, Trauma & PTSD: Why the COVID-19 Pandemic Is the “Perfect Storm” Opinion

Health-care professionals are no strangers to stress. They must regularly field huge challenges, rapid changes and the unpredictability that comes with caring for human beings – and many thrive in this demanding environment. But COVID-19 is a new ball game. The deadly virus, currently in full surge mode, has health-care workers struggling like never before – and many are showing signs of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

I am not surprised. For almost a year now, workers have battled a “perfect storm” of factors that have overwhelmed them to an unprecedented degree. Fear, grief and exhaustion are only part of it. COVID-19 has unfolded amid a backdrop of devastating political and cultural reactions as well as other factors that have coalesced in a way that’s deeply traumatizing.

History has shown us that frontline workers may suffer from post-traumatic stress following a deadly outbreak. It happened following the SARS and Ebola epidemics, and early research shows it is happening with COVID-19 as well. "Traumatic stress is different from routine stress,” says Dr. Diana Hendel, co-author of Why Cope When You Can Heal? "Stress is temporary. We can build the resilience to endure it. But trauma threatens our sense of safety and changes how we see the world. It can create long-lasting harm – and it must be approached in a different way from stress.”

The first step is understanding why this pandemic and the conditions surrounding it have proven to be so devastating. Here are some of the factors that add up to a perfect storm for trauma and PTSD:

1. It all happened so quickly. Reports of a pneumonia-like virus in Wuhan, China, began circulating in December 2019. The virus spread across the globe like wildfire, and by March 26, the U.S. had the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the world, with at least 81,321 infections and over 1,000 deaths. This was just the beginning of the surge in the U.S. A massive nationwide effort to “flatten the curve” went into effect. Nonessential businesses closed, and office workers set up shop at home. Education went online. Churches closed. Every aspect of normal life changed drastically – and it happened shockingly fast.
2. Health-care workers have faced (and continue to brace for) wartime conditions. Many have seen and done things that have scarred them for life. At the beginning, doctors, nurses, paramedics and other health-care workers braced for a massive influx of sick patients. Hospital leaders launched government-recommended, stringent infection control protocols as they went into “surge” mode, setting up triage tents and dedicating floors and wings for coronavirus patients. And they prepared for the grim likelihood that a shortage of beds and ICU equipment would force them to make impossible life-and-death decisions. Surge mode continues in current hot spots today, and healthcare workers everywhere are either bracing for either a resurgence or anticipating that they will become the next hot spot.
3. Workday realities are harsh and upsetting. Health-care workers experience intense, overwhelming and unforgettable moments on the job. They face moral injury when having to make impossible life-or-death decisions. They grieve for patients who die alone with no soothing human touch and comfort family members who must say goodbye via video screen (if at all). Plus, many health-care workers must isolate from families, or if they must continue living at home, they must go to extreme measures to stop the spread of the virus and constantly worry that exposure could happen at any moment.
4. Their own lives are at risk. While health-care workers have been busy caring for their patients, they have been getting infected themselves. As of June 2020, nearly 600 health-care workers had died. By September 2020, the latest report by one of the largest nurses unions, National Nurses United (NNU), has that number at more than 1,700.
5. They are running on fumes. Health-care professionals work long shifts that they compare to living nightmares. They post photos of their exhausted faces marked by red and purple bruises caused by their PPE. Many have been working 24-hour shifts so they can make fewer trips home and lower the risk of passing the virus on to family members and other citizens. But what’s more, they don’t have time to hit pause – the need for health-care workers is too great – and the shortage of available health-care workers continues to grow. This means they don’t have the time or ability to pause, reflect and process the crisis that continues grinding away at them.
6. They have received a distressing lack of national and united support. From supply-chain issues, to clear and concise guidelines, to messaging and instructions to the public, there has been a lack of a cohesive plan for the country. Unfortunately, health-care leaders and workers must do their incredibly difficult jobs inside a health-care system that is often disjointed and fragmented and part of a deeply divided nation wracked by strife. And in the early days of the pandemic, America’s lack of readiness equated to equipment shortages of virus tests, ventilators and PPE.
7. The just-get-over-it culture in America and in health care make matters worse. America’s just-get-over-it culture has created a double whammy for health-care providers in terms of trauma. Exhibit A: the big push to quickly reopen the country and the divisiveness that has only intensified over the course of 2020. As more and more businesses reopened (too soon, in the eyes of many experts), the virus surged in many places. As a result, health-care workers have gotten little relief from their workload and its heavy psychological toll. Meanwhile, health care has its own version of the just-get-over-it culture. In some settings, workers are expected to buck up, figure it out, get it done with the equipment they have, and move on to the next patient. Trying to navigate a pandemic in such a culture (where burnout is already rife) is pushing workers to the breaking point.

It’s clear health workers need help. And while there are no clear or easy solutions, providing healing tools and plenty of empathetic support can go a long way. It’s imperative that symptoms that arise in the face of this trauma are not ignored, downplayed or dismissed and that the stigma of PTSD is not perpetuated because of lack of knowledge or unwillingness to learn.

"With good leadership in health care, PTSD can be treated and managed,” adds Dr. Hendel. “We owe it to health-care professionals to give them the tools and support they need to heal from the trauma they have faced and continue to face every day. We owe it to the patients they serve. And we owe it to the future of the health-care industry, our nation and our world.”

The content on 30Seconds.com is for informational and entertainment purposes only, and should not be considered medical advice. The information on this site should not be used to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease, and is not a substitute for professional care. Always consult your personal healthcare provider. The opinions or views expressed on 30Seconds.com do not necessarily represent those of 30Seconds or any of its employees, corporate partners or affiliates.

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