Stress management for Expatriates & Humanitarian
By leaving to live abroad, you will be subject to many tensions in your life and in your work. With the right preparation, you can anticipate certain problems. Learn to recognize the symptoms of stress and the behaviors you can take to deal with it. Severe stress, which is not recognized, leads to poor performance and exhaustion which can jeopardize your mission. As an expatriate, humanitarian delegate or accompanying family, you are directly concerned.
Stress
Stress is part of the normal reactions of a person immersed in a new environment. At first it has positive effects such as improving concentration, helping to achieve a goal and overcoming hardships. It is beneficial "in small doses" and for a limited period of time. However, beyond a certain duration and the individual limits of the individual, stress generates negative reactions which can have serious consequences. We then speak of "exceeded stress".
Adaptation difficulties and stress
The arrival in a foreign world, with linguistic and cultural barriers, will ask you for a great capacity of adaptation. The inconvenience caused by the climate, diet, isolation, and difficult living and working conditions are all factors that contribute to "basic stress" that you will surely experience during the first weeks on site. If you recognize your difficulties, talk to your colleagues and loved ones and be patient and open-minded, you will be able to adapt to your new environment more easily and this stress should quickly decrease. Try not to judge cultural differences negatively, but just "observe" them.
Highly exposed delegates and aid workers
The risk is particularly great if you are overwhelmed by your work with insufficient leisure and rest periods. You can also experience cumulative stress through prolonged and repeated exposure to stressors (insecurity, strenuous work, confronting the suffering of victims, confinement, difficult hygienic conditions, etc.). The risk of exhaustion after a few months is real. In addition, in the face of the emergency and distress you are facing, you can minimize your personal health problems that you feel are insignificant. You may have a tendency to take risks such as driving too fast, consuming too much alcohol / drugs / medicines (psychotropic drugs, sleeping pills, etc.), not taking precautions against sexually transmitted infections / HIV-AIDS, not taking your medications (antimalarial or others). By neglecting your personal protection you endanger your health and that of others.
Symptoms of stress overwhelmed
Exceeded stress must be recognized and treated before it leads to an overworked crisis. Here are some symptoms to take seriously :
Concentration problems
Exaggerated irritability
Feeling of intense frustration with work and with colleagues
Loss of pleasure in what you enjoyed doing (at work or in life) Fatigue, weariness, physical and emotional exhaustion
Change in attitude towards victims, colleagues and your work: cynical or bitter attitude, you make inappropriate jokes, loss of compassion
Psychosomatic manifestations: headache, backache, digestive disorders
Depressive state: sleep disturbances, difficulty concentrating, sadness, black thoughts, loss of appetite, etc.
Risky behaviors: alcohol / drug / medication / stimulant use; unprotected sex; dangerous driving.
Prevention and Treatment of Stress
Remember that your physical and mental health is important for you but also for your team / family / employer. Take care of it. Accept the rule that if you want to take care of others, you must first take care of yourself. You are not responsible for all the causes of your stress, but you can adapt your life to deal with it. Here are a few tips :
Get enough sleep, eat regularly, exercise regularly
Plan times of rest, leisure, sport and social / family life in your calendar despite the feeling of having too much work. Have a life outside of your mission / project and take advantage of your breaks to discover the local culture and the host country
Force yourself to leave the office at fixed and reasonable times Know your limits and set realistic goals especially at the start
Talk to your friends and colleagues about your daily difficulties Keep in touch with your loved ones who have stayed in your country of origin (telephone, email, etc.) even in the event of a time difference
Reduce your consumption of alcohol, tobacco, drugs, bad stress remedies Always practice the rules of "safer sex": use a condom (Femidom) when having sex with a new partner, no blood or semen in the mouth
If you develop symptoms of stress, get some rest and don't hesitate to ask for medical or psychological help if necessary.
Traumatic stress
Traumatic stress occurs after a violent and unpredictable event that puts your life or that of another person in danger and directly confronts you with death. The risk of exposure increases in the event of war, insecurity and natural disaster, but can occur anywhere as a result of a crime or an accident. This experience requires immediate management ("debriefing", talking about the event with colleagues). We talk about post-traumatic syndrome when the following symptoms of stress persist for more than a month: feeling of guilt and anger, nightmares and sleep disorders, revival of the traumatic event and "flashback", concentration disorders , anxiety, change of character, avoidance, self-destructive behavior. Post-traumatic stress requires psychological monitoring.
Recommendations
Stress is part of expatriate life and is inherent in humanitarian action. To maintain good physical and mental health, you will have to learn to manage it. Save time for the 3 R's: rest, meals, relationships and for physical training. Ask for help if these measures are not enough or if you feel overwhelmed by the events. Any depressive symptom should be taken very seriously. Do not hesitate to contact a doctor.
