Last night I pulled over for a wreck to help the people that were injured. My heart dropped when I realized police were coming before EMTs and I was right in feeling that
The driver was understandably hysterical, his girlfriend was concussed, vomiting bile and blood, so he resisted the officer holding him down out of a panic for his partner, “don’t look at me, help her, she’s the one who needs help”
I sat with him and tried to calm him down. Did he listen to me the first 10x I told him to sit down and stabilize his spine? No. But if you have any understanding of de-escalation or psychology, arguing with someone who is hysterical and drunk is a losing battle
The best way to help someone who has just experienced an emotional and physical traumatic event is to LISTEN, calmly, validate them and ask them to comply. That’s all I needed to do to get him to calm down and understand that him being calm means the best care for his partner
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