Yesterday we learned about de-escalation which can be an issue at the best of times and during the covid crisis its showing up more and more. When you are confronted with an instance where someone has become overly heated, try to take a step back and try to put yourself in their shoes – how might they be feeling, some of the baggage they may be carrying or even just the stress that this covid crisis is adding on and realize that people aren’t themselves. It helps if you can take a step back, try to talk to them calmly, try to find out – ask what is making them so upset.

Hopefully you will be able to slow things down and bring them back down to de-escalate the situation. Personal space, body language, and listening skills can help effectively de-escalate the disruptive behavior of those in your care. We can only imagine what its like for our front-line workers!