Critical Incident

A critical incident is an out-of-the-ordinary event or situation that generally causes people direct or indirect distress. These incidents may lead to significant changes in health, thinking, or behavior.

Types of Critical Incidents

In the most general sense, critical incidents are happenings or circumstances that greatly upset people. They may occur anywhere where people live, work, or travel. The distress caused by these events may be minor or major and lead to a wide variety of effects.

Many critical incidents involve one or a small number of people and cause direct and personal suffering. In the workplace, this may include observing unethical behavior, being fired unexpectedly, or witnessing an industrial accident. At home and in public, such incidents include automobile accidents, deaths or major illnesses in the family, domestic violence, or sexual violence. These events cause stress and distress directly to the people who are nearby or otherwise closely involved.

Other critical incidents may take place on a much larger scale. These incidents include wars, famine, natural disasters, and acts of terrorism. Often, information in the media about these events is enough to cause hysteria among many people, even if they have no firsthand connection to the events. The assassination of President John F. Kennedy and the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, are two well-known examples of critical incidents that affected millions of people directly as well as indirectly.

While most researchers who have studied critical incidents consider them negative and upsetting, some researchers use a much broader definition of the term, classifying any very surprising or enlightening event as a critical incident. In this case, the event does not have to have negative repercussions. Some examples of this would include hearing a motivational speech that makes a person want to improve his or her life or traveling to another country to experience an unfamiliar culture.

Effects of Critical Incidents

Negative critical events can lead to a wide variety of effects on people. By their very nature, most critical incidents are overwhelming to the people involved and may reduce their ability to cope with their circumstances. The intense stress involved in major critical events can lead to panic attacks, emotional breakdowns, heart attacks, or other immediate negative reactions.

The stress may also have latent or lingering effects. The stress may also result from repeated exposure to multiple critical incidents over time, where the cumulative effect of many events can gradually build up and lead to significant psychological strain, even if each event alone seems manageable. Many people affected by critical incidents suffer from grief, depression, anxiety, personality changes, or changes in behavior, sometimes even many years after the critical incident. Even armed forces, police, and emergency personnel who are trained to deal with potentially shocking and high-stress events may suffer after experiencing critical incidents. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common problem among such personnel and may require extensive therapy. Research estimates that about one in seven first responders (around 14.3 percent) may experience PTSD from routine duties, with lower rates (about one in twelve) after major disasters, and evidence suggests these rates have increased in recent years. However, stigma surrounding mental health and concerns about career impact may prevent some first responders from seeking timely treatment. Law enforcement has worked to develop special teams to respond to large-scale critical events, such as a mass shooting. Many law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, have critical incident response groups that are trained to provide rapid assistance in a crisis. Some teams also include mental health professionals to help people navigate mental health crises.

Bibliography

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