Transcripts

Judith Simon Prager:
There are words that you can say in those situations that can mean the difference between pain and comfort and can even mean the difference between life and death.

Judith Simon Prager, co-author of the book, The Worst Is Over, says that phrase, "the worst is over," is the perfect example of verbal first aid.

When you say, "the worst is over, we've called 911, the ambulance is on the way. And because the ambulance is on the way, you can now begin to allow yourself to take an easy nice breath." Everything changes. The whole body changes because there is a realization that is both true and calming.

The key to verbal first aid says Judith, is gaining rapport with the person in distress.

Rapport means I hear you where you are. I know what you're feeling.

Another good example is how to give verbal first aid to someone who is having an asthma attack.

What we tell people to do is to stand right before them; to even take their hand, look them in the eye and begin breathing with them. You say "(in distress), I can see that it's very difficult for you to catch your breath (becoming calming) and if you breathe along with me you can begin to notice that it gets (slower and calmer) easier and easier...."
I gave this training to a group of pediatricians and the doctor said the first child she saw was having an asthma attack. She used this protocol and within that instant the child had come back to normal breathing.

At somethingyoushouldknow.net, I'm Mike Carruthers and that's Something You Should Know.