Early Identification and Management of Critical Incident Stress

The cumulative cost of treating acute stress is staggering. Stress and its related comorbid diseases are responsible for a large proportion of disability worldwide, and it is estimated that these factors will cost organizations more than $150 billion in lower productivity, absenteeism, and disability in the next 2 decades.¹ Amazingly, within the work setting, nearly half of all employee turnover is due to job stress.² Between 1980 and 1990, the number of stress disability claims made by workers in California alone increased by more than 800%. Finally, in 2000, it was estimated that the cost for treating acute stress was possibly the highest per capita cost of any psychological condition.³ Stress can also lead to physical, psychological, and behavioral difficulties.⁴ Three stress-related disorders in particular, chronic pain, hypertension, and headache, account for approximately 54% of all job-related absenteeism. Furthermore, stress in an acute or a critical...