Page 157 - EMCAPP-Journal No. 14

Stress, of course, is an entirely normal daily experience. It can motivate us to develop new strengths
and skills. We are reminded, for instance, of the relevance of the Peace Corps refrain: “This is the
toughest job you will ever love.”

For humanitarians, ‘common stressors’ arise from a wide array of conditions such as hazardous living
environments, relationship or communication issues, family problems back home, lack of privacy,
frequent transitions, work travel, and re-entry. Other typical stress factors are lack of leisure activi-
ties, boredom, uncertainty about work contracts, or having to deal with personal health problems.
Humanitarian operations and organizations, large or small, all encounter such stressors.

Humanitarian Workers in Yemen, International Committee of the Red Cross

PART ONE: TYPES OF STRESS

1. Cumulative Stress—Dealing with Ongoing Daily Realities

“What pushes me to act as a humanitarian?...It’s possible [for people] to go two days without eating.
But if you have water, you can survive.” “Of course we feel homesick, we are away from our families.
But this is the humanitarian world and we have to accept how it is.” “Why would anyone kill a child?”
“All these little girls [sexually abused] that came to us. And I have my own girl… [But helping] is the
greatest joy that I can have.” Voices from the Field, United Nations (August, 2014)

One of the most debilitating, prevalent, and often unrecognized types of stress in humanitarian work
is ‘cumulative stress’. It results from the prolonged exposure to work and non-work stressors, and is
intensified when one feels unable to help (Carter, 1999). This type of stress is a core contributor to
the following mental health issues commonly experienced by both international and national/local
staff, at a much higher rate than in the general population: depression, generalized anxiety, substance
dependence and abuse, and burnout. (e.g., Strohmeier, Scholte, and Ager, 2018).

In disasters and armed conflict, the impacts of stress can escalate quickly, exhausting one’s normal

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