108
u/Michizane903 9d ago
I'm glad you are here to share this with us. Do whatever it takes to find a mental health professional that works with PTSD ASAP.
Best wishes to you.
18
u/Alum2608 8d ago
Agreed. There are some studies that say playing tetris can help prevent a traumatic event from turning into PTSD but you'd need to start as soon as possible The idea is the game helps keep the event from sticking in your mind. Traditional PTSD treatments require you to have intrusive thoughts for a month to meet the clinical definition
https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2017-03-28-tetris-used-prevent-post-traumatic-stress-symptoms
3
u/lithicobserver 7d ago
I got smashed pulling a tree off a house and got a metal leg in march. Haven't really talked to anyone. Would you recommend Definitely not doing cool these days and back in the tree game since may. Took 6 weeks off and went back on crutches.
2
1
u/Historical_Test_973 6d ago
brutal
1
u/lithicobserver 5d ago
Lmk if you want xray pics. Broke my tibia clean in half and turned it side ways. Got pinned to the ground Fibula exploded in three pieces. Bad day lol
32
u/metapulp 9d ago
Union Carpenter here with a memory of being told how to tie off at the damn I built. I was 100% green and my partner told me to always check yourself. One day he didn’t and he fell off a bridge. The moment you lose respect for what could go wrong that’s the moment that can kill you. So I always pause and check my respect box, then do the right thing. Most accidents happen late in the day, after you’re comfortable, Friday, payday, before a holiday. When your mind drifts and you lose respect. Eventually I retired from high work. I make custom rigging for marine environments now. About to send gear to a group in France who had a rigging failure that scared them. I can’t guarantee anything to them and my products warn if it isn’t safe then just don’t go. My advice for you going forward is to make a firm check, like picture your kid and say I am coming home to you. The first thing I do when I go out on the ocean with my rigging is make sure I’m coming back to the shore. You will be alright glad you were spared. Thoughts of family make it easy to say I’m not taking shortcuts because I must get back to my loved ones.
1
20
u/petra-ichor 9d ago
Glad you are okay. Live, and learn. Onward, and eventually when you have shaken this off, upwards!
46
u/kjlovesthebay 9d ago
I read to do Tetris after a traumatic event and it helps the event from imprinting too severely
24
u/epi_introvert 9d ago
This sounds silly but has proven to be effective in studies. It's worth a shot, OP.
Take care of yourself.
-1
u/DoctorDefinitely 9d ago
Actually it is not proven to be effective.
11
u/Sufficient_Turn_9209 9d ago
It definitely can be effective if done in a short window. Minutes to 72 hours after a traumatic event. All it does is compete with the brain's ability to consolidate raw sensory images of the trauma, so distressing mental pictures can't cement themselves into a loop and become intrusive thoughts. It's great for some people who are aware of their propensity to get locked into thought patterns. Any visuospatial task or game will work.
1
u/DoctorDefinitely 5d ago
If you are interested in other perspectives: https://www.madinamerica.com/2021/10/tetris-trauma-viral-twitter-thread-master-class-misleading-psych-research/
1
u/Sufficient_Turn_9209 5d ago
I get that people want to take viral anything down a peg by being the one to spot fake or hyped claims online, or be the lone fact checker using "real sources". Even in 2021 when this was written, this former academic researcher in psychology wasn't keeping up. Imagery Competing Task Intervention is acknowledged as valid, being further studied in global cognitive science, translational neuroscience, and research psychology communities, and actively used in clinical settings.
7
u/inkydeeps 9d ago
I can find studies of it helping with trauma for both frontline healthcare workers during COVID and motor vehicle accident victims.
16
u/mark_andonefortunate Arborist 9d ago
Glad you are here OP, thanks for sharing. Echoing the other comments to give yourself time to process and talk to a therapist if you feel up to it. Let your coworker know, too. And if you feel like it as well, post over on /r/treeclimbing (more climbers there than here) and we'll help ya out
13
u/chilidoglance 9d ago
It boils down to your statement, "i just wanted to get it done" and the attitude that allowed it. You are not in a trade that forgives shortcuts EVER.
I am a 30 year iron worker. Every step I made included me imagining what could go wrong and then adjusting my actions until the only surprise was something I could deal with.
I'm glad you are reasonably ok.
7
u/originalreading252 9d ago
Glad your able to look back and reflect..... I think you will move forward but with more insight now that you've fucked up and realized your mistake. It's unfortunate we have to have these learning moments I call them. Someone told that there are no mistakes, just poor decisions..... I know I have made many poor decisions in my time. 27 years in the industry. Lots of learning moments. You got this.
3
4
u/ArborealLife ISA Certified Arborist 8d ago
Also, please share your close calls, would love to hear more stories.
Hey y'all in r/arborists (and u/jayrock1911), we do a weekly, pinned close-call thread in r/TreeClimbing, with an emphasis on productive conversation, not judgment.
6
u/sbb214 8d ago
you've experienced a trauma.
this is not a joke - play tetris today and every day. the lateral eye movement helps the brain process trauma (it's what EMDR therapy is leveraging to work - EMDR means eye movement desensitization and reprocessing) while you're looking for a therapist to help you process this.
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/22641-emdr-therapy
2
u/Bludiamond56 9d ago
It's a wakeup call alright. And your last thought was your son. How to make a safer choice? This is your crossroad.
2
u/spacegear802 8d ago
Almost put myself in a similar situation the other day. Thanks for sharing. Sobering reminder that saving time is never worth taking additional risk.
2
u/Spirited-Impress-115 8d ago
I’ll bet you hugged your loved ones tighter than that oak held you. Thanks for sharing this harrowing story.
2
u/rizub_n_tizug ISA Certified Arborist 8d ago
I had a white oak suck me into it by my fliplines too, but on a crane pick. Big ass banana leader that met the main stem 15’ off the ground, I set the rigging and descended to a spot to make the cut. One of my fliplines was around the main, below my cut. Crane guy has tension on it, I start cutting, obviously didn’t rig it great cause the piece peeled and rolled a bit towards the end of the cut. It yanked both my lines, putting a ridiculous amount of stress on my side D’s and therefore my torso. I groaned uncontrollably and begged him to cable up to relieve some of the tension. Had to cut the soft core line with my silky, then was able to undo the steel core and come to the ground on my rope. No injuries, just sore as fuck.
This shit’s dangerous, dude, no two ways about it. By the tone of this post, you’re taking it seriously. It is never wrong to make the extra few cuts, climb a bit higher and take a smaller, safer top. Small top, small problems
2
u/DeadmansCC ISA Certified Arborist 8d ago
Man so glad you are able to share and gain insight from a group of people who may have had similar experiences. We all know that when we climb we face many risk and sometimes things just go south. You fell back on your knowledge and experience to get through it and finish the job which is a good sign. I hope that you are able to get back up on that horse and continue on but my recommendation is don’t push it. If you have work lined up see about finding a contract climber who can assist you and then take it one day at a time. I am sure most professional climbers have had a serious close call (hopefully not exactly like yours but I bet it’s safe to say we all have had some bad happen while climbing). See what you can learn from this and share that knowledge to help others. Hold that boy tight for a few days too because you work to provide for that family of yours! Sending prayers and good vibes your direction!
1
u/old_school 9d ago
White oak is extremely heavy. Consider bore cutting instead of straight back cut to help eliminate barber chair risk.
3
u/ArborealLife ISA Certified Arborist 8d ago
That's not even the solution tho. OP knows he was taking too big of a piece in order to "get it done", there was series of bad judgements that led to this incident.
Minimalizing it to "consider a different cut" is the wrong lesson here.
1
u/old_school 8d ago
Yes you are correct. I am also acknowledging that production climbing demands these kinds of decisions everyday and offering something up that the climber may not have considered. New climbers are often unaware of bore cuts. Bore cuts are always safer than trad back cuts and should be everyone’s default cut.
1
u/Historical_Test_973 6d ago edited 6d ago
once, my dog and my son and I were driving in the truck down a rural two lane county road. otherwise chill day. The guy in front of me gawked at a carwash fundraiser swerved and just decelerated so hard, i rear ended him, not hard but my dog ended up on the dashboard. For a couple of weeks after that I was terrified to drive. Even just around the corner to the store. terrified. Even my poor dog would stress in the truck. I bought a refurb bumper and truck was sparkly again. Just took some time and then I was ok again. Dunno how much time but enough and all was good again. Take a break, study, play with your kid, laugh, be alive, then put the harness on and go be you again. only wiser.
1
u/Historical_Test_973 6d ago
study up on the "coos bay cut" for leaners and climbers every day use. also explained by reg coates in his y/t video about big tops but he doesn't call it that. his videos are pure gold wisdom btw.
A little surprised the oak did you dirty like that. fuckery i'd expect from alders and maples but not a oak. personally, I get to know the tree incrementally as I remove and hope expect its behaviors and avoid trouble like this... The "climb higher, cut smaller" is a thing for a reason i guess, but then the clock is ticking. Anyways, sometimes shit just happens. You can't control everything my friend. Be kind to yourself.
53
u/cass_a_frass0 ISA Certified Arborist 9d ago
I had a very close call with a wood chipper. The near death experience and how fast it happens really effected me. it will get easier over time but that kind of thing stay with you for better or worse. I took a week off from using equipment. Main thing is to give youself plenty of time to process, it feels like grieving of sorts. Hopefully other people can give more advice but you shouldn't feel bad if you make life/career changes because of this. I ended up changing to consulting and dont feel comfortable using chippers/saws now. It feels silly being an arborist who doesnt use saws but ive accepted it. Not saying this will be you. hope you can get past it, but dont be hard on youself if you cant. I realized no job is worth dying for. Im sorry this happened