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Coping with Excited Delirium
We thought, given the time of year, it would be a good idea to deal with this subject, but don’t misunderstand the title of this article, it’s not about what you might find under the tree on Christmas day, it’s far more serious than that and is a condition that SIA Licensed staff, whilst extremely rare, unfortunately have to deal with occasionally.
Firstly let’s clarify what the condition should not be confused with. It would be fair to say that anyone attending a music venue, especially young fans of the likes of Justin Bieber, may well show signs of what could easily be described as excited delirium but this ‘frenzied fan’ behaviour is not part of the symptoms nor is it a correct diagnosis.
The most common signs that someone may be affected by excited delirium are acute paranoia, disorientation and hyper-aggression. These more visible symptoms are often displayed along with incoherent speech or shouting, but extreme care is necessary as these indications can also be the result of a person suffering from a panic attack, a diabetic condition, a head injury or even in extreme cases of hyperthermia.
Obviously security personnel who are most likely to witness excited delirium are Door Supervisors, Security Guards and Close Protection staff; there are other external considerations or causes to take into account here too. The first real case of excited delirium was recorded in 1985 and was found to be as a result of acute cocaine intoxication although there are also cases relating to PCP and methamphetamine abuse.
Although it’s easy therefore to appreciate that the abuse of ‘recreational’ drugs may be a common factor in the symptoms the results of excited delirium can be fatal if not dealt with correctly. In these situations it’s not just a case of taking the stance that he or she will be okay once the ‘buzz’ has worn off; anyone suspected of suffering from this condition needs to be kept calm and warm, if possible isolated, kept in the recovery position and emergency medical attention should be sought immediately.
It’s a sad reflection on our society that anyone simply trying to do their job, and to the best of their abilities, should be subjected to any form of anti-social behaviour especially when related to drug or alcohol abuse which, although illegal is after all a personal choice. This is the main reason why coping with Excited Delirium (ED) is now part of our SIA training curriculum.
The key points you’ll be trained in are to identify whether a person’s violent or bizarre behaviour is simply a result of over intoxication either due to alcohol or drugs or whether the situation is more extreme. It makes sense here to refer back to a recent article posting that dealt with reasonable force. In the case of a person suffering from ED your training in reasonable force is crucial.
No one expects security staff to be trained in diagnosing psychotic or medical conditions, but your expert training will prepare you to make decisions as to how to deal with complex situations and if there is any doubt in your mind that you may be dealing with a case of ED 999 is the most sensible response in order to protect yourself and the victim.
We’ve often talked here about how high the training bar for security industry staff has been raised and this is a perfect example of just how important expert training really is. Obviously the internet is awash with information about just about every subject you can think of – our advice here is, don’t rush to your Google search box and start doing a little homework of your own on ED, leave it to the experts to convey the information during your training.
Remember cases of ED are rare and much of what we are addressing here boils down to common sense. SIA Training is not about preparing candidates to deal with complicated medical conditions or control dangerous situations, the majority of the general public are well behaved and simply want to enjoy themselves and you’re the responsible adult there to help make that happen. Even if it does mean having to cope with a few thousand hysterical Justin Bieber fans, and we wish you the best of luck with that tricky situation.
