Mental health is a critical aspect of the lives of all people, and especially the first responders of our nation who put their lives on the line each day for the good of the people. This first blog post will attempt to explain the importance and need for focus on the mental health of emergency response workers.
First responders include all from police officers, firefighters, FBI agents, and paramedics, to people in the United States Army, and many others (http://www.usfra.org/notes/Who_is_a_First_Responder?show=true). First response individuals help to keep the people of our nation and world safe and at peace. Often times, people find themselves concerned for the physical health of response individuals, or their safety in situations they boldly find themselves in, which is so critical. But, the mental health of these brave individuals can often be ‘swept under the rug’ or assumed to be completely intact, which is in opposition to most other civilians for whom which mental health is readily talked about and of concern (https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/towards-recovery/201705/first-responders-and-mental-health).
Hi! My name is Katelyn Matheny and I believe the mental health of our first responders is a topic that should be talked about, and that which the barriers to accessing these trends and the authenticity of talking about it should be broken down. These people are the ones we call on in our times of need; we pour our pain onto them and they experience our bad days with us. We should recognize these people for their courageous work, and in addition, there should be increased research, programming, and discussion revolving around all mental health and especially that of the people who physically protect and care for the citizens of our nation. This affects not only the individual first responders, but every person and situation they find themselves with and caring for. Mental health is so important and there is hope for a reduced stigma around the mental health of our nation’s first responders and more free and open conversation about it in the future (https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/towards-recovery/201705/first-responders-and-mental-health)!
Health of First Responders 