Hi! I feel like in recent blogs, I have been sharing a lot of information on specific aspects of first responder mental health, places to find things and ways to access these through the web. For this blog post, I would like to take a step back and write more broadly about the topic; share some statistics and information that I have found, personal testimonies, and what it looks like to give and get support.
As you may have gathered from my past blog posts, first responder mental health is something I am very passionate about. People are commonly concerned with the physical safety of police officers, firefighters, paramedics, and others, and there is less focus on mental health.
These emergency responders experience trauma that can definitely affect their mental health on and off the job. It is important that we recognize this, raise awareness of it, and learn about ways that all people can help or at least be open to the conversation about and with our heroes. For more information, see my previous blog posts, Why the Mental Health of Emergency Responders is Important!, Where are the facts?!, Navigating the Tangled Web, and Myths Unraveled.
Source of image: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7774459/Jacinda-Ardern-meets-responders-volcano-eruption-leaves-five-dead-dozens-injured.html
For starters, let’s look the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) amongst first responders. As noted in an article called First responder mental health: 10 things you need to know to save lives, chronic stress or exposure to stressful situations can lead to PTSD. According to a study discussed in the same article, about 15-25% of first responders experience PTSD and an additional 15-25% qualify for partial PTSD.
According to a tab called PTSD: National Center for PTSD on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs website, approximately 7-8% of the U.S. population will encounter PTSD during their lives. This tab speaks generally about PTSD in the U.S. The rate for PTSD amongst emergency first responders is over double that of the general population, and for this reason, we must give it the attention it deserves. We must look for ways to look out for one another and those who help people every day.
In addition to rates of mental health issues emergency response personnel face, it is important to listen to personal accounts and experiences of those in their workplace and in regards to how these affect them.
I have touched on this story in one of my previous blog posts, but an article called First responders struggle with PTSD caused by the emergencies, deaths, tragedies they face every day, published by Rene Ebersole through The Washington Post, describes the story of Ken Dillon, former 30-year volunteer firefighter, emergency medical technician, paramedic, and police officer.
Kevin Dillon has experienced great tragedy in his career; and he experiences mental health problems and PTSD in response to this. A quote that Dillon says in the article is “We rush into burning fires or deal with the worst injuries – that’s our job, it’s what we’re trained to do… but we’re also human, and sometimes our brains can’t compute the horrible things we see.”
Dillon responded to and processed the scene of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, and remembers certain things from that time that haunt him to this day. He has experienced so many other horrible incidents, and in response, withdrew from loved ones, carried his gun always, and began to drink excessively.
Many first responders experience PTSD in similar ways as did Dillon, and later in the article, a small shift or solution is proposed. A past Connecticut state police sergeant named Troy Anderson offers his piece. He believes emergency responders should feel supported before they even experience trauma that can cause mental health disparities.
He said, “…there needs to be training for how to take care of your mental health, because tragedy is going to happen… if you are educated ahead of time, you’re going to say, I know what this is – it’s post traumatic stress – and I know what to do, and I know it’s okay to get help.”
I completely agree with Anderson; he has experienced trauma and understands what can be done, first hand, to help first responders in mental health crises. There are a variety of ways in which PTSD and poor mental health can be reduced for first responders; read on to learn about a few of these!
An article on a website called EMS1.com, which I have referred to in previous blogs as well, shares some good tips and ways to support people when they experience poor mental health due to traumatic experiences.
A good place to start is in raising knowledge and awareness of the mental health disparities that can arise in response to daily trauma. If more people are in the know, we can then continue to learn about this and how to help and support the communities around us.
Below are two sources that provide support for first responders and their mental health. Through looking at statistics and personal accounts, it is clear that this is a topic that requires intervention and attention so as to better encourage those who help us every day.
One widely known resource for first responders is The Code Green Campaign. The Code Green Campaign advocates for and aims to educate people about first responders and mental health. Check this out!! This nonprofit that was started in 2014, has a huge impact on first responders and is an awesome organization that offers a variety of services to emergency responders and others.
A second site is the First Responder Support Network (FRSN), which is a place where first responders and their supporters can seek guidance about treatment to decrease the effects of the stress they experience.
It is coordinated and run by first responders themselves, in collaboration with chaplains and clinicians. Being run by this diverse group allows the network to meet the needs of people, while walking through these experiences and empathizing, as they had undergone similar previous experiences.
These are just a couple of places that you can look for information on supporting first responders and where you can direct them to for help and support!
In summary, first responder mental health is critically important and a topic that deserves more press. Although I have found a fair amount of research and resources in regards to it, there is still much to be learned and done!
Finding reliable facts and educating ourselves and others is a great first step in raising awareness and decreasing the stigma that surrounds negative mental health situations. In addition, hearing and reading about direct experiences that first responders have had, gives perspective to situations and people who have not experienced these traumatic incidents.
We can look to sites including EMS1.com, The Code Green Campaign, the FRSN, and more, to seek information and ways to help. We must band together with those who support and help us every day! Thank you for reading! Please reach out to me to chat or with any questions or comments on this topic!
Health of First Responders 