LET’S TALK: THERAPIES BY BERNICE HALSBAND, TORONTO FIREFIGHTER, STATION 232-C
THE NUMBERS GAME • 17 veterans, on average, continue to commit suicide each day, which is a number that has remained persistent over the past decade” – U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs 2020 National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report
• 4% of Canadians First Responders will experience PTSD in their lifetime (Centre for Suicide Prevention)
• 22% of paramedics will develop PTSD (Centre for Suicide Prevention)
• 16 active and 15 retired RCMP officers died by suicide between 2006 and 2014 (Centre for Suicide Prevention)
THE PLAYERS There are any number of mental health challenges that can come your way throughout your life. Among them are PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), ASD (Acute Stress Disorder), Compassion Fatigue, Burnout Syndrome, SUD (Substance Use Disorder), and MMD (Major Depressive Disorder).
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PTSD
WHAT IT IS AND WHAT IT ISN’T The buzzword PTSD has been around for a while. It’s the modern version of Shell Shock, Delayed Stress Syndrome, Combat Disorder, Operational Exhaustion, Soldier’s Heart and Battle Fatigue. As the many names over the years have suggested, PTSD has been difficult to pin down in the public narrative. Even these days I hear the term misused ad nauseum. How many times has the absence of a firefighter been noted as, ‘Why is he gone?’ With the answer being, ‘I dunno… some kind of PTSD or something.’ Then the conversation turning into a matter of whether someone believes in it or not. This is what the science says: it absolutely exists. Without question. Whether someone is diagnosed properly or not is another question. What it isn’t: Simply put, it’s not just the blues. Just because you witnessed the same event as your colleague and they got PTSD from it and you didn’t, doesn’t mean they’re faking it. I’m allergic to raw carrots. For whatever reason, I have an anaphylactic reaction to them. If you and I each eat a raw carrot and my throat closes up because I am allergic, it doesn’t mean I’m faking. Vo l u m e 1 5 | I s s u e 3 | F I R E WAT CH 26
