The Talk That No One Wants To Talk about… Mental Health in Fire/EMS Have you ever answered that call where a person is having a mental crisis? Ever try to figure out what is possibly going on?, and then you see that person that is having the crisis is You. That’s correct, it is you, your co-worker , your people you work with on a daily basis. EMS and Fire is one of the most stressful jobs that individuals deal with daily. It is one of the jobs where so many people have a mental crisis and do not know how to deal with it or where to turn to get help. There is always talk about “burnout” amongst EMS/Fire, but there are times we miss the signs that one has to show they have it. The jobs and calls that EMS/Fire run and deal with can take a toll on one’s mind and happiness. It can spell over in the home life causing issues and problems with their loved ones. The things that are seen by these individuals are things that no man or woman should see but we do because we took an oath to help and protect others when the duty calls. Every person who does this on a paid side or a volunteer side, has been on calls that they are willing to tell and talk about, but then there are the ones that we push way down inside and hope they will somehow fade away. We hide them, hoping they will eventually go away and things will get better and for a bit it may but sometimes certain things or calls will resurrect those memories. For a little while we get some comfort and rest, just to have another call bring back those thoughts and the hidden despair. Upon studies it has been said there are 5 truths about Fire/EMS and mental health. As follows these are the 5… 1) The level of uncertainty is high. There is no guarantee of what is going to happen or when. It is always in the back of our mind. 2) It’s the physiological response that occurs when the tones drop. We all like to hear those tones drop, but what happens to our mind and body is surreal. Heart rate, blood pressure, blood sugar, and adrenaline rises and the gas pedal is pushed, per say. Once the call is over and we try to return to our calm self or hit the brakes, it can be hard especially if there is another call before we have that time to decompress. 3) High Interpersonal Tension Fire/EMS must live with each other 24-36hours at a time, which is usually more then they live at their own home. This can cause stress and tension between the ones working at a very high level. 4) Frequent exposure to human tragedy, In a shift partners may see death from once to several times on their shift. This can be from young to the elderly and have a strong grip on the feelings we must deal with. Along with this death, we must be able to deal with the family in a professional manner and keep our emotions in check at all times. When this call is over we must move on to the next call that is toned out. 5) Underlying Fear, One of the fears that Fire/EMS deal with is not knowing what lies ahead. No matter how much information we get over the radio, there is that fear that we have not knowing what we could be walking into. Then there is the fear, did we do everything we could, did we do everything right, and if not will we be sued, will we be judged. These questions within themselves are enough to keep us asking the same questions over and over in our head. Among Fire/EMS, first responders, PTSD rates are triple and firefighters are more likely to take their Official
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