In our day to day lives we are filled with stresses, demands, and the overall rush of life that although is overwhelming for each of us, is seen as the norm.
Whether it has to do with our kids, home, work, activities and events, there’s always something nagging for our time and attention. With all of this buildup when it comes to the end of the day, we can’t help but sigh with relief that we can lay in bed even for just a moment to collect ourselves.
However, there are certain occupations that once their shift is over, they are faced with dealing with the day to day stresses and demands alongside the tragedies and stresses we could never truly understand that are a difficult burden for them to bear.
Our Everyday Heroes
Our first responders are trained to see the worst situations and calculate the many if, ands, or buts with such precision that in the moment there is no time for stress to hold them back, there is only go and do.
But when the call has been completed, do they get relief themselves from the mental weight of what they have been faced with while still juggling home life? Or do they simply put on a brave, able face while those calls are left to continue to linger, even haunt them?
1) Be Aware. Be Educated.
Our first responders are seen in a superhero light, capable of so much and therefore weighed with great responsibility and high expectations.
First responders themselves get wrapped in this web of perfection so to speak, that any sign of distress or admitting to their kryptonite is seen as a great downfall, a failure, and that any sign of weakness is better left swept under the rug.
However, this stigma of mental health in the first responder community is doing far more harm than good. The stigmatization has created a deep divide between the need for self-care and the willingness to seek care.
As mental healthcare and mental illness is taught as a safe and acceptable topic, this alone could cause the stigmatization to decrease not just for the first responders, but for the community overall.
Learning and better understanding mental illnesses and the resources provided can bring to light hope, answers, and even healing. Mental illnesses need to be seen as just that, illnesses, that need to be treated and taken care of. Not left to fester and worsen with time.
Being aware of and addressing such issues through teaching and discussion is the first step to taking down the boundary between first responders and the need for mental health care.
2) Debriefing and Defusing
Teaching and discussion then clears the path for continually being sure that first responders receive an environment that allows them to share their thoughts, feelings, and concerns. Having a pow-wow once and then going back to the way things were, bottling up issues and letting things be, will not solve anything that needs to be constantly addressed.
In an article from the Post Bulletin Minnesota Newspaper on “Who Responds to First Responders’ Mental Health Needs?”, Emily Cutts brings up this point from Cathy Anderson, the education coordinator for SEEMs on how debriefing and defusing can help first responders outside of merely becoming aware of and learning how to address mental illness on a call by call, day by day basis.
“If we imagine our mind as a series of cogs that propel us through the day, as a responder, you might get a critical incident and that incident kind of disengages those cogs for a moment, and they just sit and spin,” Anderson said noting that emergency responders don’t necessarily have the ability to step away for a period of time following a call.
“Defusings and debriefings don’t take away the pain of the event. They don’t dismiss the responses of the emergency services,” Anderson said. “What it does, by talking them through this and sharing together, it kind of aligns those cogs back up so that they can keep moving forward.”The debriefings aren’t counseling, nor are they psychotherapy, but rather a facilitated conversation. [1]
In recent years, specifically in the firefighter department, after a call the firefighters and even the dispatchers of the call are brought together to discuss it further.
The call is discussed, or debriefed, in great detail, starting with the initial call to dispatch, what the dispatchers themselves were experiencing, then on to the first person or crew that arrived on scene, working all the way to the end of the incident with the last person to have been on scene.
Everything from what was seen, heard, the actions taken, and what was felt, physically and emotionally is gone over in great lengths, all being led out by qualified facilitators.
Debriefing and defusing helps in realigning the cogs of the mind, by opening up those opportunities for the first responder to truly process the call, the demands, the daunting tasks. From debriefing they are then able to defuse or begin to recover mentally and emotionally by relaying not just the details but the toll that these stresses have had on them.
Outside of these debriefing sessions, another resource that helps the first responder to continue to defuse and gain understanding is found in a trusted individual known as an accountability partner.
3) Have an Accountability Partner
“An accountability partner is someone that you can lean upon, have your voice heard, and they too can mirror the same needs in times of desperation. Hearing of someone else’s challenges can reinforce the idea that you are not alone, as well as strengthen your integrity.” [2]
How often does relaying to a trusted person in our life, spouse, co-worker, family, or friend, our hardships and anxieties clear the cobwebs in our mind, lift our inner burdens, or give us needed perspective?
As first responders reach out to a specific person who they can specifically lean on to listen and see them through the tragedies and difficulties they are faced with, having that accountability partner to share their load can bring understanding and needed relief.
Most times, simply listening and being present does more to help than advising or offering an opinion.
4) Avoid Stereotyping and Comparison
As we bring about an awareness for first responders and the community at large, we can eliminate the stigmatization and discrimination and come to recognize just how normal mental health is across the board. No matter our job status, all can be affected.
“For the prevalence of mental health issues, are as common as a bird in the sky or an ant on the ground. Those who are diagnosed with a mental health condition, are not the exception to the rule, but are within the norm of the human population. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) 4 out of 5 adults living within the United States, or approximately 42.5 million adults, suffer from some sort of mental illness.”
“For first responders, the time has come to stop being the tough guy. You no longer need to stand behind the shield as a source of defense. … we must begin to recognize that mental health issues and concerns are a sign of being human. After all, the human condition is about accepting our humanity, our frailty, and our strengths. … I implore you to consider finding the help you need through the strength that resides in you.” [3]
Looking through a dirty window and commenting that our neighbor’s laundry is dirty when in reality the fault is on our end, is just as bad as comparing a fellow co-worker’s success at work not being aware of the toll it has taken on other areas of their life.
We cannot compare someone else’s highlights to our behind the scenes. Passing judgement at the cost of degrading others or ourselves does nothing of positive consequence. We must be willing to come to terms with the fact that all are fighting unseen battles and gain the compassion necessary to lift each other up.
5) Loved Ones: Being Truly Involved and Full of Empathy
Unfortunately even as these mental health points are put into place and exercised, tragedies and even suicides in the first responder community undoubtedly occur. This reality must not go unchecked or make us passive or at a loss to help and reach out for help. It should give us greater reason to be empathetic.
“…the loss of other first responders should be a battle cry for the community. After all, we describe ourselves as a “community.” What is a community? According to the New Oxford American Dictionary, it is “a feeling of fellowship with others, as a result of sharing common attitudes, interests, and goals.”
Helping them become“involved in {their} community will allow {them} to see that {they} are not alone in this game called life and will provide {them} insights into how others will face personal challenges. …mental illness is an illness and should be treated as all other physiological illnesses.”[4]
As loved ones, first responders, and we as a community become educated and aware of the necessary care needed toward first responders mental health, as well as our own, we begin the process of healing and openness for our fellow brothers and sisters who serve us selflessly day in and day out. We can be a force for much good that promotes healthier living for our first responders.
Mental Health Points for First Responders & How We as a Community Can Get Involved
After the sirens have faded and the call has been completed, it continues to be a heavy burden for the first responder to carry. Let us as a community, as family and friends, offer not only our support, but come to a greater awareness of and educate ourselves on what they willingly respond to when no one else will. And with that increased awareness and education, reach out as a willing ear and confidant, avoid comparison, and be filled with empathy to our brothers and sisters who serve so diligently and selflessly.
In turn, as stigmas are broken down and mental health better understood, may first responders utilize the resources that are before them to take care of themselves so they may continue to serve the community and also better serve themselves.
Cause even superheroes have their kryptonite.
Their wounds, both seen and especially unseen, need to be addressed and given time to heal. They need to be assured they’re not alone. And as those wounds leave a scar, they must not be covered with shame, but seen as victories, making the superhero more able and enabling them to fly and be lifted higher than before.
Now I’d love to hear from you, how have you offered your support to your local first responders? And how can we offer our communities greater awareness and compassion in the mental health arena?
Please comment below and share this post if it has been of value to you or could be to someone else. 🤝
References:
[1] Emily Cutts,“Who Responds to First Responders’ Mental Health Needs?”, Post Bulletin Minnesota Newspaper, 16thJanuary, 2019
https://www.postbulletin.com/news/public_safety/who-responds-to-first-responders-mental-health-needs/article_18ce55ee-15d4-11e9-b641-7be6c7812372.html
[2] Asa Don Brown Ph.D., “First Responders and Mental Health”, Psychology Today, 12thMay, 2017
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/towards-recovery/201705/first-responders-and-mental-health
[3] Asa Don Brown Ph.D., “First Responders and Mental Health”, Psychology Today, 12thMay, 2017
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/towards-recovery/201705/first-responders-and-mental-health
[4] Asa Don Brown Ph.D., “First Responders and Mental Health”, Psychology Today, 12thMay, 2017
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/towards-recovery/201705/first-responders-and-mental-health
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About the Author
Hi there! I’m Stephanie Tracy, a freelance writer and blogger for hire. I specialize in physical and mental health, parenting, and self-development. I create engaging, inspiring and useful content to help businesses progress in making their viewers into customers. When I’m not writing, you can find me on the floor happily playing with my baby boy, walking in the park with my family, or indulging in a movie marathon with my husband.