Who Helps The Heroes Who Help Us?
For anyone in first response or even healthcare workers, the pandemic has caused extensive strain on physical health. However, the one topic that does not want to be discussed is mental health. Why? Let’s dive a little deeper.
First responders deal with all different types of calls related to their jobs. It might be a police officer responding to a shooting in progress, a fire crew responding to a structure fire, or an EMS crew responding to a heart attack. Whatever the case may be, first responders have a difficult job. Sure, it is physical strength and willpower, but mental health seems to be put on the backburner.
Mental health is not something that should ever be put on the backburner. Honestly, it should be front and center. The question I pose is how can you help others if you aren’t okay? Sure, first responders (myself included) say we are okay but we are fighting demons that no one else can see.
Any first responder will tell you that they have been asked “what’s the craziest call you’ve run?”. And while we understand that you are curious, we do not want to relive that moment that caused so much mental pain and images that we cannot get rid of. Sometimes the images that we see are extremely graphic. What is shown on television is rated PG at best. What we have seen would not even clear ratings to be made into a show. The mental health crisis in the first response field is a climbing issue and will continue to climb.
It is rather difficult for first responders to seek help in a few different ways. One of those ways is getting in the way of ourselves. What do I mean by that? Well, we are looked at as the “heroes”. We are the real “heroes” who are out there risking our lives to help others. Heroes don’t help themselves. They help others. I cannot remember a time when Superman helped himself. Lois helped him, but he never helped himself first and then others.
Second, we do not know where to seek help. While others can go to a life coach or a basic therapist, first responders need more in-depth therapy. I remember having severe PTSD from a call that I ran while in the fire service. I needed what they called EMDR, or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It is a very detailed therapy that trains your brain to make the traumatic event sad, but not crippling. Everyone will not need the same therapy that I used, but it is one of the many tools out there.
Finally, seeking help is frowned upon. When you work in a male-dominated field, it can be looked at as a sign of weakness. While the veteran of the field has been doing this job for 20 years and has the “old school” mentality of “suck it up and get over it”, today’s world has changed. We are much more conscious about everything and mental health awareness is no different. I admit I am guilty of believing that I would be looked down on as inferior for seeking mental health help. I did it anyway and the results were astounding. I was greeted with open arms and assistance if I needed it.
There are plenty of resources out there for mental health and first responders and I could list plenty of sites. I’ll keep this short and sweet with this question: What do you need help with? What triggered your thoughts and feelings? Was it a call that you just ran? Was it something that you heard about from others in your field and now you are concerned that you might get the same due to a rise in calls of that nature? Whatever the case may be, get the help.
There are multiple types of therapy you could seek. First, I would check with your employer to see what programs are available to you. For the city I worked in, they had a specific program tailored to first responders to get help with mental health for specific surrounding cities including ours.
Second, if you cannot locate anything from your employer, there is a website called the Code Green Campaign. This is a non-profit organization tailored to first responders. If you need guidance on where to go or who to call, this is the one to look for.
The mental health crisis for laypeople is significant, but the mental health crisis is even more significant for first responders. If you are a first responder, don’t wait to seek help. Seek it sooner and get a head start. Your physical health matters, but your mental health matters even more.
Remember, you cannot help those that can’t help themselves. You cannot help others without being okay first.
