PTSD and First responders

PTSD and First responders

First responders play a significant role in assisting in situations of emergency. As crises and disasters became an epidemic, the need for effective crisis response became apparent, especially with first responders. They work in fields that expose them to the scene of disasters and crimes. As heroes, the first responders help others by putting themselves in dangerous situations. These individuals include military healthcare workers, emergency dispatchers, firefighters, paramedics, and police officers. Most of the people think that first responder is equivalently trained to respond to emergencies, helping and saving lives in such dire circumstances. With this perception, people may fail to remember the mental health issues subjected to the first responders. Although they are significantly trained for their duties, the challenging work environments may expose first responders to mental health issues. Indeed, stress and trauma can overrun even the best-trained responders. The constant exposure to traumatic incidents makes first responders prone to PTSD and other psychological disorders. For healthy mental wellbeing, first responders should effectively handle the repercussions of the exposure at work and strive to normalize their life outside their working environments.

The primary aim of first responders is to save lives in emergencies. However, they are consistently exposed to extremely traumatic and stressful conditions of work. The emergence of environments of work makes first responders highly vulnerable to PTSD and other distortions to their psychological wellbeing. Many people tend to perceive first responders as highly trained personnel who are adequately prepared to manage traumatic conditions (Boyd et al., 2018). With this, some forget that first responder is still human beings whose psychological wellbeing is vulnerable to distractions.

Indeed, like any other professionals, first responders have families whom they visit after working in traumatic environments.   Although it could be possible for them to manage the stress and trauma in the workplace, things may grow tougher at home. While some can effectively manage the Stress, others are challenged by the repercussions of the exposure to trauma while exercising their duties as a first responder (Boyd et al., 2018).  Most of them can formulate effective strategies to manage stress and trauma, while others are unable and eventually become victims themselves.

First responders usually encounter traumatic conditions in their lines of work. There are various factors that traumatic conditions during emergencies. In their efforts to respond to emergencies and help people involved in scenes of danger and disaster, the first responders subject their lives to risks of traumatic events. Indeed, there are high prevalence rates of traumatic events when working in emergency environments. According to a study by Regambal et al. (2015), there is a significant relationship between the traumatic events to peritraumatic dissociation and posttraumatic cognitions. The constant exposure to traumatic incidents makes first responders prone to PTSD and other psychological disorders. The researchers discuss resource limitation and chaos as the main characteristics of distressing events. Specifically, PTSD symptoms are strongly related to the indicators of traumatic events (Regambal et al., 2015). In their lines of work in emergency environments, first responders suffer traumatic events whose major symbols are PTSD.

There are various buffers of death awareness among the first responders, as reported by Herr and Buchanan (2019). The authors had a successful study of the death awareness buffers in first responders. They explored a research hypothesis that generativity is the first buffer of death awareness and PTSD in first responders. Their research findings give significant insight into the relationship between death awareness and PTSD symptoms. As a matter of factor, there are attached signs to almost every event of life. Death, although a natural phenomenon, has some key indicators. The explored buffers are the key factors that indicate death awareness among the first responders (Herr  & Buchanan, 2019). First responders are generative. They strive to meet the needs of the people in crisis events, regardless of the risks they are exposed to. Such generativity is a crucial buffer of their death awareness. Social intimacy, self-esteem, and meaning in life are other buffers of death awareness. The symptoms of PTSD are significantly related to death awareness among the first responders.

Jones and other researchers (2018) studied the psychiatric wellbeing of the first responders in a Southern State. The researchers explore the factors that may result in health issues and the relationships therein. The researchers were attracted to the problem that stressful environments are harmful to the psychological wellbeing of the first responders. Regardless of the skills they have in managing stress, the traumatic situations will overrun first responders at work. The imbalance between the work conditions and home needs affects the psychiatric wellbeing of the first responders. The large amount of consistent first-hand exposure to traumatic and extremely stressful experiences increases the vulnerability of first responders to PTSD (Jones et al., 2018). Balancing between the stresses at work and managing other aspects of social life may be a challenge. Although they can internalize the Stress, it could later manifest as PTSD and other traumatic disorders. The impacts of traumatic and stressful experiences affect both personal life, family life, and the working life of the responders. Without a doubt, it is essential to equip to manage the traumatic events subjected to responders in their line of duties.

First responders help people during times of terrorist attacks. According to researchers, working in scenes of terror attacks expose first responders to substantial factors of PTSD.  Motreff and other researchers (2020) researched to explore the impacts of the Paris terror attacks on the psychological wellbeing of first responders. On the evening of November 13, 2015, a group of terrorists attacked the Paris area in France. The attack was so deadly that it caused the death of 130 people, physical injury of 643 people, and psychological torture on several thousand. Various first respondents comprising of police officers, affiliated volunteers, firefighters, and health professionals were involved in addressing the situation. Motreff et al. (2020) researched to investigate how the Paris terror attack had affected the psychological wellbeing of first responders after 12 months. Terrorist attacks and criminal events subject first responders to traumatic disorders. As generative individuals, first responders are disturbed to see their clients suffer. Although they are trained to work in such emergency environments, the terror and crime events concern the psychological wellbeing of the first responders.

There is a need to address the issues affecting the life of the first responders. Like any other profession, first responders should work in a conducive environment. However, due to the nature of their job, first responders have to work in stressful areas (Boyd et al., 2018). Since they are saving the victims of the crisis, respondents will be exposed to stressful environments of work. They are trained to exploit their roles within such challenging conditions.  Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) has proven to be a successful strategy in the management of trauma and Stress (Regel, 2007). The intervention plays a significant role in addressing the needs of people who have experienced traumatic events.  CISM narrows the impacts of critical incident and encourages natural recovery. It indicates the need for therapy and advanced supportive services among the traumatized victims. Besides, CISM aids in the restoration of the adaptive functioning skills in the victim (Regel, 2007). Through the intervention, first responders are connected to experienced peer counselors who help them in the management of their stress and burnout. Indeed, CISM is a stepping stone in the management of PTSD and other traumatic disorders.

Conclusion

First responders are trained to respond to the needs of victims in crisis. Although they are significantly trained for their duties, the challenging work environments may expose first responders to mental health issues. Such stressing situations make first responders victims rather than saviors for the victims in crisis. The constant exposure to traumatic incidents makes first responders prone to PTSD and other psychological disorders. Sometimes people tend to think that first responders are fully equipped to overcome Stress and trauma.  Even the best trained first responders are challenged by trauma and Stress. For a healthy psychological wellbeing, first responders should effectively handle the repercussions of the exposure at work and strive to normalize their life outside their working environments. There is a need to address the issues affecting the growth of first responders. Like any other profession, first responders should work in a conducive environments. Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) has proven to be a successful strategy in the management of trauma and Stress among the first responders. The intervention plays a significant role in addressing the needs of people who have experienced traumatic events.

 

 

References

Regel, S. (2007). Post-trauma support in the workplace: the current status and practice of critical incident stress management (CISM) and psychological debriefing (PD) within organizations in the UK. Occupational Medicine, 57(6), 411-416.

Boyd, J. E., Protopopescu, A., O’Connor, C., Neufeld, R. W., Jetly, R., Hood, H. K., … & McKinnon, M. C. (2018). Dissociative symptoms mediate the relation between PTSD symptoms and functional impairment in a sample of military members, veterans, and first responders with PTSD. European journal of psychotraumatology, 9(1), 1463794.

Herr, D. J., & Buchanan, E. M. (2019). Generativity and other buffers of death awareness in first responders. Anxiety, Stress, & Coping, 1-14.

Jones, S., Nagel, C., McSweeney, J., & Curran, G. (2018). Prevalence and correlates of psychiatric symptoms among first responders in a Southern State. Archives of psychiatric nursing, 32(6), 828-835.

Motreff, Y., Baubet, T., Pirard, P., Rabet, G., Petitclerc, M., Stene, L. E., … & Vandentorren, S. (2020). Factors associated with PTSD and partial PTSD among first responders following the Paris terror attacks in November 2015. Journal of psychiatric research, 121, 143-150.

Regambal, M. J., Alden, L. E., Wagner, S. L., Harder, H. G., Koch, W. J., Fung, K., & Parsons, C. (2015). Characteristics of the traumatic stressors experienced by rural first responders. Journal of anxiety disorders, 34, 86-93.