When it comes to stepping up its game regarding mental wellness, the fire service is long overdue, especially in today’s world of accessibility and variety.

In order to see how things have changed, we first need to go back in time to see how things were once handled.

Why do we Learn About the Past?

It is 1996.

You just returned to the firehouse following a motor vehicle accident that took the life of a young person. The scene was chaotic, the air filled with painful screaming, hydraulic tools working, commands being shouted and words of false hope being conveyed. The smell of blood, gasoline, and men’s cologne still permeate your nostrils as you sit on the rear step of your engine on the fire station ramp.

As a young firefighter, part of you wants to reach out to the members of your veteran crew and tell them how much of what you just witnessed is tearing you apart inside and bringing up some of your own past. The other part, which is currently winning the battle, is telling you to keep it all to yourself as you have already been told “we don’t talk about this stuff” and to “suck it up” numerous times over the last few months.

As you look around at the other men scattered across the apparatus floor, now all smoking butts and telling dark humor jokes, your lieutenant approaches you with something in his hand.

“Here ya go kid,” he says as he hands you a beer. It is from the machine in the kitchen that houses the alcohol behind the label of orange soda.

How it Used to be

Back then, that is EXACTLY how trauma and the job were handled in firehouses across North America. We just did not speak about how it would affect us. We would use dark humor, alcohol, drugs, or nicotine to mask the symptoms in an effort to avoid showing any “weakness” in front of our brothers and sisters.

Instead, we brought it all back to our personal lives. Our homes. Our families. Our spouses and children. We brought it home in the form of avoidance, not talking or sharing, anger, emotional instability, drinking or drugging, and in some cases abuse and even violence.

Most of this being passed down from previous generations while being regarded as normal and part of tradition.

What Has Changed?

The years following 9/11 brought with them a time unlike any other post-war period in history. Thousands of soldiers were returning home with symptoms that were finally being monitored and treated. The term post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) became a common phrase that received more and more press. Attention was being given to a mental health condition that had been studied, at least in the U.S., since the early ’80s, mainly in Vietnam veterans.

After a few more years, it was obvious PTSD was not confined to just military veterans. First responders were starting to come forward with the same symptoms, wanting relief and healing from what was taking its toll on not just their jobs, but their home lives and families.

Where Are We Now?

We have come a long way since not dealing with our traumas or dealing with them in very unhealthy manners. First there was talk therapy which was used by very few first responders due to the uncertainty of what it truly was or how it worked. These days, there is a full spectrum of what is available, including but not limited to:

  • Inpatient hospitalization, partial outpatient programs
  • Detox programs
  • Therapy – CBT, CPT, narrative/talk therapy, somatic, cognitive, prolonged exposure therapy, DBT, emotionally focused therapy, group therapy, and many more
  • Brain spotting
  • Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR)
  • Biofeedback, neurofeedback
  • Yoga, Reiki, massage, acupuncture
  • Meditation, mindfulness
  • Breathing techniques, breath work
  • Float/sensory deprivation tanks
  • Salt spa/therapy
  • Animal/equine therapy, service, emotional support animals
  • Writing, journaling
  • Creative expression – art, crafts, music, singing, other hobbies
  • Sharing your story, public speaking
  • Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), Narcotics Anonymous (NA), Al-Anon, Alateen (family support)
  • Hiking, exercising, physical activity, nature
  • Prescribed medication, pharmaceuticals, natural supplements
  • Ketamine therapy
  • Life coaching, mentoring
  • Social clubs, men’s/women’s clubs, churches

Proactive Readiness

In order to stay prepared for the inevitable effects of the first-responder lifestyle, you need to create a sort of “combo plate” of resources and modalities from the above list. Simply telling yourself, “I have a therapist if I need them” or, “I can call this person in a crisis,” is not enough.

Like any other part of our job, we need to take a tactical stance on mental wellness to have a successful outcome more often. The best approach to achieving this is to back one modality up with another or several. An example could be the following:

You have a therapist you see on the regular, maybe once every other week. In between these sessions, you attend a peer support meeting, while journaling or writing down what you are experiencing or feeling throughout the day. While you are doing that, you practice breathing exercises, or quiet time just for you at the end of each day, along with 30 minutes of reading something you enjoy.

You Are What You Eat

Along with becoming aware of what resources and modalities are available, there are tactics that can really tie everything together:

  • Sleep – Often overlooked and taken for granted, a good night’s sleep of 6-8 hours has been scientifically proven to improve overall health. It allows not just your body, but your mind, to heal and recover from the day’s events.
  • Healthy Eating – In a world full of easy, fast options for food, we need to be more conscientious of what we choose to eat. Processed, high sugar foods and drinks are a superhighway to an anxious, stressed-out lifestyle that a first responder should strive to avoid.
  • Healthy Reading/Media – What we put into our minds is sometimes even more important than what we eat. Exposing yourself to negativity either online, on social media, or through TV/news outlets, has a heavy impact on your mental outlook in general. Choose wisely and in small doses.

In the end, it is imperative for every department, first responder, and their families to create a tactical toolbox for staying prepared and mentally healthy. We should not be waiting until a crisis occurs or having a member in a dark place to educate and push the resources, modalities, and skills available to every single first responder.

With the options available, mental wellness and healing no longer involve just lying on a leather couch, staring at the ceiling, and sharing sad stories. Let us start putting more tools in our mental wellness toolbox!