When someone mentions “first responder,” bravery, quick action, and calmness in the storm are some of the first thoughts that come to mind. From police officers, firefighters, paramedics, and emergency medical technicians, all of these professionals are trained to run toward danger while everyone else is running away. But some work in silence under the calm and composed exterior. The trauma, fatigue, and emotional exhaustion are constantly there and need to be addressed. That is why learning about depression treatment for first responders is crucial.
For many, there has been no rest long enough to tend to their mind. Neglecting to tend to the emotional fallout of saving lives, managing crisis scenes, and witnessing unimaginable tragedy adds up over time. Leaving the fallout to build up will only result in the need for depression treatment for first responders. Comprehensive support needs to be provided for these heroes.
The Invisible Strain on First Responders
First responders work in high-stakes environments. There are situations where the margin for error is desperate, and long-term assignments may include placing people in danger. Each day may involve car crashes, cardiac arrests, fires, and natural disasters. It is no surprise that emotional and situational exposure may result in a risk for burnout and future tragedy.
First responders also have to grapple with emotional numbness. They are trained to keep their cool in emergencies and deal with the situation as efficiently as possible. They respond to a health crisis calmly and work to decrease the emotional disturbance of other people involved. But that emotional conditioning carries over to their personal lives and makes it harder to feel and express pain, and it becomes harder to feel the pain of depression. Depression can manifest in such extreme mental and emotional distress that it becomes apparent only when someone is irritable, distant, or withdrawn. Those around them may perceive such silence as a symptom of the job and may contribute to the isolation.
Why First Responders Avoid Help
One of the largest contributors to the poor mental health of emergency responders is an unsupportive work culture. There is a prevalent expectation to be constantly tough and in control, with control rooted firmly in the post of a leader, as it undermines a person’s humanity and their impotent desire for acknowledgment. Those thoughts might be regarding a job, and losing a job might be a gamble some people are willing to take, but it is certainly an unhealthy gamble. In such circumstances, support might feel like a crime, and seeking support may serve the internal narrative that one is a burden. Some may feel that rescuers’ support should be reserved for those who are in pain and in immediate distress. Unresolved mental health problems can cause increased absenteeism, poor work quality, and relationship breakdowns. Most troubling of all, unaddressed mental health issues can lead to suicide.
When we start to normalize and support depression treatment for first responders, we safeguard their health and ensure the welfare and safety of the communities they go out to protect.
Recognizing Symptoms of Depression in First Responders
Though depression can manifest in different ways, certain symptoms tend to appear consistently in people working in emergency response. Depressive symptoms can start mildly and progressively worse if the underlying issues go unaddressed.
More specifically, symptoms can include chronic fatigue, emotional numbness, sleep problems, changes in appetite, persistent sadness, loss of motivation, apathy, anger, and guilt. Some depression symptoms include social or relational withdrawal, disengagement, and people talking about hopelessness.
Depressive symptoms in first responders cause changes in behavior that include increased alcohol consumption and avoidance of certain job responsibilities. This can lead to reckless behaviors that people mislabel as disciplinary issues, and they can go unaddressed for a long time.
Identifying these behaviors as signals and offering help could make a significant different in the recovery process.
Why Early Action is Essential
Taking action quickly can be a lifesaver, especially in mental health cases. First responders are trained to act quickly, making this the best profession to learn the necessity of urgent action. Early mental health care means recognizing the signs of mental distress, seeking support, and initiating treatment to prevent the disorder from getting entrenched, chronic, or severe.
The longer treatment is delayed, the more emotional damage is likely to escalate, including heightened substance abuse and suicidal ideation. The mental health disorder can trigger impaired and risky decision-making, increase physical health problems, and intensify feelings of shame and isolation.
Start engaging in depression treatment for first responders as early as possible to improve your chance of a successful recovery. Early treatment of mental health problems fosters resilience, strengthens morale, and returns the individual to their role with boosted confidence and mental clarity.
Early treatment is focused on a proactive approach, which is aimed at emotional health as the core of service readiness.
What Effective Depression Treatment Looks Like
Treatment should never be a one-size-fits-all. All first responders have unique experiences, which is why effective treatment is comprehensive, flexible, and built on a foundation of trauma-informed care.
Individual therapy is important. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on breaking the patterns of thinking that lead to depression and replacing them with more constructive behaviors. For clients who have difficulty processing trauma, the use of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is commonplace.
In certain situations, the use of medication is warranted. Once other therapies are deployed, the use of antidepressants to modulate the level of mood and energy and assist the client to utilize the other therapies more fully is more than effective.
The most important element of therapy is confidentiality. First responders need to be assured that the information that they disclose is secure so that they are able to share fully without the fear of reprisal or lower job consequences. Centers that understand this need will be the most effective in fostering empowering healing.
Therapy with fellow first responders reduces isolation. Seeing people who have faced the same issues and have come back stronger is an encouragement that can speed recovery.
Silence can be deadly
In the first responders’ culture, one of the biggest obstacles to mental health care is the stigma of silence. Strength is equated with silence, but, in reality, silence can be deadly. Mental health awareness has the potential to shift the existing narrative. Psychological safety training with a focus on peer support allows for the establishment of the groundwork necessary for authentic conversations to flourish. All conversations must take place in a safe environment for people to be honest.
Psychological first aid tools should help people in “positions of command” and supervisors to play a role. Their willingness to be vulnerable and open about the things the people around them expect and feel about the situations is an important first step. Their actions can help others feel less anxious when it is time to act.
Recognizing and promoting the support of the mental health of personnel during interactions of the command staff can help a team be more effective when working on a task. A support system that promotes mental health can help system members feel that it is safe to work on. Activating a mental health system can promote morale and wellness in a system. In some cases, the only morale and support may be the safety of loved ones.
Building Resilience
Many feel that teaching resilience is just about “toughening up.” It becomes a focus when we teach people to learn the tools of recovery and how to process their emotions. Resilience involves the ability to recover from an emotional state or keep the feelings associated with a state of emotional readiness, and it involves the ability to manage and control emotional and physical pain. It involves recovering from the emotional state that actively or passively accompanies situations when people experience an emotional event or trauma.
First responders support training focused on mindfulness, emotional control, and stress management. Breathing, mental grounding, and journaling are activities that help the person stay connected to themselves and help them control the mental and emotional areas, and assist them with focus when they feel like they are in a difficult place.
In addition to the activities mentioned above, a person should have regular participation in activities that allow for the mental and emotional pain to be improved. A person should exercise regularly, have proper and healthy food, and sleep in order for the symptoms of depression to be reduced.
Overall, none of these activities replaces the need for therapy or a mental health professional. These activities promote the goals that one should focus on and help sustain mental and emotional pain for recovery.
Building Safer Systems for Responders
Putting systems in place is important for ensuring first responders can access mental health care. System changes involve including mental health care in the policies of the department, providing confidential counseling care, and offering affordable access to mental health treatment.
Departments should provide leave for therapy, build peer groups, and manage the staff emotionally. Because loved ones can be affected by depression, services for family members should be implemented in the department.
The intent is not to merely respond to depression when it occurs, but to prevent it and respond immediately when it becomes unavoidable.
With these systems and offerings, first responders will likely seek mental health care prior to crisis mode.
Healing Begins with One Step
Working in public service does not mean one is prepared to deal with the emotions imprinted from every emergency call, and the weight of the mental load is real. If it is not treated, it will only intensify.
Healing and recovery are not the same as surrendering their strength. There is courage involved in needing to confront the emotions stuck inside, to reach out for help, and to be determined to overcome the issues.
The simple act of asking for help is not a sign of weakness. For first responders, it’s a bold move for not only themselves, but for their teammates, families, and all the people they help.
The earlier action is taken, the better the outcome. Recovery is a hard process, but for first responders, every step, no matter how small, is a step towards finding their peace, their purpose, and themselves.
Conclusion
First responders should not be expected to be superheroes in their jobs. They give us the best of their bravery, but every badge is a human being who should receive care and compassion. Supporting primary care for first responders is a community’s responsibility so that they, and the remainder of the nation, can be as safe in their uniforms as they are on the streets.
At First Responders of California, we create and implement a personalized virtual conference model of best practice integration. If you are in search of help, we want you to know it’s there for you, and all you have to do is ask.
