Mental-health struggles prevalent in first responders
First responders suffer from mental-health struggles at a much higher rate than the rest of the population, experts say.
First responders suffer from mental-health struggles at a much higher rate than the rest of the population, experts say.
Those working on the front lines and responding to serious events have a higher likelihood of suffering from mental-health disorders, due to the repeated exposure to traumatic events, said Julius Brown, director of Occupational Stress Injury Canada, a community-based peer support initiative created through a partnership between the Canadian Mental Health Association (SK) and The Royal Canadian Legion (Saskatchewan Command).
“It’s higher than the normal populace comparatively,” Brown said.
According to the Canadian Association of Mental Health, firefighters are exposed to significant trauma at work and are generally not taught skills that will help them protect their mental health. As a result, they are at a high risk for developing mental illness, which contributes to a rate of suicide in firefighters that is 30-per-cent higher than in the general population.
Overall, only two per cent of Canadians will experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in their lifetime, while first responders will experience it at double this rate, according to the Canadian Centre for Suicide Prevention.
Paramedics are at an even higher risk, with 22 per cent of them developing PTSD in their lifetimes, according to the Canadian Centre for Suicide Prevention. In St. Albert the fire and paramedic units are integrated, with firefighters trained as EMTs and paramedics who respond to a variety of emergency calls.
Brown said it is the repeated exposure to stressful events that contributes to such high rates of mental illness in these professions.
And those who have a military background who then go on to work as first responders — a common path for military veterans, Brown said — are even more likely to develop mental illness.
“A lot of veterans will seek out this type of employment because it’s something that they’re kind of used to,” Brown said.
If those people also had a childhood trauma, they are very likely to develop what Brown calls an occupational stress injury.
A singular exposure to one event doesn’t typically result in an occupational stress injury, such as PTSD, anxiety, or depression, Brown said, but the repeated exposure to stress raises the baseline stress level for the individual and soon they won’t be able to get down to a low stress level.
Over time this results in high stress all the time and the development of mental illness.
Dr. Nicola Cherry, a researcher at the University of Alberta who has studied the link between mental illness and first responders, talked to 1,000 firefighters who worked on the Fort McMurray fire in 2016.
Around one in five had symptoms that were consistent with PTSD, Cherry said, with 15 per cent suffering from anxiety disorders and 14 per cent suffering from depressive disorders.
“A lot of the PTSD seemed to be related, not so much to the to the Fort McMurray fire, but the sort of continuous stressful events that a first responder comes across,” Cherry said.
Some of the symptoms of these disorders include things such as irritability, trouble sleeping, short temper, anger, being nervous, or suffering from anxiety.
Catching these illnesses early is key to effective treatment, Brown said. Early symptoms vary from person to person, such as “generally being irritable, and I would definitely pay close attention to sleep difficulty,” Brown said.
When someone notices they are starting to exhibit some of these symptoms, Brown said they should seek help immediately, because catching mental illness early can mitigate further damage.
Once a problem is recognized, peer support programs, like the one run at the St. Albert fire department, can be an effective tool in supporting those who are suffering,
Cherry said the reason peer support is effective is because mental-health workers don’t understand the experience of being a firefighter — “Peer support, where it comes from somebody who has had some training in providing peer support, but it’s coming from a colleague, a firefighter who knows all about firefighting, about the pressures and knows about the stigma,” Cherry said.
And that stigma is slowing going away in the first responder communities, Cherry said. Many fires services now have annual mental-health support training courses and peer support programs to help give staff skills to identify problems.
If first responders are suffering from mental illness, it can take a big toll on their families, too, Brown said.
Like any illness, it impacts the entire family and as one spouse gets sick, their partner is usually the first person to notice a difference in their behaviours.
“That’s why it’s so important to help the entire family because, you know, if a spouse gets the kind of support that they need to support their loved one as a caregiver, then they become more trauma informed,” Brown said.
Spouses can help create a safe space at home, Brown said, so the sick partner is able to relax more.
But spouses can experience vicarious trauma through their partner and become sick themselves, along with suffering from compassion fatigue and burnout.
“That’s why we advocate that the spouse or partner gets help, too, because ultimately, we’re trying to save the family as well,” Brown said.
Anyone who needs mental-health support can call the 24-hour distress line at 780-482-4357.
If you or a loved or is in immediate danger, call 911.
The Canadian suicide prevention service offers a 24-hour help line at 833-456-4566.
By Jennifer Henderson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter St. Albert Gazette
Sea to Sky FD’s
In February, our Community is taking part in The Push-Up Challenge. We are challenging ourselves to complete a heap of push-ups between February 1-23, 2024 to #pushforbetter mental health outcomes in Canada.
You can help us push for better mental health in Canada by joining us or donating to our team.
All proceeds go to the Canadian Mental Health Association to support mental illness recovery and foster positive mental health outcomes in Canada.
Supporting CMHA British Columbia - North and West Vancouver
State Of The Push-Ups
| Province | Participants |
|---|
Team Stats
| Team name | Number of Legends | Push-Ups | Funds raised | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| By person | Overall | By person | Overall | ||
teams
To join a Team within this Community, simply find the Team below, go to their page and click on JOIN US.
Thank you to our Sponsors
$500
Nancy De Pfyffer and Barney Campbell
$400
WB Fleet Maintenance Team
Way to go Leroy. 10 cents for every push up.
$250
Jim Livermore
$250
Judith E
Lots of luck!
$200
Brian Clark
$160
Anonymous
$120
Anonymous
$120
Jacob Pallister
$120
Cam Pallister
$120
Anonymous
$120
Miranda Dekkers
🏆🏆
$120
Anonymous
$120
Jack Farrimond
Onya uncle Bert love the Farrimond’s
$100
Pete and Joan
$100
Taylor Troll
$100
Christina Prevost
$100
Deirdre McNeill
Good luck !!!
$100
Mum and Dad Marchment
You’ll do it easily! xx
$100
Alex Harvey
Love you, Reece 😍
$100
Wilfrid & Hank Livermore
$100
Joven Serrano
$100
Terri Harrison
Good luck Trav.
$100
Eliseo Curto
Good luck
$100
Raymond Valentini
Good luck
$100
Antoinette Valentini
Good luck Great cause
$100
Adelaide Valentini
Wishing u all the best Jack
$100
Wayne Ford
Good luck John
$100
Jonathan and Rebecca Cook
Well done to you all, mighty effort!!
$88
Veronika Jelinkova
Simone you can do even 3000 push ups ;)
$80
Pip Humphrys
Get err done!
$79
Ambo Driver
Keep pushing! You’ve got this!
$79
Ambo Driver
Keep pushing! You’ve got this!!
$70
Bas Van steenbergen
$65
Nola
You will smash it I'm sure xx
$65
Bron Humphrys
Push for yourself and push for everyone. Just keep pushing
$65
Jacynthe Jagger
$65
Sarah
$65
Francesca Curto-Magnifico
You go Jeff❗️
$65
Ken Roberts
$65
Luisa Barone-Curto
Best of luck for a successful campaign!
$65
Lisa Ferguson
Nice bald spot brother. You crack me up:) XoxoBig sis
$65
Edna krabappel
$65
Em Wood
Great work Em!
$65
Melissa Benoit
For Ryan😊
$65
Kevern and Ruth
Great work all round. Keep on pushin'.
$60
Andy Brookes
$50
Paul Quinlan
$50
Anonymous
$50
Glen and Dianne Siegel
Go Jon Go!!!
$50
Stoker
Great work team !!
$50
Tara Ross
$50
Joe McDermid
$50
Kevin Emde
$50
Anonymous
Go Veronika!!
$50
Stevie Moraal
$50
Anonymous
$50
Melissa Penrose
$50
Kelly McD
$50
Anonymous
$50
Hazel Harrison
Well done Travis
$50
Kevin Penrose
$50
Mom and Dad
Way to go Jordan! Proud of you! Xoxo Love Mom and Dad
$50
Ollie Stevens
$50
Cailin Carrier
You're my hero
$50
Amy Guy
$50
Christine McMillan
$50
Linda & Les Southam
You can do it
$50
Rusty Clark - Purpose Fitness
Get em Marchy!!!
$46
Leroy Verboven
$36
Anonymous
$35
Reece Clark
$35
Rachel Bailey
$35
Grace Clark
$35
Veronika Jelinkova
$35
Maria Duncan
$35
Dan Ross
$35
Elizabeth Serrano
$35
Lana Charlebois
$35
Brown Family
Way to go!
$35
Ryan Donohue
$35
Anonymous
Great cause bud. Hopefully will help you bulk out a bit too you little shrimp.
$35
Joven Serrano
$35
Hannah
$35
Hannah Welzhofer
$35
Debbie Cook
$35
Wiley Tesseo
$35
Susan Sorich
$35
Elise Tomalty
$35
Keren Wareham
$35
Greg
You are ine tough cookie!
$35
Will Brookes
$35
TJ & Andy
Go Robbo 💪
$35
Melissa Rattle
Great work for a great cause! Amazing locations you have been doing your pushups 💪
$35
Emily White
$35
Sol Greenwood
$35
Julia Irwin
$25
Lloyd Niceforo
$25
Melissa Sutherland
$25
Jenny and Steve
Best of luck Mike, lots of love from Steve Jen and Lyla xxx
$25
Ellen Cleasby
$25
Emily Bressington
Proud of you, Esther!
$25
Sarah Kilmartin
Great Job Uncle Mike
$25
Anonymous
$25
Harriet Parnis
Go Keren!!! 💪💪
$25
Jennie Helmer
$21
Travis Harrison
$20
Judith Oakley
$20
Reece Roberts
$20
Anonymous
$20
Rob Humphrys
$20
Anonymous
$20
Melody Fitzpatrick
$20
Andy Lawrence
$20
Anonymous
$20
Andrew Kirkham
$20
Anonymous
$20
Ally Pierce
$20
Amy Godfrey
$20
Karolin Konig
Good luck! Love Devon and Karolin
$20
Lea Pratt
$20
Claire Humphrys
$20
Maestro
$20
Kari Lane
$20
Ellen Payne
$20
Vicki Tonner
$20
Mia
$20
Euan Cormack
I'm actually scared to think about how big your biceps are gonna be after the end of this challenge.
$15
MELISSA RATTLE
Proceeds from selling your speakers
$10
Emma Wareham
$10
Archie Noden
Go on lad get them arms big
$10
Anonymous
$10
Katelyn J
$5
Ross Swinton
$5
Vi
$5
Laura Hanlon
Teams supporting
Legends supporting 65
To be part of this Community, you need to be in a Team. Join an existing Team or create your own.
Keep on pushing. Good Luck.