PTSD

For day 6 of Mental Illness Awareness Week, Mental Health America is focusing on PTSD. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder doesn’t only affect people who served in the military, it can happen to anyone for any number of reasons.

Working in the fire service, I have done a lot of research on post-traumatic stress and its treatments. With first responders it is not typically one event that will cause issues, but it is most likely a series of events. However, one major event, or even one small event that triggers a bad memory can elicit a response.

Post-traumatic stress will typically not go away on its own, and the symptoms may re-emerge in the future which can be more dramatic than before. Treatment can range from support groups to medication. Anyone with symptoms should seek help from a mental health professional. This is not a sign of weakness or admission that you cannot handle issues on your own. Like other mental health issues, PTSD can lead to suicide if left untreated. So please reach out (in either direction).