PTSD

"No one works this job and is not profoundly affected by it.  Our goal is to help intervene with destructive behavior, to help maintain good mental health, and to provide as much information as possible about signs of impending or current problems and treatment avenues."

We believe that many who will come to our site are the loved ones of firefighters and paramedics. We have always been good about rescuing others, but not ourselves.

 

Look at what we have available, Google search as well because this is not a definitive site. Please contact someone within our EAP network, speak to a friend, talk to that special someone who may be hurting.

 

Remember, the only thing necessary for the continued destruction within is that friends and family do nothing.

THE TRUTH ABOUT THE SCARS THAT DON’T SHOW

- by Captain Pete Wallwork

 

Firefighters and paramedics will see unthinkable things in the course of their careers: images of death, desolation, and sorrow at a level that most people will never know. Shift after shift, dealing with the most heart wrenching of events, they are required to place themselves back in service for the next call with no time to process what just happened.

 

No firefighter or paramedic will complete their career without the lasting scars the job will leave upon their soul. As rescuers by trade, most will bury this hurt down deep where they hope it will never rise again.  But our demons are never far from the surface.

 

As years pass or other problems arise, these nightmares that we have buried deep begin to rise up, and haunt us. These recurring feelings can help drive us further from the ones we love or count on.

 

Many young firefighters believe that the monsters they bury will never get them; that they are immune to the horrors they experience one third of their lives. This is simply not true.

 

No one works this job and is not profoundly affected by it.  Our goal is to help intervene with destructive behavior, to help maintain good mental health, and to provide as much information as possible about signs of impending or current problems and treatment avenues.

 

Hosted by veteran Florida broadcaster Russ Morley, ADDICTION TODAY is a talk radio program devoted to exposing the extent and root causes of drug and alcohol addiction in today’s society, the consequences of non-action, and offers practical and results-focused solutions.

Guests include counseling and medical professionals, addiction professionals, pharmaceutical representatives, recovering addicts, political leaders, legal professionals, and law enforcement representatives. Broadcast Saturdays at 10:30am on WJNO-1290AM and Sundays at 10:30am on WZZR-94.3FM.

On October 15, 2016, Dan Perzanoski, Family and Intensive Outpatient Counselor, Hanley Center at Origins and Professional Firefighters/Paramedics of Palm Beach County, Local 2928 IAFF EVP, Joel Breier met for a special two-part, two guest show.  Dan and Joel talked about First Responders and Recovery, the issues they face including the stress of the job, PTSD, and the solutions for Fire-Rescue personnel and their families dealing with addiction seeking help.

How Trauma Impacts the Brain

How Trauma Impacts the Brain

It plays havoc with the entire nervous system, which prevents people from processing and integrating traumatic memories into conscious mental frameworks.

Traumatic memories stay "stuck" in the brain's nether regions--the nonverbal, nonconscious, subcortical regions (amygdala, thalamus, hippocampus, hypothalamus and brain stem)--where they are not accessible to the frontal lobes--the understanding, thinking, reasoning parts of the brain.

 

Read the whole article

The images in this site are from www.dansunphotos.com. His work is amazing and captures the torment many in our field feel. Copies of his art can be purchased through his site.

 

Content from this site was obtained from our sister site

www.firestrong.com