Mental Health and EMS

Mental Health and EMS

There are a lot of demands when it comes to working in the emergency response field that will cause Mental health problems. Problems such as stress, post traumatic stress disorder, depression, and suicide. There are ways to prevent these problems which will be discussed in this article.

What is stress? Stress is a feeling of being overwhelmed mentally or emotionally pressured. In the emergency medical field it can be very stressful, due to the situations being Physically dangerous and psychologically demanding. A study in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in 2018 EMS providers reported 5.9% of high stress-related behavioral health concerns. With this type of statistic this will have an effect on EMS personnel physically and their well-being. Physically, personnel would show signs of exhaustion, constant headaches, high blood pressure, aches and pain. Psychologically it may cause fear, dull behavior, depression, guilt, anger and irritability.With prolonged stress it can lead to heart disease, hypertension, substance abuse, and severe depression. Over this period of time some stressors may be sudden and severe which will lead into the next topic of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the result of a critical incident. Such incidents would be mass casualty, serious injury or traumatic death of a patient, or Serious injury/death of a co-worker in the line of duty. Characterization of PTSD would be reliving or re-experiencing the stressful event triggered by a sense or current response to a scene. In May of 2018 on the Graham Medical Response studies show that 34% of EMS personnel have been diagnosed with PTSD. Which at the time was 10x greater than the general population of 3.4% diagnosed. EMS suffering from PTSD have a high chance of physical harm to themselves by going down a path of alcohol and substance abuse. Personnel would also cut off interactions with friends, family, and co-workers if they don’t get treatment. Thus leading them to the depressed stage in their life.

Depression is a serious medical illness that affects the way one feels, acts, and thinks. It's a constant state of sadness and loss of interest which causes more emotional and physical problems. Symptoms of depression can vary from mild to severe like: changes in eating habit- gaining or losing unhealthy amount of weight, sleeping very little to too much sleep, loss of energy and fatigue, loss in self-motivation, difficulty thinking and concentrating, and thoughts of death and suicide. In the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in 2018, 6.8% EMS providers reported they were diagnosed with clinical depression. This will lead most providers to again substance abuse but it can be more dangerous now that the provider is thinking about their own death.

Suicide is death caused by self inflicted injury with the intent to die. Suicide is the final step of mental illness for those who completely lost hope. It’s a terrible thing for those to face its aftermath. Those more affect by suicide are close relative and friends of those who commit suicide. In 2019 the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention statistic was 1.38 million people have attempted suicide but 47,511 people were successful in there attempt. It was the 10th leading cause of death in the US. In a different study also in 2019 found on pubmed.gov, about 5.2% of the 47,511 were EMS personnel.

There are some ways to become less overwhelmed. Some relief practices are as simple as talking with someone telling that person about how stressors make you feel. Exercising, light or heavy, can even take your mind off of your stressors. In the American Psychological Association website about 53% of the adult participants say they felt good about themselves after exercising. Finding a hobby or activity that will relieve any pressure built up from working out in the field. There are treatments to prevent the worst when it comes to a person’s well-being. For PTSD and depressed patients it would be best for them to seek help from a mental health center. They will be able to speak with a professional psychiatrist and receive medication. Along with support from close friends and family. Lastly, it would be best to know the warning signs of suicidal behavior. When a person comes to you or you overhear them say “they feel like they're trapped or hopeless” and follow up with a “joke” about killing themselves it’s not a joke, it’s a cry for help. It’s also a sign of a change in their behavior, like they are isolating themselves, being more aggressive, or even using drugs or alcohol to get through the day. Talking with them and providing them a number to the suicide prevention hotline for more help is best for them.

In all, mental health can be a big deal when it comes to Emergency medical services. It has a great toll on EMTs and paramedics but in the end the job gets done. Still standing helping one another to achieve greatness.

Resources:

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration statistics

https://www.samhsa.gov/sites/default/files/dtac/supplementalresearchbulletin-firstresponders-may2018.pdf

Graham Medical Response PTSD statistic

https://blog.grahammedical.com/blog/ems-ptsd-statistics

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention statistic

https://afsp.org/suicide-statistics/

EMS personnel suicide

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30136908/