Throughout the
country, and in the U.S., we are constantly being challenged and
confronted with making decisions and attempting to cope with stress that
literally and potentially has drastic effects and alters peoples lives
daily. At best this has been very difficult to understand, never mind
change. Particularly with Emergency Medical Technicians (E.M.T. 's),
Firefighters, Police, and Medical Personnel. There is no escape or
relief, and no geographical boundaries that someone can escape to.
Everyone is
touched, one way or another. Most stress tends to be cumulative rather
than a singular incident or event, which appears to have developed for
no apparent reason. Consistently dealing with stress often causes people
to acquire ineffective coping skills and often progressively high risk
behaviors. This usually results in poor decision making, bad choices and
a strain on our thinking and performance. This can evolve into a
conspiracy of silence, that characterizes Firefighters reactions to
stress and trauma, that keeps the ethos alive.
The prevalence
rate for diagnosable Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) for
Firefighters in Toronto was 16.5% in February 1995 and still growing,
compared to 3% in the general population, and 1% higher than PTSD rates
of Viet Nam Veterans. In the same study, it was also demonstrated that
78% of these Firefighters reported more symptoms than the general
population. In essence, we all need to begin to create and continue to
develop more information and skills to respond to this never ending
concern. We propose one of many responses is prevention and intervention
programs for all of our high risk occupations
