Our Heroes and Their PTSD

11th June, 2011 - Posted by L. John Mason -

Our world has many “Heroes” who risk themselves for the rest of us. We have “Heroes” that work in careers that put themselves in harms way on a regular basis and, on average, this shortens their life expectancies. In our society, our active and retired military, our law enforcement personnel, our firefighters, and our emergency responders fall into this category. On average, our law enforcement professionals have a life expectancy which is 10+ years less than the average citizen. The risks that these Heroes face place them in jeopardy and injuries can harm, or kill, them. But, the lifestyle of these professionals can also take a physical and emotional toll that affects quality of life and their general health as well. Our society will often over-look the on-the-job impacts of our Heroes’ choosen professions. Normal “civilians” can not fully understand the stress and the traumas that our Heroes face as part of their “normal” work lives. Peer support has not always helped because these Heroes do not communicate their physical or emotional needs and so they tend to mask their pains with “high risk” (adrenaline filled) hobbies or possibly the “time honored” coping strategies of silence and alcohol abuse.

It is hard for these Heroes to admit their stress, anxiety, fear, and poor coping with the events that they participate within as their daily worklife evolves. Consider the law enforcement hero who gets a call and rolls up upon a motor vehicle accident where injuries or fatalities have occurred. It is even worse for the professional if children are involved. These traumatic memories can never be erased and, depending upon the individuals coping strategies, can quickly build up to PTSD challenges. Our military personnel especially after repeated deployments to active combat zones begin to “re-normalize” to a 24-7 adrenaline vigilance that civilians can not possibly fully comprehend, let alone deal with, when our combat hero returns to “state-side safety.” Imagine running into a burning building to rescue a burn victim and pulling them to safety as a firefighter. This is their job but few of us are not emotionally impacted by this traumatic experience.

Active military personnel, law enforcement personnel, and many emergency responders have a difficult time trusting that their departments will fully understand any demonstration of work related anxiety. Careers can be impacted. The liability that department managers must understand can make managers less supportive or sympathetic to the anxiety that our heroes experience. Talking about the traumatic fears is the first part of the healing process but often these cultures do not find the most helpful ways to allow for this process to unfold. Heroes will often respond best to peers who really understand because “they have been there” and it is difficult to find internal or external organizations that can provide appropriate connections that will not damage careers. New pathways for peer support need to be explored, developed, and expanded to serve this ever expanding population of heroes.

One of my roles is to provide training and support for peer counselors, professional therapists, clergy, and professional coaches who wish to offer PTSD and anxiety control solutions to our heroes. The new organization of HeroTalk.com has been inspired by my colleague, Rodger Ruge, who is a retired law enforcement professional and he is driven by the need to serve our heroes by providing information, training, support, and a safe network for our current and future heroes. We need to get the word out about the HeroTalk.com website and assistance in the continued development of the information and network for our constituents. Please consider getting involved.

For additional information contact HeroTalk at www.herotalk.com or you can learn more about anxiety control or professional training in stress and PTSD management at the Stress Education Center’s website www.dstress.com Thank you in advance for supporting the Heroes from law enforcement, the military, our firefighters, and our emergency service responders.