Suicidal Thoughts In Firefighters

The most common treatment options for PTSD consists of psychotherapy, medication, or a combination of both. Psychotherapy can help victims by teaching them about the trauma and its side effects, using relaxation and anger management skills. It can also assist them with identifying possible guilt and shame about the incident and helping them cope with those emotions. The most common forms of medications used to treat PTSD are Zoloft and Paxil ("NIMH » Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)," n.d.).

There are an alarming number of veterans who suffer from Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and depression. The suicide rate on returning veterans is on the rise. In California, service members were killing themselves and family members at an alarming rate. After an investigation, it was apparent that they do not have enough properly trained individuals to over see

The first method of treatment is trauma-focused cognitive-behavioural therapy. In this method, a patient is gradually but carefully exposed to feelings, thoughts, and situations that trigger memories of the trauma. By identifying the thoughts that make the patient remember the traumatic event, thoughts that had been irrational or distorted are replaced with a balanced picture. Another productive method is family therapy since the family of the patient is also affected by PTSD. Family therapy is aimed at helping those close to the patient understand what he/she is going through. This understanding will help in the establishment of appropriate communication and ways of curbing problems resulting from the symptoms (Smith & Segal, 2011).

According the agency of the Department of Homeland Security states that motor vehicles crashes are the leading cause of death for an on-line duty fireman. Other significant causes of death are: caught/trapped (10%), fall (5%), collapse (3%), and other (7%). Intentions of firefighters are to make the community safe as possible, but we the people need to think twice before we do anything else when dealing with fire. The other things that it 's a national problem for firefighters is not wearing their seat belts when driving out to an emergency. They are so focused on saving our lives when first it 's supposed to be the opposite, their safety is first, but firemen put their lives at risk.

Suicide rates are on the increase among firefighters. In fact, the rates are beginning to catch up with the rates of law enforcement officers. Some of the same stressors affect both groups and more corporate culture changes are needed to ensure that the best possible assistance is provided to first responders who are feeling so stressed that they experience suicidal ideations.Little boys and girls often dream of becoming firefighters. The Halloween costume with the big red hat has been a perennial favorite for generations now. Every child loves the red trucks, the sirens, and the perception that firefighters are heroes as they save lives, help people, and save property. And they are heroes, selfless heroes who should be celebrated perhaps more

There is a significant health issue facing the public as well as law enforcement every day, suicide. The numbers surrounding suicide are shocking effects people of all backgrounds. In the year 2010 more than 38,000 adults committed suicide. Then in 2011 around 1 million adults admitted to attempting suicide, while 8 million had serious suicidal thoughts. Law Enforcement officers are at an even higher risk then most due to experiencing such a large number of risk factors. These factors include but are not limited to poor physical health, access to fire arms, domestic abuse, substance abuse, exposure to violence and suicide; depression, anxiety and other mental diseases. These factors lead to an above average number of officer suicides every

There are ways to cope ideally with PTSD and help officers with their disorders. As of the moment, there are therapy group sessions with fellow officers that are experiencing the same issues; family support and comfort treatments that help have more control of emotions.(Stress) Yet, this is not as much as the expected impact due to officers not wanting to be discharged and lose pay, thus they keep their symptoms to themselves, so what many believe what we need to do is input more therapy session and invite openly to all officers to encourage participation, even if they are not with PTSD symptoms, simply because it reinforces the fact that everyone in the force are there, comrades in the field and home.(Kulman and May 2015) We need to open up the research field and invest more to save the lives of those who sacrifice daily for our safety. As for now, there are advances in treatments for PTSD, and hopefully soon a way to stop PTSD from claiming for victims. There are people recovering as well as people falling into the brink of insanity and having suicidal thoughts, yet we must forge on to reach better

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is described as a type of anxiety disorder that can occur after experiencing a traumatic event that causes extreme emotional trauma. This emotional trauma is more often than not contributed to a fear of injury or death to either oneself or others. It is currently projected that one in three returning military service members will suffer from PTSD. Along with the rise in PTSD the suicide rate for military service members and veterans has increased astronomically with an average of 22 suicides per day. With so many of the nation’s veterans suffering from this disorder it has become the center for research and studies within the Department of Veteran Affairs (VA). The focal point of this research being how to improve PTSD sufferer’s quality of life and if it is possible to prevent PTSD altogether.

Cognitive therapy is which is known as talk therapy and is usually used with exposure therapy, which is a behavioral therapy where you face your fear. Another therapy used to treat PTSD is eye movement desensitization and reprocessing which is a combination of exposure therapy with a series of guided eye movements that help you process traumatic memories and help how the patient reacts when experiencing a PTSD flashback. Therapy is not the only types of treatment used for PTSD, medications are also used in combination with therapy or by themselves if therapy is not needed. The types of medication used are antidepressants, Anti-anxiety medication, Prazosin and medical marijuana. Antidepressants or selective serotonin reuptake can help symptoms of depression and anxiety which can also help with sleep problems and concentration. Prazosin help patients who are experiencing nightmares or dealing with insomnia. Medical marijuana is a new form of treatment for PTSD and has been showing as a good alternative to traditional medicine, helping patients deal with insomnia, depression and can help with anxiety. Even though the drugs can be easier option when dealing with PTSD it should not be the first choice when helping people instead cognitive therapy should be the first option.

The Air Force lost 38 airmen to suicide in 2008, a rate of 11.5 suicides per 100,000 airmen. The average over the past five years — since the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom — was 11 deaths per 100,000 annually. Of the airmen lost in 2008, 95 percent were men and 89 percent were enlisted. Young enlisted men with a rank of E1 to E4 and between the ages of 21 and 25 have the highest risk of suicide. Recently released data indicates that active duty males carry, for the first time in known history, a suicide risk greater than that of comparable males in the general population (Psychotherapy Brown Bag, 2009). This is particularly noteworthy considering that the military entrance process screens out serious mental illness prior to entry onto active duty, and that the rate of suicide in military males has historically been significantly lower than comparable civilian populations. To help

Allen, J. (2011, September 9). Firefighter PTSD, depression and suicide ¬¬ Helping the helpers. ABCNews. Retrieved September 10, 2015, from http://abcnews.go .com/Health/MindMoodNews/firefighter¬ptsd¬suicide/story?id=1 4466320.

Depression 4. A failure to get help. (Most officers who commit suicide have no history of having sought counseling). All four factors are symptoms that can stem from an officer's stress levels (Brown). An Officer who get in serious trouble on the job, suspended or facing termination is 7 times more likely to commit suicide.

The patients used it this design were outpatients referred in 1992 through 1995 by professionals, Victim Support, police, ambulance, fire services, and even the subjects themselves. The criteria that had to be met in order for the subjects to be used in this study were as followed: PTSD for 6 or more months; age of 16 to 65 years; and absence of melancholia or suicidal intent, organic brain disease, past or present psychosis, antidepressant drug (unless the patient had been receiving a stable dose for 3 or more months); and diazepam in a dose of 10 mg/d or more or equivalent, ingestion of 30 or more alcohol units a week, and past exposure or cognitive therapy for PTSD (Marks et al., 1998). The therapist used a procedure manual and 4 treatment manuals which covered each session in each treatment condition. The sessions were audiotaped and each individual session lasted either 90 minutes or 105 minutes in Exposure Combined with Cognitive Restructuring (EC) therapy.

Research and psychological studies show that suicidal behavior stems from at least one or more mental disorders that are treatable. Individuals with suicidal behaviors often feel hopeless which contributes to these behaviors and can lead to suicide attempts or succession. Recognizing these behaviors can save someone’s life, being compassionate, empathetic, and proactive can greatly reduce an individual’s suicide behavior. The goal is to recognize these behaviors and get help for these individuals quickly.

According to Harned, Jackson, Comtois, and Linehan (2010), individuals that have been diagnosed with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are at an increased risk for suicidal thoughts and behavior and non-suicidal self-inflicted injury. The U.S. National Comorbidity Survey found that individuals with PTSD were six times more likely to attempt suicide and five times more likely to report thoughts of suicide than those without PTSD (Kessler, 2000).