It is also known that “emotional baggage” can be carried far-past the career of first response personnel, some may fall victim quickly where others may show latent signs of suicidal tendencies or worse yet, become a public danger later in life. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), diagnosed in first response personnel, is growing out of control (Reagan, 2015). The sad cost of losing even one person during or post-disaster is life altering, regardless if it is a disaster victim or a first responder, and it reflects poorly on supervisors and those ultimately in charge. First response personnel should save lives, not lose them or fall victim to the disaster itself. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is especially apparent in militarily deployed
Expert first response personnel make all the difference when it comes to saving lives and property; they realize failure is not an option in today’s highly volatile unforgiving world of disaster. Firefighters, police, military, medical as well as any other national/ international first responder are prime examples of people who give tirelessly all that they have, who work twenty-four hours a day, and who often find themselves hip-deep in blood and guts in order to mitigate the situation. These first response veterans aspire to save that one more life; they strive often even at the emotional expense of poorly kept energy reserves to pull people and property from the disaster, but at what cost? Is first response employees
Morris states that the worst things in the world enter the brain in an instant, though it may take the rest of someone’s life to understand what they saw (Morris 45). Monjaraz says that he saw brutal things and did not get affected by it until the night time came around. He cried in his sleep, made groaning noises, mumbled things and had night sweats (Monjaraz). Morris states that fundamentally, we do not know why some people are damaged by terror and some are not. He adds that according to the Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry, the
Sean and his aunt were in a good mood when the QP met with them for a session.
First responders experience much of the same psychological trauma, as they are exposed to the threat of death, and witness the destruction firsthand. Many detach themselves during their work as a coping mechanism but are unable to completely reconnect themselves with reality. Additionally, the jobs of the emergency personnel require frequent exposure to disastrous situations, making it difficult for first responders to completely recover, due to repeated exposure to triggering stimuli (Bunney). As they are exposed to the same situations as the victims, first responders are also at risk of developing mental disorders like PTSD. This evidence shows that people directly exposed to terrorism experience mental disorders at a higher rate. Due to the magnitude of the potential psychological damage a bioterrorist attack could cause, it makes government preparation imperative for minimizing the damage done to direct victims.
Emergency rescue personnel witnessed the loss of loved ones, furthermore during recovery and rescue efforts they were limited in the amount of debriefing and clinical mental support they received. Priorities at the time focused on saving lives, while mental deterioration was taking place in many simultaneously. “A study published in the Mount Sinai Journal of Medicine found a 71.8% prevalence of PTSD among exposed first responders as opposed to 51.4% among their unexposed counterparts” (Bills et al., 2008). In a 9-year longitudinal cohort study with data gathered from 27,449 participants, including a population of police officers and firefighters among other rescue workers; the cumulative results yielded a 9.3% incidence of PTSD, 8.4% panic disorder, and 7.0% depression, with the higher rates found among those with direct exposure (Wisnivesky et al., 2011). Besides risk factors that contribute to developing PTSD, underestimating its pathophysiological effects can exacerbate the condition. According to Boscarino and Adams (2009), even though 90% of adults have experienced at least a traumatic event in their life; only a small percentage develop PTSD. This further validates the concept of the influence of underlying risk factors post
When a person suffers or endures an extremely tragic event in their life, they can end up suffering from Post Traumatic Stress ( Disorder), or PTS(D . PTS(D) is “ an anxiety disorder that may develop after exposure to a terrifying event or ordeal in which severe physical harm occurred or was threatened” (Psychology Today). When coming back from war, Many people suffer from Survivor's guilt, a mental condition where someone thinks they have done something wrong by surviving a tragic event that someone else did not.(The evolution of mental disturbances in the concentration camp syndrome). As well as Survivor’s guilt, people also can suffer from extreme depression. When people become depressed, one of the
In regards to the Civil War veterans he saw, Rev. J.L. Burrows once said, "It is not in human nature to be contented under physical restraints." This quote perfectly describes the feelings of soldiers taken prisoner during the Civil War. Many of these captives harbored feelings of resentment towards their captors, despite relatively mild prison camp conditions. However, these feelings of resentment soon turned to animosity as conditions went from mildly inconvenient to hellish nightmares. This will become apparent when given the history of the prison camps and examples of two of the worst offenders - Confederate led Andersonville in the South and Union run Elmira to the North. These fiendish prisons and their practices would leave a wound
Everyone has heard stories of someone with Post Dramatic Stress Trauma (PTSD), or you might know of someone that is being or has been affected by it. The stories you share or listen to can be a little frightening, but you learn to understand the significance of the disorder. If you have ever witnessed someone have flashbacks, it is a true eye opener and shows how hard living with PTSD can be, and how the smallest of things can cause someone to have flashbacks. Living with someone with PTSD is a speed change, you have to constantly be careful of how you choose to do certain tasks, to avoid making loud sudden noises, or have you have to be careful, of how you advance towards someone. PTSD can be very disabling if not handled very carefully. Many
The Things They Carried, is about soldiers in the middle of the Vietnam War just trying to survive. These soldiers carried many things ranging from the physical items of war to the emotional and mental stress that comes along with the terrifying events of war. “They carried all they could bear, and then some, including a silent awe for the terrible power of the things they carried.”(O’Brien 7) I believe that O’brien gives detailed examples of PTSD, even in his own life.
PTSD is not easily treated. Sometimes people can not only suffer mentally but have physical impairments from the event as well. This can make it hard for them to obtain the treatment they need. A combination of medications and psychotherapy is usually recommended and is the most effect form of treatment for PTSD. The earlier a person seeks treatment for this disorder the better the outcome will be. The medications are used to help people cope with their emotions while the psychotherapy will help
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder also comes with a set of causes. These causes are Serious injury, Life experiences, Sexual assault, Threatened death, Combat exposure, Neglect, Domestic violence, and Childhood abuse. Serious injury such as getting into a devastating car accident that could potentially threaten your life can undoubtingly take a toll on your wellbeing. Life experiences can also affect a person's mental state such as experiencing a national disaster like tornados, hurricanes, and earthquakes can make a case for unwelcomed anxiety
The Possible Effects of Post Traumatic Stress Post traumatic stress disorder is an anxiety disorder associated with serious traumatic events and characterized by such symptoms as survivor guilt, reliving the trauma in dreams, numbness and lack of involvement with reality, or recurrent thoughts and images. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) can develop at any age, including in childhood. Symptoms typically begin within 3 months of a traumatic event, although occasionally they do not begin until years later. Once PTSD occurs, the severity and duration of the illness varies. Some people recover within 6 months, while others suffer much longer.
The emotional symptoms of PTSD are depression, worry, intense guilt and feeling emotionally numb. Another symptom is anhedonia, which is defined as the inability to experience pleasure and characterised by becoming disinterested in activities that were once enjoyed. The emotional numbing involved in PTSD may present as a lack of interest in activities that used to be enjoyed (anhedonia), emotional deadness, distancing oneself from people, and/or a sense of a foreshortened future, for example, not being able to think about the future, make future plans or believing one will not live much longer. At least one re-experiencing symptom, one avoidance symptom, two negative changes in mood or thinking, and two hyper arousal symptoms must be present for at least one month and must cause significant distress or impairment in functioning in order for the diagnosis of PTSD to be assigned. Matters that tend to put people at higher risk for developing PTSD include being female in gender, having minority status, increased duration or severity of, as well as exposure to, the trauma experienced, having an emotional condition prior to the event, and having little social support. Risk factors for children and adolescents also include having any learning disability or experiencing violence in the home.
In a study done 14 months after a natural disaster, depression was found to be prevalent among first responders who also were local residents of where the disaster took place. The participants were from three different groups. The first was 610 local municipality workers, the second was 421 medical workers, and the third was 327 firefighters. All were given a self-administered questionnaire. The results indicate that higher levels of depression are more significant in medical personnel versus firefighters (Sakuma, 2015)
"Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)", Retrieved May 27, 2013, from the WebMD Website: HYPERLINK "http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd" http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd