Tag: • Constant anxious state

From Police Chief To Heroin Addict

• Frontline
• Categories: First Responders
• Tags: • Constant anxious state, Aversion to situations, chronic stress, Compassion Fatigue, Compassion Fatigue Awareness Project, Cumulative Stress, dealing with ptsd, depression, diagnosed with PTSD, difficulty sleeping, first responder ptsd, first responders, Flashbacks, Frontline, Frontline Responder Services, Law Enforcement mental health, Law Enforcement officers, Mark Lamplugh, PTSD, ptsd trigger, Sprout Health Group, substance abuse, treatment for ptsd
• January 13, 2017

I have been a police officer, detective, member of a regional drug task force, member of a DEA narcotics task force, and Chief of Police. I am also a heroin addict. This story is neither a historical justification nor a self-indictment, but rather a cautionary tale. If in 2004 someone had told me that I was to become an addict, I would have laughed in their face. If only my loved ones and I received education in addiction, maybe things would have gone differently. Maybe my huge house and three car garage would still be mine. Maybe my professional reputation ... Read more

9-1-1: The Dispatcher Is in Distress

• Frontline
• Categories: First Responders
• Tags: • Constant anxious state, Change in sex drive, chronic stress, Compassion Fatigue, Compassion Fatigue Awareness Project, Cumulative Stress, dealing with ptsd, depression, diabetes, diagnosed with PTSD, difficulty sleeping, Dispatching emergency teams, first responder ptsd, Flashbacks, Frontline, Frontline Responder Services, gastric ulcers, hypertension, impact of stress, increased heart rate, Indirect Stress, Journal of Traumatic Stress, Mayo Clinic, migraines, Muscle tension or pain, National Traumatic Stress Network (NTSN), practice self-care, PTSD and severe stress, rontline dispatchers, Secondary Trauma, Signs and Symptoms of Stress, Signs and symptoms of trauma, substance abuse, Three Kinds of Stress, traumatic event, type of stress, vicarious traumatization, weight gain
• November 7, 2016

9-1-1: The Dispatcher Is in Distress Every 9-1-1 call begins exactly the same. The dispatcher answers the call and calmly asks what the emergency is. The response from the caller is usually a frantic, distraught voice of someone who needs help right away. For the length of the call, the emergency dispatcher is the voice of calm that assists the caller in managing the crisis until help arrives. Behind the soothing voice, adrenalin is pumping full force, as the dispatcher struggles to find the balance between hope and fear. A 2014 report by the Office of the Auditor in the ... Read more