Addiction is a mental disorder which affects millions of Americans across the nation. Addiction is characterized by a chronic inability to refrain from behavior which is harmful to the addict. The user feels a compulsion to continue engaging in this behavior, despite repeated painful experiences. Often, the addiction, in fact, continues to grow out of control, with the addict taking increasingly greater measures to ensure access to their preferred method of stimulation, and willing to accept more significant risks. In the end, the user often needs to engage in this behavior to feel normal. Although it is possible to be ...
Read more
At bars, restaurants and homes across America, many adults enjoy alcoholic beverages responsibly. However, there are those for whom drinking becomes a deadly addiction that sours personal and professional relationships and endangers lives. It’s no small number, either – according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, nearly 18 million adults have an alcohol use disorder. Firefighters are disproportionately affected. Among the 112 career firefighters surveyed in the study “Sleep Problems, Depression, Substance Use, Social Bonding, and Quality of Life in Professional Firefighters,” 80% used alcohol (averaging about one to two drinks per day), 56% binge drank (four or more ...
Read more
Addiction Doesn’t Discriminate The words ‘law enforcement officer’ and ‘addict’ seem opposed. Part of the tasks officers face is to stop the distribution and use of drugs. Many of the people they come to know daily are in the middle of one addiction or another. Just like the myth that addiction only strikes the down-and-out, it is a misconception that law enforcement officials are immune to becoming addicts. Moreover, while it is true that some choose to engage in illegal behavior, the majority come because of a work-related injury. With the physical nature of the job and risks of injury, ...
Read more
Do you remember your first job? I am willing to say you probably encountered situations and people that made you say, “If I ever am the boss one day, I will be sure NOT to do that!”. We all have experienced positive and negative work environments. One of the most common complaints is that once a person gets promoted, they forget what it is like to be on the lower rung. In any business, stress can become the everyday norm when the overall tone of an organization is dysfunctional. Of course, this leads to additional stress and discontent across all ...
Read more
Working As a Firefigher With PTSD – Smoke in the air. The blaring alarm. Every firefighter knows the rush of emotions that fill the heart when it’s time to roll. Excitement. Anticipation. Fear. Is this the Big One? Is today the day my number’s up? However, in the gung-ho fire environment, too often the feelings that haunt us are pushed down to the bottom. Nobody wants to look weak in front of his or her teammates. Nobody wants to be “that Guy”. So we repress, force a grim smile, and get back to work. The things we’ve seen stay with ...
Read more