Combat medics play a unique role in today’s modern military. Not only must they be experts in battlefield medicine, they must also remain proficient in tactical skills such as patrolling and guard duty. They frequently witness injuries and death and are often exposed to personal threats of trauma. Medics on the battlefield must render aid to those injured while exposing themselves to danger. While under attack, medics must fight alongside their fellow soldiers. Because of this double-duty role, combat medics often face stressors that other military specialties do not. Military medics are at high risk for burnout, compassion fatigue, combat ...
Read more
The latest Call of Duty and Halo video games may be the most popular of the holiday season, but a three-decade-old classic is making headlines for a completely different reason. Tetris, research shows, can be used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and the flashbacks so often associated with it. In a study conducted at Oxford University, researchers observed “that intrusive memories were virtually abolished by playing the computer game Tetris.” Their findings represent a major breakthrough in our understanding of PTSD and open up even more avenues to recovery for those afflicted. But before we delve into the study’s ...
Read more
A 2005 case involving paramedic Michael Carey illustrated what can go wrong when a person who has dedicated their lives to helping others is overcome by the twisted logic of addiction. Arriving on the scene of a horrific car crash, Carey, cash-strapped and high on the anti-anxiety drug Librium, frisked an unconscious woman as she lay bleeding on the ground. He stole $6,100 – money the victim, Cleotilda Maria Arroyo, was saving to buy a home in Mexico. Carey needed the money. He had bills to pay. His addiction to alcohol and drugs had drained his finances to the point ...
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
I sat in a jail cell for three days in July of 2016. I had received yet another DUI as well as several other criminal charges. My alcoholism and drug use have caused me significant pain and suffering for my entire adult life. However, the prior year to this arrest things has completely spiraled out of control. Within the span of 12 months, my addiction had caused me to lose or harm everything important in my life; my marriage, my career, my relationship with my child and numerous health issues. As I sat in that jail cell, all I was ...
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
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