VIDEO: First responders can battle a sometimes-secret battle: their mental health. A study from the Journal of Occupational Health Psychology finds that approximately 20% of firefighters and paramedics meet the criteria for PTSD at some point in their careers. A lieutenant with Sedgwick County Fire is leading the charge on how firefighters take care of their mental health.
โThose calls pile up and youโre not processing, youโre not sleeping, youโre not eating, the coping skills that youโre using, typically in the first responder world, weโre talking about drug use, prescription or illicit,โ SCFD1 Lieutenant Jeremiah Christophersen said.
That โpile upโ of situations is what Chistophersen wants people to know about. He wants to ensure a firefighterโs mental health is as important as their physical health. He says he doesnโt want anyone to reach the point he did years ago. โI sat up in bed, I screamed, thereโs the grim reaper at the end of my bed multiple occasions,โ he said.
Christophersen says a divorce, financial strain and years of suppressed trauma from his career nearly cost him his life. โNot telling anybody that Iโm hurting, not telling anybody Iโm scared. That wall kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger,โ he said.
