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Managing Stress and Fighting 'Burn-out' - A Daily Battle
You have to admit, it's not a walk in the park. It strains relationships, marriages, and compounds life's everyday problems. I was fortunate enough to make it. I survived over 20 years thanks to a couple of mentors that helped me. I couldn't have made it without them. Don't you hate it when people say "Oh, you must be 'callused' from all the stuff you see." Every one of us are exactly the opposite of that. We wear our hearts on our sleeves and even though the shell is hard on the outside it's our heart and soul that drive us to do the job. I've 'been there and done that' and got through it in pretty good shape both mentally and physically. If you need help, talk to me. If nothing else 'vent it' before it hurts you. I don't care how much of a 'tough guy' or 'bad girl' you are.....you're human.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Regina Tribley on
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I recenty had to attend a Crisis Intervention Team meeting for a bad call I was on. I didn't care to share much then mostly because I don't show to many emotions at the fire station. I am one of the few female firefighters and I always keep that in my head that I must be able to stand as they do. I must admitt that my emotions do not control me. At a scene I can pretty much do what it takes to get the job done reguardless of the casuailty and be fine. At home is when it would hit me, of couse you cant talk to someone that doesn't understand what you have been through. I would have to say that children patients are my downfall, but I have been blessed to say that I have never had a fatal child patient. Being a mother a child hits my heart before I start to work on them. Luckly I have only had to have one pediatric patient life flighted. I must say kudos for offering your ear, it makes a difference to talk to someone that has been there and someone that is not right close to you.
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Permalink Reply by turk182 on
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My burn out has not come from calls even though i have been on some really bad ones, but it is coming from the administration end at the fire house.
The chief does not want to dealing with anything but running fires and since I am the assistant chief he always tells me to do everything.
I have to assign gear get training set up for the department, set up maintanance on the apparatus and equipment plus having to deal with the township with rosters and drivers list and state police with blue light lists.
then dealing with the fire fighters complaints and them not wanting to listen to what you tell them or trying to pass the buck so to speak with daily life issues and found out my body is producing to much iron so they are worried about my liver makes me wonder when the bottom is going to fall out.
I keep trying to get some of the other officers to help me with some of the stuff and i just get a blank stair from them. after 20 years in the department i cannot just walk away because i love fire fighting to musch and alot of the guy's do not think about safety issues before they do something so I have to try to keep an eye on them so they don't do something stupid especially the newer guy's.
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Permalink Reply by Adam Bitnun on
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First I would like to say to chek435 thank you for lending your ear. If I have some issues that I need to talk about I will come to you if that is alright with you.
Second to turk182, I kind of know what you feel like when you talk about the administrative side of the fire dept. I have recently been put in a position where I have to help with the paperwork and some of the other admin stuff. For the past few weeks myself along with a few other people in my dept have been trying to rectify some of the paperwork and bills from last year. So far between the group of people that are working on this problem we must have spent between 80 to a hundred hours so far, and we are not done yet.
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Permalink Reply by Spanner 122 on
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I think there is a lot to be said as well for the tones, the adrenalin pumping through the body, the increase in heart rate, excitement, etc that lends to burn out. Even if you never encounter the emotional end of things (which of course you will), these things alone will tire the body. Now and then I take a day and just relax. Long bath, watch tv, do some reading, just some me time. It's really all I need to feel refreshed. Sometimes you just have to let the body rest.
As for the emotional end of it. I have run a couple of tough calls, one fatal that touched me and a VSA that was particularly sad due to the family members present. But I remind myself that I did not put those people in that situation, I am simply there to try to make things better, in one way or another. Whether we can save the person or not, there can always be something that is made better. A hand on a shoulder, a reassuring comment, a condolence... anything. I feel that giving a little piece to those family members or the person in pain helps me as well. There is nothing wrong with stroking the hair of a child who is having difficulty breathing, or holding the hand of a man who has been in an MVC while checking his vitals. For me, it's helpful. I can walk away knowing that even if the outcome is not positive, I/we have done our best to bring some comfort to someone. It may not work for all, but it's what I have to do. I don't walk away adjusting my cape or bionic bangels, nor do I pat myself on the back, ever, but I do what I have to to see that we did what we could and move on to the next call.
I look forward to the day that I forget some of these faces, but in a couple of cases, there was no family to remember them, I don't mind being the one to think of them now and then.
Not sure if that makes sense. I find there are just some things about this job that are hard to explain. I guess that's also part of why we do it, right?
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Permalink Reply by Engineco913 on
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Luckily In Rhode Island we have CISD meetings for any fatality or injury which hurts (or has potential to hurt) the emotional status of the "iron hearted" firefighter in the world. For those who refuse to open up, it is 100% free and they provide each person affected with a business card with toll free number. (completely confidential you dont even say your name) This is a huge factor in aiding some folks in making the job bearable at times, and also assists them in moving on from the daily sights and occurances we endure. Keep the faith theres always help out there willing to lend a listening ear.
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Permalink Reply by chek435 on
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You all have hit on all the elements that contribute to the dreaded 'burn-out'. Not only is it dealing with the worst call you've ever seen but physically, like Spanner referred to, and what ultimately caused me to retire...the administrative bullshit that we all had to endure, Turk. It all adds up. CISD is ok for the actual moment but PTSD is the killer. After you leave that PISD session, it follows you home. It stays with you and you think about it every day. Like I said, it's an everyday battle. My forum is meant to allow you to vent, just like you're doing. I love this! I went to the chat room earlier today for the first time. It was awesome. Go there and let's talk and let loose.
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Thanks to those of you that have opened up and 'cleaned out your closets' by confiding in me...congratulations. It's a tough thing to do. Some of you have been carrying emotions around for years. That's not healthy and hopefully you're learning something about yourselves. There are still a lot of people in this business that think they can carry this crap around. It's got to be wearing on them. If you know any of them, send them my way. It's never too late and at least talking about it and 'airing it out' is a good start.
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Hi Jo, and thanks for your input. Seven calls in a year, that required CID's, is a ton! Some people go ten years without that many and that brings us to what the calls involved. Obviously they were tough enough to require some outside help. Any call that involves people you know, whether they die or not, are hard to deal with. When they do involve death we feel helpless and ask ourselves, "What could I have done to prevent this?" or "How could I have changed the outcome?". That's our nature, being providers. We're all the same when it comes to that. The answer is, nothing. Chances are it was poor judgement or a mistake on the victim's side. If they weren't at fault, it makes it ten times harder to deal with. In the case of the infant, it was probably fate. Remember, no matter how good you are or how good your equipment is, even if the call went off without a hitch, the two rules of the business still apply...Rule #1: People die. Rule #2: You can't change Rule # 1. Do the best you can with the tools and knowledge you have. Give it your best shot and hope for the desired outcome. If it doesn't happen, you have to move on, hopefully learning from it, whether there was a mistake or maybe just the way you handled the call. YOU CAN'T LET IT EAT AT YOU OR YOU'RE DOOMED! Vent it. If you made a mistake, or feel like you did, fall on your sword and get on with the program. You're human. Feel free to send me a private message if you need an ear or shoulder to lean on. Hell, I'm retired now, with nothing to do! I've got all the time in the world....lol
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