"Check Up From the Neck Up"

In his latest installment of a series discussing the 16 Firefighter Life Safety Iniatives (View Article Here/), Billy Hayes writes on the importance of responding to the emotional and psychological needs of firefighters after losing a brother to an LODD.

Our question is, how do you exercise your mental health on a daily basis, even if you haven't lost a fire service brother? Maybe you were unable to save everyone trapped in a fire, or you had a particularly grueling call - how do you deal with the psychological stresses of the job?

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Permalink Reply by Fireyladd - Retired Chief Sharp on June 19, 2009 at 5:13pm

When you face issues every day or on the rare occasions that its every other day you find what works for you to relieve the stress or trauma that we face. For me its gardening in my greenhouse, checking on my Koi or riding my motorcycle. As Barry stated its important for us to discover what works for you and go there often. Sometimes its as simple as just expressing my feelings to my wife or to God. Its all about getting it out and relieving what builds up inside.