Do You Think PTSD Is Still Swept Under The Carpet?
What do you think? We are in the year 2016 now and have been dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) for decades now in all of our uniformed services! And I mean all this isn’t limited to the Military, or Fire, EMS, or Law Enforcement, it’s a wide-spread epidemic and for the most part there is very little help!
Do you know that OVER 22 military veterans commit suicide EVER day due to PTSD? How about a first responder takes his or her life EVERY 1.5 days?? But yet many are forced out of their careers or livelihoods because employers have no clue how to handle it or choose the path of least resistance and find a way to “find that employee not fit for duty!”
But, PTSD doesn’t just destroy your career and livelihood, it destroys so much more than a job or position, it destroys your life, your family, your relationships, your health, you name it PTSD will more than likely play a role in it.
Those with PTSD symptoms were often labeled as “weak” and removed from military duties, pulled from the line as a first responder, or in both can lose their jobs outright! Almost 31% of Vietnam veterans, 10% of Gulf War veterans, and right now approx. 11% and still growing of the Afghan war! 27-28% of Canadian Paramedics have considered ending their lives! Chicago FD’s IAFF counted 41 suicides in 1990-2010, that is 25 times higher than the general population!
A 2014 study in BMC Emergency Medicine found 16% of South African paramedic trainees meeting PTSD criteria. A U.K. study of emergency responders pegged the number at 22%. Some have suggested rates as high as 37%! This is a worldwide issue we are dealing with.
These numbers and studies go back to the 1990’s and still today, in 2016 there is no change in those number for the better, I’d even venture to guess they are much worse in the US if not the world!
Why is there little to no change or an increase? I see it simply as no one is really sure how to handle PTSD and we all have been almost programmed to “have a thick skin” “Dust it off” or “suck it up” attitude from our peers and command staff or fear getting taking off the line or worse losing our job (as has happened in documented cases)!
Just like the NFL is seeing today with concussions, there is little for medical professionals to study until most of the time it is too late. And just like the NFL our uniformed service our doing what they are paid to do and seriously fear losing that and a lot of the times will do anything they can to hold onto that!
We all go and put on the uniform daily to protect and serve, but who is protecting those out there protecting their communities and country?
I mean, people always ask the dumbest question you could ask to any one that has PTSD “What’s the worst thing you have seen?”
Really, let me open up this wound for you to get your jollies off of hearing a story, that if I really told you the truth you would turn crying and puke due to the gruesomeness, is that really what you want to hear now?!
Do you really want to hear about a military buddy getting blown up by an IED, or how a firefighter found a limp, burnt to a crisp body in a burning building, maybe an EMT or Paramedic rolling up to a nice well-kept house with a mother and father running out to your ambulance with a lifeless 6 month old in their arms, not a breath left in their lungs, or how about law enforcement officer pulling up first on scene of a car wreck to see a tangled mess of metal and broken glass with two lifeless bodies inside waiting to be cut out?
Should they tell you the exact story, the sounds, the smells, the feelings, as they can still see it in their heads just like it was yesterday? Because that is what PTSD does to you! You live with that image till the day we die! It NEVER goes away!
We all set out in our careers because we wanted to help our communities and country, but what we didn’t know is how it would end and affect us for the rest of our lives! Would all the fun and excitement of the first few years be worth the life you have to live having PTSD?
For every single person that has ever put on a uniform, that answer will be different. There is NO good answer or no correct answer. I know I can say, if I knew then what I knew today, I can say I honestly don’t know. I know I gave a lot to my community and country. But, I can say I don’t know.
You see in my case, the years of all the calls turned into many nights of self-medicating with coworkers and alone with alcohol to drown out the past shift and calls. Those nights turned into the weight gains and straight crappy eating habits that got me to 260 + pounds and a fat out of shape EMT! It led to ruined relationships, friends only to party with, ruined family relationships, and finally to a long course through the judicial system for alcohol issues.
But, when most would just decide to give up, that was my light and saving grace. I turned down a guy before another showed up offering the same fitness platform and shakes because I didn’t need it, I was just fine. So, after some contemplating I figured what did I have to lose and maybe this could be my focus instead of the drinking. Well, I gave it a half ass try before losing 30 pounds in 90 days! Shit, it works!!
So, since that day I have gained new focus on life and LOST 80+ pounds, over 16% body fat and BUILT 17+ pounds of muscle, I’ve went on to get my personal trainer certification! And been able to help countless others get their lives back as well as being named West Region Weight-loss Champion twice in 3 years!
I have had mentors teach me how to turn my focus into personal development and use that to grow from where I was. I have taken personal development as a way to start each day and be able to teach others to grow themselves and their businesses. Once you learn to focus on a positive pathway so many doors will open for your future whether that is in entrepreneurship or other avenues, personal development will be one of the keys to your new success!
But, that’s great an all what about my PTSD? I can say even though I am not a fat slob anymore and actually love my body and looks now. It still is a daily struggle with everything related to PTSD, many people see the outer shell and think “Oh look at you, your life is great” People literally judge a book by its cover to this day!
Some people who are close to me and know me very well brush it under the rug or say “oh you’re blaming your depression or PTSD.” Seriously, ill trade you! Try it out for a few days and tell me what you think! Having PTSD is literally like being on a roller coaster in the dark and you never know when the next turn will be! It could be a holiday, or maybe hearing a gun shot, a fire cracker, or the sounds of sirens, every person has different triggers and lots of times more than one trigger.
I hope one day that people will realize PTSD is a huge issue and take actions to help reduce the number of suicides due to PTSD. But until then, we can only pray for those protecting us!
Zach Loescher – EMT/CPT
www.ZLoescher.com
PS: If you’re a first responder, military, or anyone suffering from PTSD I would be more than happy to listen and talk. While I am no doctor and no medical advise will be given. I am a brother that has worn the uniform for many years and would be more than happy to listen! text or call 720-370-0158