Sounding the alarm: Program promotes mental wellness for first responders
November 5, 2020An innovative project for firefighters in Tallahassee Florida:
Firefighters love their job, but it comes with hazards that not only threaten their physical safety, but also their emotional and mental well-being. Statistics show many firefighters struggle with depression and even suicide as a result of the trauma they are exposed to on the job. According to the Firefighter Behavioral Health Alliance, first responders are more likely to die by suicide than on duty, and rates of depression and post-traumatic stress disorders among firefighters have been found as much as five-times higher than that of the general population.
more » Read MoreHappiness Calendar for November 2020
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/your_happiness_calendar_for_november_2020?utm_source=Greater+Good+Science+Center&utm_campaign=cdd2561ee8-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_GG_Newsletter_November_3&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_5ae73e326e-cdd2561ee8-52397267
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Sleepless Nights, Hair Loss And Cracked Teeth: Pandemic Stress Takes Its Toll
“The mental health component of COVID is starting to come like a tsunami,” says Dr. Jennifer Love, a California-based psychiatrist and co-author of an upcoming book on how to heal from chronic stress.
Although symptoms of chronic stress are often dismissed as being in one’s head, the pain is real, says Kate Harkness, a professor of psychology and psychiatry at Queen’s University in Ontario.
“When the body feels unsafe — whether it’s a physical threat of attack or a psychological fear of losing a job or catching a disease — the brain signals adrenal glands to pump stress hormones.
more » Read MoreDoctors are killing themselves, and who is taking notice?
COURTNEY MARKHAM-ABEDI, MD implores us to: “partner with me and advocate for the ability for doctors and residents in our profession to receive medical and psychiatric care without fear of losing our licenses or having to face stigma and judgment. It can save lives. Please, we are more stressed than ever, and we need to speak the names of our fellow friends and colleagues who have died by suicide. We need to advocate for them and for all of us to have access unfettered by fear to utilize the very lifesaving treatments we recommend to our patients.”
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