Let’s say you’re a first responder. Perhaps you’re a police officer. On your shift you’re called to a scene where a troubled man is in distress. You stay with him until the situation is de-escalated. You connect him with the local distress center who you know well through the work you do. You write your report, finish your shift, and go home for the night. On your drive home you realize you’re not okay. You’ve seen a lot, had high demands placed on you, and if you speak up about your own thoughts of suicide you fear your colleagues won’t trust you.
So what do you do?
First responders like this police officer, fire fighters, paramedics, and military personnel are faced with these realities every day. Whether true or not some first responders live with the fear that if they speak up about their struggles their colleagues won’t trust them to have their back on the job. Others feel they work too closely to community supports to use them for themselves when they’re in crisis. And many more won’t, and aren’t allowed to debrief the heaviness of their day with their loved ones at home. So what can a first responder do when they need crisis support and see the resources they would connect others to as closed doors for themselves?
This is where national crisis supports come in to play. There can be safety in anonymity.
In addition to calling their Employee Assistance Program (E.A.P.) or local distress center a first responder also has the option of anonymously calling a national crisis line. That’s not to say all first responders won’t use local supports. Some first responder organizational cultures have shifted so much a number of first responders will even speak up to their own department heads. However, for those who won’t or can’t here’s option B.
First responders have options. Suicide doesn’t have to be one of them.