What Are the Benefits of Therapy for First Responders?
As a first responder, you play a crucial role in maintaining the safety of our communities. You are on the front lines of ensuring people stay healthy and protected. And when crises inevitably occur, you are the people everyone turns to for answers.
But all that responsibility can take an enormous toll on your mental health. Research shows that approximately 30% of first responders experience issues like depression and PTSD. Subsequently, they have higher rates of attempting suicide than the general population.
Unfortunately, many people don’t receive the support they need. If you are struggling, seeking help can make a tremendous difference. Here are some of the key benefits of therapy for first responders.
Preventative Care
Therapy can be an important tool in helping prevent (or reduce) the impact job-related stress has on your overall quality of life. This is especially important if you are new in your work or if you’re just coming to terms with how much your daily responsibilities affect you.
Preventative care can include many different goals, but first responders often benefit from:
understanding their stress triggers
recognizing the need for maintaining a work-life balance
establishing healthy boundaries in the workplace
implementing healthy coping strategies to unwind and process
With that in mind, it’s important to remember that you don’t have to “wait” to enter therapy at a certain time. If you feel like you’re struggling, that’s a valid reason to seek help. In fact, it’s often more beneficial to reach out for support before a significant crisis occurs. In doing so, you can build an appropriate foundation for managing how you respond to adversity.
Learning Appropriate Stress Management
It’s no secret that first responders face enormous amounts of stress on the job each day. And as you know, all that hypervigilance and anxiety doesn’t necessarily disappear once you’re back home. If anything, it may be even more intense once the adrenaline wears off and you have a moment to regroup.
But carrying that stress with you can affect your relationships, physical health, and self-esteem. It can also aggravate depression and anxiety.
Therapy can teach you the appropriate skills for managing your daily stress. This work may different interventions like mindfulness training, cognitive restructuring, and implementing healthier lifestyle changes.
Furthermore, therapy provides a valuable space to explore your stress without feeling judged or shamed. Being able to share these feelings freely may help you feel better about your situation.
Working Through Burnout
Burnout is a key risk factor in most careers. Employees experiencing burnout often have lower levels of productivity, and they tend to feel more depressed, anxious, and insecure in their jobs.
But first responders might not recognize the true impact of how burnout can affect their well-being. They might assume they just need to “power through” their feelings. Some common signs of burnout include:
feeling apathetic about work
feeling cynical towards your job responsibilities or coworkers
fantasizing often about quitting your job or doing something destructive on the job
increasingly numbing your feelings through drugs, alcohol, or other vices
Feeling “trapped” in your job and hopeless about the future
These signs exist on a spectrum, but they tend to worsen progressively if you don’t address them. Unfortunately, prolonged burnout can lead to costly or even fatal mistakes. After all, if you aren’t fully attentive to the task at hand, you risk jeopardizing people’s lives.
Coping With Trauma Symptoms
You observe some of the harshest realities of humanity on a regular basis. As a result, it’s normal to feel overwhelmed or depressed over what you see.
With that in mind, first responders are at a heightened risk for experiencing acute trauma symptoms. For example, you might feel hypervigilant in certain settings, as if you need to protect yourself from all harm. Or, you may avoid certain triggers, as they make you feel unsafe or claustrophobic.
Trauma symptoms can also cause somatic distress. For example, panic attacks, gastrointestinal problems, migraines, and muscle tightness can all coincide with traumatic experiences. These symptoms can disrupt everyday functioning and impact your mood and behavior.
Therapy can help if you are struggling with job-related trauma. It offers a compassionate environment for working through some of your powerful emotions. In addition, it can provide you with immediate distress tolerance skills to feel relief.
Final Thoughts on the Benefits of Therapy for First Responders
There is no doubt that starting therapy can be a scary decision. You might feel uncertain about how the process works- or if you really need this kind of care.
But keep in mind that asking for help is incredibly brave. You don’t have to struggle in silence, and doing so may make things worse. Your work is stressful, and you deserve to feel supported during this time.
At Lakeside Counseling, we are proud to offer therapy for first responders. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you.