Personal OCD/Anxiety Issues in EMS

dbhsjsms

Forum Ride Along
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Having a handful of years in first response and EMS I have been no stranger to anxiety when placed in difficult situations. As time went on my anxiety as to my personal abilities and knowledge lessened but my overall anxiety remained constant to the point of reaching out to my colleagues and personal physician. Having been diagnosed with OCD/Anxiety disorder and being medicated since age 8, I am no stranger to having flare-ups in my condition. When looking for trends in the frequency of my recurrences it was startling to find that the majority of them began after I began working as an EMT in cycles that occurred in almost six month intervals. Recently, however, they have peaked at monthly intervals.
When I describe these 'recurrences' it can only be explained as sudden, unannounced moments of severe anxiety with no clear cause or meaning. Symptoms start immediately almost masking the same symptoms as a panic attack but without periods of hyperventilation or complete mental shut down from anywhere between three to twelve hours at a time. I cannot narrow down what goes through my mind other then a strong sense of anxiety and a very busy mind that can't seem to focus on anything.
In regards to patient care, these occurrences have not endangered any of the patients I have seen or treated. I am able to have a strong sense of concentration when dealing with emergency treatment. It is when my mind is idle during downtime that these attacks occur.
I have had constant contact with my PCP and a psychiatrist who have only been able to aid me with Venlafaxine (Effexor) 225mg once daily which has had some effect but is definitely not curative due to the fact that the attacks still continue at the same rate for the same amount of time. Previously I was prescribed at the 150mg dosage.
So why am I writing all of this to you today? First I respect any and all opinions from my colleagues and I would be honored to accept any comments from anyone that has any experience in this type of condition. Second I am fully aware that many may think that EMS may not be the best for me since this continues to happen for the sake of patient safety and my own. I have fully thought that through and am prepared, should that conclusion be made, to accept it and continue working as an EMT only in a volunteer role at local volunteer agencies.
I welcome any and all comments and messages.
 

NomadicMedic

I know a guy who knows a guy.
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I'm confused, what exactly do you want to hear?

You have anxiety. You believe it to be related to EMS work. You don't want to quit, you relate that your current medication doesn't help and you believe that these frequently reoccurring issues have not had any impact on your patient care and you know that we're all going to tell you that it seems like EMS isn't the place for you... so what do you want to hear?
 

Kevinf

Forum Captain
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Give a sabbatical a shot. Get yourself away from your stressors for awhile and try something new. Continue your therapy and determine if you can escape your anxiety for a bit. See if you can return with a clearer head.
 

SeeNoMore

Old and Crappy
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I have a lot of anxiety during downtime - always have. I assumed it would go away but it hasn't. It dissapears when we get a call - no matter what it is . I manage it by training with sims and studying , trying to excercise more often in the week and busying myself with chores and admin stuff. I don't know if it's part of your issue but some folks just don't do well with being prepared but not actually working. But my issues are nowhere near as pronounced , so I can see your concern. Maybe more experience will help? While I feel restless and agitated by long periods of downtime , I've been at this long enough not to worry about what the call will be. not that everything always goes as planned but at least I've now encountered many times over calls that used to cause me stress ( kids , rsi, burns , etc etc). If this is the case I really reccomend putting that nervous energy into practicing for these calls. I used to draw up fake meds for different ped weights and calls , endlessly watch airway cam videos , etc. Best of luck
 
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