Why we don't talk.

DrParasite said:
I think I was a little unclear, and I will apologize if my post insinuated something other than my intent. What I tried to say (and now see how it wasn't made clear) was the perception of speaking about rough calls is that you can't handle the next one. It's an assumption in EMS, one often based more on rumors and speculation instead of reality and facts (but I know many EMS agency's rumor mills which spread inaccurate information faster than the local junior high school).

And for the record, one of my favorite people to work with suffered from depression, so much so that he jumped off one of our local bridges when he was younger. 15 or so years later, he's on the right medication, he's earned his masters degree, and he's one of the few people who I used to look forward to working with, because he was both a competent provided and a fun partner.

I will agree with you, many people will dismiss someone with a history of mental illness without getting to know them, or in a job interview, or if you are assigned to them and the rumor mill has already tarnished the guys reputation.
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I think we're on the same page. Just a tough place to be. I'm happy my partner and I can talk about stuff, but the rest of my shift just can't or won't listen in a meaningful way.
 
RocketMedic said:
I would never admit to weakness or a need for treatment. It would be career suicide.
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That's so far from the truth.

You're perpetuating a myth that needs to die. If you truly are an EMS supervisor you need to lose that attitude. If you're a day laborer then lose it too.

That's the attitude that ends with us in class A uniforms at funerals.


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Handsome Robb said:
That's so far from the truth.

You're perpetuating a myth that needs to die. If you truly are an EMS supervisor you need to lose that attitude. If you're a day laborer then lose it too.

That's the attitude that ends with us in class A uniforms at funerals.


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I disagree with you. I don't think my plant would hire a laborer who claimed that work stress was a problem, and I really don't see most of EMS any differently. The myth is firmly rooted in reality.
 
He has a point.
They'll pull you off the line, and you'll lose your job.
Somethings are better left unsaid to the man behind the desk.

If you have problems, seek help outside of the work circle, or you'll be labeled... Don't think you won't be.
 
SandpitMedic said:
He has a point.
They'll pull you off the line, and you'll lose your job.
Somethings are better left unsaid to the man behind the desk.

If you have problems, seek help outside of the work circle, or you'll be labeled... Don't think you won't be.
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Y'all work for some terrible services. No offense but that's the truth.

If your employer isn't providing resources to you or making them available for those who need them and so they can be accessed anonymously, for those who are worried about "being labeled", something needs to change.


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Handsome Robb said:
Y'all work for some terrible services. No offense but that's the truth.

If your employer isn't providing resources to you or making them available for those who need them and so they can be accessed anonymously, for those who are worried about "being labeled", something needs to change.


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So if you walked into your administration right now, with a mental health issue so big that it justified telling them that you needed a break from field work and treatment, that you would keep getting paid and have a job? I doubt it
 
RocketMedic said:
So if you walked into your administration right now, with a mental health issue so big that it justified telling them that you needed a break from field work and treatment, that you would keep getting paid and have a job? I doubt it
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Yes, I would. 100%

Also, see the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993.

They don't have a choice than to keep your job for a minimum of 90 days, by federal law. That's not just my employer, that's any employer. As far as getting paid, that's going to depend on if you have enough sick time banked or if you have short term disability.


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We have an Employee Assistance Program.

You do not need to tell anyone in the office you are using it.
 
SandpitMedic said:
We have an Employee Assistance Program.

You do not need to tell anyone in the office you are using it.
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I think there's a world of difference between an employee assistance program and coming off the truck because you can't handle it.
 
SandpitMedic said:
We have an Employee Assistance Program.

You do not need to tell anyone in the office you are using it.
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This is something that is slowly making its way throughout all job fields. It is nice to have someone to talk to about things that are unbiased and non-judgemental that also have a confidentiality clause. The military has something similar. Mainly we can use unbiased third parties such as a chaplain or First Sergeant without having it affect our career. In these cases you do not need to be religious to talk to a chaplain. In my line of work I have one of the highest security clearances in the military and although would not really be a problem right now talking to a mental health provider could be a career ending move. Which makes it nice to have these lines of communication available where there is no record filed.

I think there are good and bad things that can happen when talking to a mental health professional. I mean that is why they are called professionals right? Sometimes going to them should not necessarily mean that you should get canned and this shows bad judgement on the employers part. In these jobs one can not expect everyone to work like robots without feeling or emotions and not provide them someone to talk to. I deal with depression, stress, and PTSD and recently had a fear of talking to a medical professional because I thought it was going to end my career because there have been horror stories of people with certain levels of security clearances, such as mine, loosing their clearance and job because they sought medical help. This is true in some cases but it was mainly in jobs that dealt with nuclear missiles. These jobs require their personnel to carry weapons on them at all times and having a mentally/psychologically unstable person with a gun probably is not the best idea. Both for the protection of themselves and others. Sometimes thing happen that trigger something in someone causing them to pop a screw loose. This does not necessarily mean that they are unfit for duty. It just means that they have taken on a little too much, have no one to vent to about it without having negative repercussions. There are times where people do not to come off a truck, not necessarily to be fired but to let them take a step back, seek professional help and let the medical professionals decide the unfitness of the individual. If an employer fires you just because you go seek professional help means that the company does not care. I would much rather have someone seek help than have someone come back from a bad scene/call and end their life in the back of my rig.

I think that when it comes to these types of issues the lack of information on how to get help is the reason for people loosing control.

I can also understand why sometimes people do not talk to their shift partners. Unlike most fire/ems related jobs I do not work with the same people everyday and I do not necessarily get a long with everyone that I do work with on a personal level. Professionally I tolerate them but personally they get on my nerves. Sometimes this is the case and not being able to vent to them about certain topics is understandable. I do however know who I can and cannot talk to on both a personal and professional level at work which makes it easier sometimes to vent about the issues I deal with.
 
That's the thing though....after FMLA is exhausted, an employer is going to be very gunshy about keeping around someone who can't do the job they were hired for because of mental health and will likely find a reason to terminate.
 
My company put one of our medics doing office and.logistics when she went to admin and said why she needed off a truck. My agency tries to help our people and keep them
 
RocketMedic said:
That's the thing though....after FMLA is exhausted, an employer is going to be very gunshy about keeping around someone who can't do the job they were hired for because of mental health and will likely find a reason to terminate.
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Yes if you qualify for FMLA, and your illness prevents you from returning to full duty for longer than FMLA limits, you can be terminated unless they like you and can find an alternate duty for you.

But work induced psychopathology is Workers Comp, so if pursued as such, unless you reach MMI and are still unable to work, they cannot terminate. Employers that are not ****s tend to try and find alternate duty for good employees who MMI without capability to return to original duty.

But retaliatory or creative termination for valid use of FMLA or WC in either instance is grounds for huuuuuge lawsuits, and also a sign that your employer is a raging ****.
 
TransportJockey said:
My company put one of our medics doing office and.logistics when she went to admin and said why she needed off a truck. My agency tries to help our people and keep them
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It is nice to see employers taking an active approach to realizing the issues involved with responder's.
 
ViolynEMT said:
This job has actually "taught me" to keep things inside. Unfortunately.
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It is very unfortunate that people have to go through life like that because they fear for their jobs. I too have learned to keep things bottled up because I am not the greatest at opening up about my feelings but I have realized that when I start to take my anger or frustration out on whoever happens to be there at the time that I need to take a step back and figure out what it causing an issue and then try to resolve it. It has been difficult and has cost me some valuable relationship but I have a great network of friends that I know I can trust and talk too that are struggling with the same issues.
 
ViolynEMT said:
This job has actually "taught me" to keep things inside. Unfortunately.
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This is not just because of employers. There are those, those that you thought you could trust and would be helpful, that label you as weak if you even show that something has affected you. I have perfected a really good poker face and have learned to stuff it down and build really strong, tall walls.
 
I am the same way. It sucks that there are people out there that treat people like that.

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Are we talking about why we don't talk to our peers, or our employers?

Are we talking about being afraid to seek help when we really need it, or complaining that everyone we work with doesn't want us crying on their shoulder every time we feel a little blue?
 
I think the pro-talking crowd has made it both. Apparently everything's supposed to bother you and give you ptsd
 
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