Keep calm and seek help

Paramedic and emergency work are unpredictable and high stress in nature. This is only compounded by increased workload—which is particularly pertinent currently—and a high focus on performance (Davidson et al, 2021). In 2019, Mind carried out a study that revealed that emergency responders were twice as likely to attribute any mental health symptoms to their jobs than the general population. Worryingly, more than a quarter (27%) also contemplated taking their own lives because of poor mental health and work stress. Similar findings were seen in an Australian survey, where 39% of emergency responders reported being diagnosed with a mental health condition compared with 20% in the general population (Beyond Blue, 2018). Suicidal thoughts were also twice as common in the emergency responders, and three times as many in this group reported having made specific suicidal plans (Beyond Blue, 2018). It is worth noting as well that both of these surveys took place prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, which was a highly unusual time and undoubtedly placed an immense amount of additional stress on emergency responders, as well as arguably every individual.