Here is how Fresno police can grow beyond the traumatic events they experience | Opinion

Suicide, post-traumatic stress , depression, anxiety, substance use, chronic stress. Our language is filled with words that describe our pain but leave out our joy and hope. In recent years, our society has raised awareness about the mental health struggle emergency responders, veterans and service members face, while diminishing the reward and value that professions like these can inherently bring to someone’s life.

While the rates of PTSD, depression and anxiety in public safety personnel and the military far exceed that of the general population, these “sheep dog” professions that run towards disaster instead of away from it are incredibly honorable and essential to our communities.

First responders and military personnel are regularly part of someone’s worst day, bringing care, compassion, technical skills and fortitude to stabilize a situation. They bring calm in the middle of chaos. Generally speaking, they make our world and our communities better places to live — or at the very least, keep them from devolving into chaos.

When emergency responders are called upon, they often set aside their family’s needs, financial worries, work-life balance, personal health and other competing priorities to serve their communities. While the traumas these individuals face are not for the faint of heart, it’s often the compounding stressors that eventually create the perfect storm of mental health issues. In one study of EMS professionals, 69% reported they never have an opportunity to recover from one event before being called to another. Another study reports 40% of responders do not report their mental health concerns; shelving their worries until they do not have a choice but to address their increasing distress.

These facts and figures are not the only way we should discuss the mental health journey of our first responders and military communities, though. These are difficult jobs by their very nature, but they bring a sense of community, purpose and honor to an individual. They can uplift someone’s life, help build an emotional support network and provide a meaningful career. Focusing solely on the negative without looking toward the positive prevents a potential solution to the problem that is right in front of us.

While we can compassionately raise awareness of on-the-job stressors and the real problem of suicide, depression, and anxiety in the first responder community, we can also look toward that idea of hope to help our emergency personnel grow.

What if, instead of focusing on post-traumatic-stress disorder, we concentrated more on post-traumatic growth, the science of personal growth in the face of trauma and adversity? Despite the trauma and distress experienced by emergency responders and military members, many experience significant psychological, relational, and spiritual growth as a result of the service they provide. These areas of growth become protective factors throughout the career of the individual and can be nurtured.

We want to give our officers the tools and the mindset they need to succeed. That’s why the Fresno Police Department employee services program launched our wellness unit to manage our employee assistance program, and our companion officer program provides peer support. Our officers and officers at smaller agencies in the Central Valley have access to these services, and we’ve already seen an improvement in our officers’ mental health. This year, we hope to continue that improvement by implementing Struggle Well, a post-traumatic growth program from Boulder Crest that teaches participants how to integrate healthy principles into their lives.

These are just a few examples of what can be done to reclaim the value of “esprit de corps” and nurture relationships among peers to support each other through the difficult situations they face. Instead of looking away, we must look toward each other, recognize that struggle is something that all humans face, and should accept in one another. Instead of fearing struggle and focusing only on the pain, we should embrace it and explore how it could make us better humans, friends, spouses and emergency responders. Instead of hiding from what we fear, we need to see the potential to use it to our advantage, learn from it and continue to grow.

Trauma is a real part of our world and understanding comes through awareness of the issues facing our public safety community. We have a moral obligation to our human infrastructure to get upstream from trauma and offer hope, not the label of diminished life.

During this National Police Week, we invite you to also celebrate Mental Health Month.

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