First responders reach out to the survivors of accidents, criminal activity, and disasters to provide them with life-saving emotional and physical support. These heroic duties, although essential, are strenuous to paramedics, firefighters, law enforcement, and other EMS professionals and, over time, put them at an increased risk of burnout. One study revealed that nearly half of all firefighters in the U.S. are likely to experience burnout and the health problems associated with it. According to EMS World, the average career span of an EMT or paramedic is only five years. This number is due in part to burnout, stress, and the job’s physical toll.
Below, we reveal the signs and symptoms of burnout and the consequences it can take on first responders. We also offer actionable steps front-line workers can take to protect themselves before these symptoms become more severe. We also highlight the Founder and CEO of the non-profit Yoga for First Responders (YFFR), Olivia Mead. She discusses YFFR’s mission and how this unexpected practice can help first responders deal with stress, burnout, and trauma.
Signs & Symptoms of First Responder Burnout
First responders receive excellent training related to how to do their job well and do it safely. However, when it comes to the stress and trauma of the job, many front-line workers feel they can handle these stressors without emotional support. Or they are too ashamed to ask for help when things become overwhelming. Additionally, some agencies may not have the funding or proper training to help first responders manage these daunting emotional issues. As a result, many workers experience burnout, leading to physical and mental health problems, low job performance, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Understanding what burnout is and the signs of this issue can be the first step in avoiding more severe behavioral and physical problems down the road. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), burnout is defined as having feelings of extreme exhaustion and being overwhelmed. The common signs and symptoms of burnout include:
- Poor self-care (hygiene) and nutrition
- Apathy, depression, or sadness
- Lacking feelings, indifferent
- Disconnection from others, isolation
- Blaming of others, irritability
- Poor sleep
- Tired, exhausted or, overwhelmed
- Feeling like:
- Nothing you do can will help
- A failure
- You are not doing your job well
- You need alcohol/drugs to cope
Prevention is the Way Forward
As the old saying goes, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” This phrase couldn’t be more fitting when it comes to first responder mental health and wellness. According to a seminar provided by the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), preventing burnout and staying healthy requires:
- Balance
- Patience – it does not happen automatically.
- Consistent prevention strategies that address both individual and organizational issues.
- Requires on and off the job attention to your thoughts, feelings, and actions.
Without strategies, firefighters (and other first responders) will be more susceptible to vicarious trauma, more likely to experience compassion fatigue, and have a higher likelihood of burnout. The IAFC also recommends doing constant self-assessment to evaluate where a front-line worker is emotionally, including asking themselves questions such as:
- Consider your trauma history; what are your triggers? Can you reduce exposure to them?
- What tasks use most of your energy?
- Do you do things that re-energize you?
- Do you have realistic expectations of yourself and others?
Through this assessment, first responders are encouraged to see what is working, what isn’t, and what needs to change.
The CDC also recommends first responders use coping techniques like eating healthy foods, exercising, and using the buddy system to help prevent burnout. The buddy system is when two responders partner together to support each other and monitor each other’s workload, stress, and safety. The CDC also recommends:
- Taking care of your body. Take deep breaths, stretch, or meditate.
- Try to eat healthily, exercise regularly, get plenty of sleep and avoid alcohol and drugs.
- Make time to unwind and do activities you enjoy.
- Connecting with others. Talk with people you trust about how you are feeling.
- Taking breaks from watching, reading, or listening to news stories, including social media.
Yoga – The Unexpected Practice Preventing First Responder Burnout
In a recent article, neuropsychologist Dr. Sanam Hafeez states, “Research teams are demonstrating that burnout is not just a state of mind, but a condition that leaves its mark on the brain as well as the body. When you’re burned out, your brain loses the ability to shift states easily, utilize energy, and maintain positive mood balance.” As burnout and stress often disconnect the mind from the body – the practice of yoga helps re-connect these systems, bringing health benefits through its direct influence on our nervous system.
To understand how this ancient practice benefits first responders, we asked the Founder and CEO of the non-profit organization Yoga for First Responders (YFFR), Olivia Mead, to discusses how yoga helps these individuals deal with stress and burnout. Mead tells Endominance, “YYFR’s mission is to provide first responders and military personnel with traditional yoga training that is culturally informed and job-specific. Its purpose is to help members effectively process stress, build resilience, and enhance performance.”
When asked how yoga helps first responders in terms of stress, Mead states, “YFFR’s primary training tool is tactical breathwork. By training breathing patterns through tactical breath work, one can access nervous system functions such as the stress response, heart rate variability, brain waves, and hormone levels. Tactical breath work and other yoga techniques such as physical postures, mindfulness, and meditation can increase nervous system regulation skills. Nervous system regulation means one can effectively be in high stress and activation and then properly deescalate to baseline afterward. This is autonomic fitness. Having a high level of autonomic fitness gives one the tools to process stress, build resilience, and enhance performance.”
Mead adds that this kind of training for first responders is missing from most public safety education and is leading to high rates of stress-based physical, mental and neurological injuries on the job. Mead suggests, “Implementing mental and neurological training for public safety could drastically improve career longevity and enhance community relations. Yoga is a mental, physical, and neurological training system and therefore is a perfect fit to fill the educational gap of resilience in public safety training.”
When asked how yoga has helped first responders increase their resiliency to stress in the field and during tactical maneuvers, Mead offers, “Several of our students have found a direct correlation between their yoga training and job-specific application, primarily with the breathwork. Students have told us that during long stand-offs and other difficult calls, they have used breathwork techniques learned in yoga to calm and focus their minds.” She adds that yoga training strengthens the prefrontal cortex, which is the part of the brain responsible for decision-making, verbal communication, and problem-solving. Mead also states, “The physical postures in yoga can help make awkward working positions safer and prevent injuries. Firefighters often use the mindfulness and recovery techniques learned in yoga to return to sleep during night shifts. Many students have shared with us that they wish they had yoga tools from the beginning of their career.”