Tag: PTSD

Anxiety Depression First Responder Law Enforcement Mental Health Mind-Body Health Pandemic Policing PTSD Stress Suicide Prevention Trauma Traumas Veterans Videos • • • • • • By Sawayer 0 Comments

First Responder Trauma and Recovery

The posts you will discover at Sawayer Logistics PLLC (sawayer.com), addressing First Responder and Trauma Recovery will provide resources for the various professions exposed to trauma at different levels.

Trauma is a concept that is fairly new, having evolved in the last 20 years and brought to the fore due to the diagnostic label of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD) of soldiers returning from theaters of war overseas. 

As a result, the more general term of trauma has evolved for a more generic application.

According to the American Psychological Association, trauma is an emotional response to a terrible event. Trauma can occur once, or on multiple occasions and an individual can experience more than one type of trauma.

Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD), is the mental health disorder that is associated when someone experiences or witnesses a trauma.

Here is the link to the ICD-10

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://icd.who.int/browse10/2019/en%23/F43.1&ved=2ahUKEwiax9iCu57_AhU9kmoFHQooAgIQFnoECA4QBQ&usg=AOvVaw3IW_-42aAndAuKbwlieCVZ

Further, traumas’ impact the relationships of those very same first responders that it originally traumatized. 

These first responder groups addressed here will include, but are not limited to: corrections personnel, law enforcement personnel, emergency dispatchers, active military, Veterans, physicians, nurses, EMT personnel, fire fighters, morticians, medical examiners, social workers, counselors, those serving congregations of different faiths, and Hospice staff to mention just a few.

We will explore some situations that create post traumatic stress syndrome, as well as outline the symptoms experienced and the criteria for meeting a formal diagnosis.

Additionally, we will also provide useful resources and links in the process.

We welcome feedback and suggestions for adding additional professional groups that are trauma exposed.

grayscale photo of lightning over body of water
Anxiety Counseling Services First Responder Law Enforcement Mental Health Mind-Body Health PTSD Stress Trauma Traumas • • By Sawayer 0 Comments

Weather Induced Trauma

 What the heck is WEATHER TRAUMA?

As a former licensed ham radio operator and a certified National Weather Service storm chaser, I have accumulated a lot of knowledge and experience, interacting with different weather events in the Texas Panhandle. As a result, I have witnessed some massive destruction of property.

Traumas from weather disasters such as floods, typhoons, excessive heat or cold, hurricanes, severe drought and tornadoes are just a few examples of what can bappen when Mother Nature brings devastation to life and property.

We tend to think of trauma as mainly being related to people who experience extreme violence from war or from sexual assault.

Trauma actually has many different sources but they all share some common elements.

Traumas have endurance over at least 6 months time.

Traumas are re-experienced when unexpected people, places or events act as triggers that lead to a re-experiencing of the original trauma.

There are physical responses to these triggers as well as emotional responses to the triggers.

Individuals become hyper sensitive to anything in the environment that hints at the possibility of the trauma recurring.

In the case of weather trauma, this can be triggered by experiencing black storm clouds, strong destructive winds, lightning, loud thunder or the even the sound of a train!

Triggers like these can re-ignite memories of past traumatic weather experiences.

People with trauma often self-medicate with drugs and alcohol or self-isolation.

Some other indications of trauma include persistent insomnia and nightmares, changes in dietary habits, weight loss, weight gain, becoming isolated, experiencing spontaneous anxiety and depression.

If you have a need to talk about a traumatic experience, contact us. We would love to listen.