EMERGENCY SERVICES FOUNDATION FAMILIES GUIDE | 7 | EMERGENCY SERVICES FOUNDATION FAMILIES GUIDE 6 It’s a job with a difference. In Victoria, almost 100,000 people are emergency volunteers. These volunteers effectively have two jobs in addition to their other important roles as parent, partner, carer, child, friend. It can be very demanding and potentially stressful at times juggling and trying to balance the demands of each role. The nature of emergency service work means volunteers may be exposed to potentially traumatic events. They may also experience a range of common workplace stressors typical in any workplace, such as excessive workloads, inadequate support, interpersonal conflict, and bullying. All these things have the potential to impact the personal wellbeing of a volunteer and, through association, their family. We all need to be mindful of the things in our daily lives which have the potential to negatively impact our wellbeing. We need to ensure mental fitness is a priority - take care of our minds, just as we take care of our bodies. Why is mental fitness important? It is important to know the difference between mental fitness and mental illness. Mental fitness recognises that our mental wellbeing fluctuates up and down even in one day. At times we feel great – welcoming the challenges of life and meeting them with vigour and strength. Yet there will also be times when we find ourselves feeling a bit down, sluggish, and impatient. Mental illness on the other hand is how mental health professionals diagnose people whose mental fitness has fallen below a defined level. Some examples of mental illness are generalised anxiety disorder, major depressive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). People often self-diagnose as having PTSD, but it is an illness that must be diagnosed by a mental health professional. It refers to people who display a unique combination of significant symptoms one month after an incident. Mental fitness as a sliding scale, often depicted using colour ranging from green to red, is a helpful way of supporting emergency services families to think about mental wellbeing. The more mentally fit we are the more we can adapt to changes that naturally occur in life, such as moving to a new house, birth of a child, death of a parent, change of career. Ideally, over time our brains help us to cope with such stressors in our lives as we learn to think, feel, and act in more helpful ways in response to the challenges we face. Young children and even adolescent’s brains are very early on this lifelong journey of learning how to respond to challenges in effective ways, so it can be particularly difficult for them. Experiencing emotions such as sadness, worry, or anger is a normal part of good mental health. Feeling stressed does not mean you don’t have good mental health. In fact, some level of stress is required for optimal performance in any aspect of life. It is normal for an emergency service worker to react to a tough situation with emotion. Soon after dealing with a tough situation, one would expect to experience some difficulties with sleep, mood, concentration, frustration in others and general irritability. This does not mean they have poor mental health or PTSD. How will you know it is time to connect with outside help? A key point to remember is that everyday distress does not require professional treatment. We can flourish amid this stress by drawing on healthy coping strategies such as exercise, relaxation techniques, time enjoying hobbies and the support of those around us like family and friends. In times of significant, prolonged, or repeated stress, you can use your own coping mechanisms and add in extra professional help such as a support group or meeting individually with a professional. There are numerous evidence-informed options you and a professional can employ together to get you back on track. Like physical fitness, mental fitness is not just important for our volunteering or paid work but benefits all aspects of our lives.
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