#JamesDonaldson on #MentalHealth – #Suicide Is Killing Frontline #Medical Workers, But #MentalHealth Experts Say The Situation Is Far From Hopeless

READ LATER - DOWNLOAD THIS POST AS PDF >> CLICK HERE <<
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Rhea Mahbubani and Dave Mosher

new york coronavirus doctors mount sinai.JPG
A doctor wearing a protective mask walking outside Mount Sinai Hospital during New York’s #coronavirus outbreak. 
  • Two medical workers on the front lines of the #coronavirus fight in New York died by #suicide in the past week: Dr. Lorna Breen, of NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital, and John Mondello, an emergency medical technician.
  • Medical workers face grueling workloads, unprecedented #stress, and steep death counts during the #pandemic.
  • Psychologists say #stress for frontline workers could flare into chronic psychological problems if it’s not managed.
  • There are ways to support workers in such high-pressure roles, but Dr. Shauna Springer, a licensed psychologist and trauma-recovery expert, advocates not calling them heroes. “There’s an invisible pressure that comes with that,” she said.
  • Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.

#JamesDonaldson notes:

Welcome to the “next chapter” of my life… being a voice and an advocate for #mentalhealthawarenessandsuicideprevention, especially pertaining to our younger generation of students and student-athletes.

Getting men to speak up and reach out for help and assistance is one of my passions. Us men need to not suffer in silence or drown our sorrows in alcohol, hang out at bars and strip joints, or get involved with drug use.

Having gone through a recent bout of #depression and #suicidalthoughts myself, I realize now, that I can make a huge difference in the lives of so many by sharing my story, and by sharing various resources I come across as I work in this space.  #http://bit.ly/JamesMentalHealthArticle

The US Navy’s Blue Angels and the Air Force’s Thunderbirds dashed across the clear blue sky above New York on Tuesday, honoring the people working on the front lines of the #coronavirus #pandemic.

Two medical workers didn’t get to experience the tribute.

Dr. Lorna Breen, the medical director of the emergency department at NewYork-Presbyterian Allen Hospital, died Sunday from self-inflicted injuries. She was 49.

“Of my four children — well I guess now I’ve only got three — no one would’ve predicted that Lorna was having a hard time,” Dr. Philip C. Breen, her father, told Business Insider. “She would not even be on that list.”

Weeks of treating #COVID-19 patients, some of whom died before they could be transferred from the ambulance into the emergency room, took a toll on Lorna, her father said.

The case was similar for John Mondello, a 23-year-old in the New York City Fire Department’s Emergency Medical Services. He’d been on the job less than three months before he killed himself on Friday, the New York Post reported.

As the #pandemic has left millions of people under lockdown and triggered deep loss and widespread grief, medical workers and emergency responders like Mondello and Breen have faced the brunt of the crisis with grueling workloads, unprecedented #stress, deep uncertainty, and a steep death count.

But while the situation is grim, #mentalhealthprofessionals say the situation is far from hopeless. There’s a lot that medical workers can do to help themselves — and many ways for the rest of us to help them.

‘They carry a heavy burden of responsibility’

Dr. Shauna Springer, a licensed psychologist and trauma-recovery expert at the Stella Center in Illinois, said that medical workers today are battling an invisible enemy that’s also upended their lives and forced them to step away from their own support systems.

“We’re relying on a small number of people who can do what nobody else can do,” Springer told Business Insider. “They’re working really long hours, they’re seeing these traumas that are burning into their minds, and they have very limited time to release.”

She added that medical workers were drawn to the profession to alleviate suffering and protect their patients. During the #pandemic, however, the virus has in many cases robbed them of the ability to achieve either goal.

They’re like “warriors in the war zone, taking risks, seeing their colleagues fall ill and potentially die, losing patients,” Springer said.

“They tell me that they carry a heavy burden of responsibility when they lose a patient,” she added, and that every life lost “can feel like a moral injury.”

coronavirus covid 19 new york city fire department nyfd ambulance emergency medical service technician ems emt paramedic 2020 04 06T103542Z_2_LYNXMPEG340LL_RTROPTP_4_HEALTH CORONAVIRUS USA NEW YORK.JPG
A #firstresponder takes a break outside Wyckoff Heights Medical Center in New York on April 5. 

Mondello had graduated from the EMS Academy in February and worked as an emergency medical technician at Station 18 in the Bronx. His friends described him as upbeat and outgoing but said it was jarring for him to see so much death and destruction.

“He told me he was experiencing a lot of #anxiety, witnessing a lot of death; he’d feel it was a heavy experience when he’d fail to save a life,” Al Javier, Mondello’s friend, told the Post.

EMS workers have faced an unprecedented loss of life lately.

Before the #pandemic, the average daily emergency 911 call volume was about 4,000 per day, with about 50 to 70 of those being cardiac arrests.

At the height of the first surge in cases, however, the FDNY EMS units fielded 5,000 to 7,000 calls daily. More than 300 were for patients experiencing cardiac arrest, about 200 of whom died outside of hospitals each day. (Some EMS leaders have said the death toll could have been lower if the industry had solved its chronic issues of turnover and retention before the crisis.)

Anthony Almojera, the vice president of the FDNY’s Local 3621 union in Brooklyn, said first responders were struggling to “compartmentalize” the nonstop tragedies they’re witnessing.

“I’m fighting this war against an enemy that’s going around randomly killing people, and it makes me feel hopeless. How do I shake that?” Almojera, a 17-year veteran paramedic, previously told Business Insider.

Helping those who protect us all

Laurie Nadel, a psychotherapist and author, characterized the #coronavirus as an “equal-opportunity destroyer” that’s forcing frontline medical workers to go “mano a mano with mortality on a larger scale” than ever before.

In the short term, she said, they face a greater risk of acute #stress, which can trigger #insomnia, exhaustion, loss of appetite, and mild depressive symptoms.

“Just like people get sick if they’re overexposed to this #virus, people also become psychologically ill if they’re overexposed to the kinds of stressors” that healthcare professionals deal with every day, Dr. Charles Marmar, the chair of the department of psychiatry and the director of the PTSD research program at New York University, previously told Business Insider.

But he said it’s necessary for healthcare professionals and first responders to manage their #stress to protect themselves from more “chronic psychiatric problems,” including post-traumatic #stress disorder, #depression, substance abuse, and suicidal ideation. Not doing so can also prompt occupational, marital, and parental difficulties, he added, and make them vulnerable to #stress-related illnesses such as cardiovascular disease and hypertension.

coronavirus covid 19 new york city fire department nyfd ambulance emergency medical service technician ems emt paramedic 2020
An emergency medical technician adjusts his personal protective equipment as he gets back in an FDNY ambulance after responding to a call in Brooklyn on April 14. 

For the rest of us not on the front lines, Springer, the author of a forthcoming book titled “Warrior: How to Support Those Who Protect Us,” said we could help those we know embroiled in such work.

She advised listening to whatever a #healthcare worker may want to share without offering advice, as well as not asking what they need but anticipating what may help them — and stepping up to provide it when possible.

“Trauma is destabilizing in and of itself. And so they don’t have time to even think about what they need,” she said. “Those of us who are doing #socialdistancing, we can actually do things that will lighten their load so they can do things no one else can do. We could be asking ourselves: Could we take care of their kids or a beloved pet? Could we get groceries and drop it off?”

She added: “There is no reason why we should be sitting at home doing nothing that helps the people on the front lines if we have skills and ability to help.”

‘People are resilient until they’re not’

Both Springer and Marmar highlighted “peer-to-peer support” among workers as an effective support system, advocating five- to 10-minute huddles to “share their pain, sadness, or frustration” with others who face similar situations.

People on the front lines also need adequate time to “stand down” between shifts, whether it’s to sleep, eat, exercise, meditate, or connect with their family and friends, Marmar said.

Nadel agreed.

“Trying to save people’s lives in wartime conditions forces emergency medical teams to make triage decisions multiple times during a given shift,” she said. And even though this isn’t an actual war, Nadel added, the #pandemic is their battlefield, and “shortages of lifesaving equipment and split-second life-and-death decisions can become overwhelming.”

The type of chaos unleashed by the #coronavirus #pandemic not only triggers an adrenaline rush to save patients, Nadel said, but “overrides unwanted emotions, which can resurface after the crisis has been resolved.”

Springer said it’s important for anyone on the front lines of any emergency not to become convinced that they are superhuman — and for the rest of us to avoid labeling them as such.

“We mean well when we call them heroes, but there’s an invisible pressure that comes with that,” she said. “People are resilient until they’re not. And so people who are called out as resilient are often more reluctant to acknowledge human struggles and to reach out when they need help.”

coronavirus covid 19 healthcare worker doctor nurse sitting sits face mask scrubs central park new york city nyc 2020 03 30T000000Z_2108372485_RC2NUF9VY5KU_RTRMADP_3_HEALTH CORONAVIRUS USA NEW YORK.JPG
A healthcare worker sits on a bench near Central Park in Manhattan on March 30 

Philip Breen, a retired trauma surgeon and burn surgeon, knows firsthand how horrible it feels when patients die.

He recalled nurses who worked in the burn unit alongside him experiencing flashbacks, nightmares, and #depression because of the conditions of some people they treated.

“When you have a patient who you can save, that’s the highest high you can imagine,” he said. “And when they die with your hands in them, that’s the lowest low you can imagine.”

As a doctor, Lorna Breen gave of herself fully, despite facing trauma frequently and from up close, her father said.

“I want her to be remembered as someone who did everything she could until it killed her,” he said.

Do you have a personal experience with the #coronavirus you’d like to share? Or a tip on how your town or community is handling the pandemic? Please email covidtips@businessinsider.com and tell us your story.

Get the latest #coronavirus business & economic impact analysis from Business Insider Intelligence on how #COVID-19 is affecting industries.

If you or someone you know is struggling with #depression or has had thoughts of harming themselves or taking their own life, get help. The #NationalSuicidePreventionLifeline (1-800-273-8255) provides 24/7, free, confidential support for people in distress, as well as best practices for professionals and resources to aid in #prevention and crisis situations.

Please follow and like us:
Pin Share
READ LATER - DOWNLOAD THIS POST AS PDF >> CLICK HERE <<

Enjoy this blog? Please spread the word :)

RSS
Follow by Email
Wechat