Being resilient doesn’t mean that we aren’t bothered by hardship or traumatic experiences

By Liz Fleming 

Ever wonder why some people can handle stress and trauma and others can’t? Some people seem mentally bulletproof. They can attend a scene and see horrifying things and move on as if nothing had happened. Others can’t seem to shake the experience and become mentally and emotionally haunted by it. The experience can spill over to affect their job performance, home life, and even mental and physical health. Why is that?

Firefighters are exposed to unusually high levels of traumatising events, so it’s not surprising that they are at higher than average risk for psychological difficulties related to their profession. However, a firefighter doesn’t have to develop full-blown post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to end up with consuming mental or emotional struggles that can affect health, home, work, and happiness.

Struggling to make sense of dreadful experiences can turn into mental torment. Ruminating on the experience, second-guessing our actions during the event, survivor guilt, trying to understand why such things happen, or just reliving the event can become unwelcome intruders into one’s thoughts and dreams. Even without full-blown PTSD, firefighters can experience some of the symptoms and develop anxiety, depression, or other problems that can knock their feet out from under them. Such distress carries a high risk of substance addiction, as affected individuals may turn to alcohol or drugs to numb the insufferable thoughts and memories. Oh, to be emotionally bulletproof!

Psychological Resilience

There’s a field of study in psychology that looks at what makes some people susceptible to stress and anxiety and others seemingly bulletproof. Psychologists refer to the ability to bounce back from traumatic experiences as resilience. Psychological resilience is the capacity to withstand mental or emotional shock without suffering enduring ill effects. 

Being resilient doesn’t mean that we aren’t bothered by hardship or traumatic experiences, and it’s not about being emotionally numbed, or suppressing and hiding emotional distress. The goal is not to become unfeeling robotic rescuers. Rather, resilient people have the ability to put upsetting experiences in the proper place in their mind without allowing past experiences to become a source of disruption to their thoughts, behaviors, and ability to function properly. 

Of course, each of us has our own levels of resilience. It depends on our genetic make-up, past life experiences, and personality. Too, most people don’t really need much psychological resilience to get through life, because their negative experiences are few and relatively benign. However, for emergency first responders a high level of resilience is a must. The good news is that healthy psychological resilience can be learned and honed by anyone.

How to Develop Resilience

The key to developing psychological resilience is putting in place specific supports, so that lasting negative effects from troubling experiences can be avoided and a measured psychological reaction to duty-related trauma can be learned and improved with experience. Psychologists refer to this learning experience as “post-traumatic growth” (PTG). PTG not only helps people become more resilient to repeated traumatic experiences, but it protects against developing mental or emotional problems, including PTSD and addiction. 

This ability to develop positive growth from trauma rather than ending up emotionally traumatized is why many experienced firefighters have become very good at recovering after gruesome calls. However, PTG doesn’t occur from trying to suppress our natural reaction to disturbing experiences, and it doesn’t come naturally to most people. Fortunately, we know a lot about how to foster PTG.

Behavioral science studies have identified two traits that are the most effective for developing and enhancing PTG and resilience: 1) being open to new experiences and ideas, and 2) being socially outgoing. Let’s look at each of these.

Open-minded people are more likely to reconsider their belief system when it is challenged by witnessing or experiencing horrifying events, and therefore have an easier time of getting their head around the harsh realities of fire and rescue work. This means accepting that horrible events and outcomes are an inescapable part of real life, and accepting that we can’t change that. This may require reconciling what we witness with our previously held beliefs about the world around us, with God (for some people), and with our own vulnerabilities and mortality.

Being open-minded also requires people who face traumatic experiences as part of their profession to recognize that even the toughest among us are subject to human emotions, and that acknowledging and confronting our struggles is not a weakness. Taking care of a psychological injury after a difficult call is no more a weakness than is taking care of a physical injury. 

Close Relationships Have an Impact

Being socially outgoing bolsters PTG and resilience, but it’s not being a social butterfly or having tons of friends that are protective. Rather, it is the meaningful, close relationships that count. The obvious choice is other firefighters because of the close professional fellowship and the shared experiences: they are more likely to get what we are going through. However, it’s also helpful to find someone from outside that world, such as a spouse or a family member. It really doesn’t matter if they understand our struggles; the important thing is that we have people in our lives that we trust and feel comfortable and safe opening up to about what’s bugging us.

A good social support network will enhance PTG and resilience only if we use it. Sucking it up and being the indomitable firefighter can be harmful when it comes to dealing with pain. When we are hurting we must get it out. We should connect with our support system and express our bothersome thoughts and feelings rather than suppress them. Using denial and distraction to avoid our struggles – avoidance-coping – is a dangerous risk factor for PTSD and may be a prelude to dysfunctional coping mechanisms, such as substance use. Conversely, when we make ourselves available to others who need to talk, it strengthens our own resilience and PTG.

It sounds absurd to suggest that a first responder should seek ways to give back to help strengthen resilience and PTG. After all, who gives back more than firefighters who regularly risk their lives for others? However, studies have shown that even among firefighters, altruism that goes beyond duty-related work is strongly associated with psychological resilience, as well as healing from mental and emotional scars from past traumatic experiences. So, looking for opportunities to volunteer and give outside of work helps us. 

Altruistic Acts

Studies into PTSD have shown that altruistic acts in areas that are specifically related to the source of distress are most helpful. So, a firefighter who has been struggling since a call that involved a bad outcome involving children, for example, may benefit most by volunteer work that is directed at helping kids. 

Anybody embarking on a career as a fire and rescue professional can expect to encounter duty-related situations with potential for mental and emotional trauma. Putting in place supports for psychological resilience and PTG is a wise precaution to ensure good health and function. Of course, there are other ways to take care of our psychological well-being: watch for upcoming articles in Crackyl on psychological health.

This article originally appeared within the Spring 2021 issue. View the full issue here, or browse all back issues in the CRACKYL Library.