Hi From A Former Firefighter/EMT

[Unhinged]

I am not sure I really know where to start. I was diagnosed with PTSD this past January. As it says in the title, I used to be a Firefighter/EMT but ended up having to leave due to all this craziness that seems to be my life now, and the medications.
I've become really concerned with how my PTSD is effecting my relationship with my fiance. We seem to be fighting more and more now and I know its my fault. I just can't seem to communicate with him the way he needs me to. I'm glad to see so many spouses on this forum and hope maybe i could get my better half to join as well.
Well, I haven't exactly slept and am not sure what else to say for now. I'll just read some more of the forums and look forward to getting to know everyone more.

 

[cherryblossom]

Hi Unhinged,

Welcome to the forum (from a fellow Paramedic in the UK). As you have seen there is loads of information here about PTSD, for both sufferers and carers. Even if your other half doesn't join, there will be plenty of information you can share with him. However, I think if you could persuade him to join, he'll gain directly from other 'carers' here. We really are a friendly bunch!

Take care,
CB

 

[kers]

Hi, and welcome to the forum. I am sorry to hear PTSD is wreaking havoc in your life right now, professionally and personally. There is a lot of good support and information here, so search around the forums and you will find lots of people having the same struggles as you are. There's plenty of useful advice to be had!

 

[Deleted member 541]

Welcome to the forum........Sorry that you NEED to be here, as PTSD sucks....But, glad you have found us, we are a motley group, but friendly and always looking to help someone out....So pull up a chair, grab a cup of whatever and join in...

 

[Jline]

Your in the right place! This is an excellent forum, *welcome*

 

[NarcSis]

Hey,

I found everyone here on the forum really helpful in terms of advice on how to help me deal with the things I was going through but most importantly, they helped me to normalize everything I was going through.

You're not alone, you'll find many people here who've been in your shoes. Welcome.

 

[ISupportHer]

Welcome, I see you are getting some responses from others with EMS and Fire experience. I have an EMS and ER background and know it gets crazy out there.

Glad you are here.

ISH

 

[Unhinged]

Hello everyone, and a big Thank You for the welcomes.

I've talked with my fiance and he said he would like to try the forums as well, so hopefully soon he will be joining us. The past couple of days things are going better between he and I. Found some forum posts that helped us have some good discussions about what is going on.

It's also nice to see other emergency workers here. I've been surpised at how often most people don't think this could happen to us.

So, Thanks Again

 

[AdamAnt]

Welcome Unhinged. Glad to see you two communicating and using what you've learned already! I think that's a big check in the plus column in itself!!

 

[amethist]

Hi Unhinged

Good to see a couple working together with this. Your fiancé will be made welcome too, there are a few male carers here so he will not be alone.

I hope you can both learn more to help each other move forward to a better future together.

Take care and good luck.

Amethist

 

[just me here]

I am also an ex EMT/fire fighter, a volunteer on a rural department, but I can relate to your experiences I am sure. We didn't get the stabbings and shootings that a city department would expect, but we definitely had more high speed car accidents. Where a city department might have maybe ten percent of the roads in their district posted at 45 MPH or higher, we probably had less than 5 percent of the roads in our district posted at speeds lower than 55.
It takes one to know one and I am one, I am sure I can empathize with the experiences you had in ways that someone that has never been on a scene cant. Physician, heal thyself, right? Right. No one gave me a superman cape when I got my turnouts, thats for sure.
They did teach me to treat everyone affected by an accident as a victim of that accident, even the onlookers, the people being detoured around the scene, the neighbors that got woke up by the truck engines and radio communications of a midnight fire.....why we do the job not realising that we too are victims of every accident we get called out on is definitely something to ponder.