MSI Press Blog

  This excerpt comes from  Helping the Disabled Veteran  (Joanna Romer) PTSD   In the 2017 movie Dunkirk , a soldier is rescued from an airplane wreckage by a fishing boat. He is shocked to learn that the boat is on its way to Dunkirk to help the war effort, and he refuses to go. Instead, he flies into a rage. “He’s shell-shocked,” the boat captain tells his mate. The mate asks if the solder will recover, and the boat captain tells him there is no way of knowing. “He may never be the same,” the captain adds ruefully.   Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has replaced the term shell-shocked to describe the agitated state born by some soldiers after combat. The symptoms are: 1)     Headache 2)     Agitation 3)     Dizziness 4)     Chest pain 5)     Insomnia (dhproject.org)   If your veteran is displaying one or more of these symptoms, try to get him or her to talk to you about it. Yo...

  Firefighters are trained to face flames, chaos, and collapse—but what happens when the fire is internal? Depression is a silent crisis in the fire service. The culture of stoicism, long shifts, traumatic exposure, and disrupted sleep all contribute to a mental health landscape that’s often overlooked. While the public sees heroes, many firefighters quietly battle invisible wounds. 📊 What the Numbers Say 12% of firefighters experience clinical depression, according to a meta-analysis of 40 studies. In disaster zones, that number spikes to 24% . 16% screened positive for major depressive disorder in a 2022 IAFF survey of over 8,000 firefighters. Depression often coexists with PTSD— 50% of those with PTSD also meet criteria for major depressive disorder. Suicide risk is alarmingly high: 28% of firefighters report suicidal thoughts, and 15.5% have attempted suicide—more than triple the general population. These aren’t just numbers. They’re lives. They’re colleagues. They’r...

  They run toward what the rest of us flee—flames, gunfire, wreckage, collapse. First responders carry the weight of our worst days, often without pause, without time to process, and without the support they need to heal. Behind every emergency call is a human being absorbing trauma in real time. Paramedics who cradle the dying. Firefighters who sift through ash and grief. Police officers who witness the aftermath of violence. Dispatchers who hear every scream but see none of the resolution. These aren’t just jobs—they’re acts of endurance, empathy, and exposure. The cost? Elevated rates of PTSD, depression, substance use, and suicide. Chronic stress reshapes the brain, weakens the immune system, and erodes relationships. And yet, many responders are trained to suppress emotion, to “tough it out,” to keep going. But resilience isn’t about silence. It’s about support. About peer networks, trauma-informed leadership, and systems that prioritize mental health as much as physical s...