ABSTRACT
Stress is recognized as a normal reaction and outcome to emergency and disaster response situations. Generally, no one wants to acknowledge it as an experience they are struggling through, no matter how reasonable or expected. The effect of incident-related stress on workforce personnel and staff may be discussed in the ongoing aftermath, but our response plans miss opportunities during the actual event. It is time for a cultural attitude shift: it isn’t a matter of if one’s mental health will be impacted or that one might be stressed, but it is a matter of how that will happen. It is time to accept the premise that as a human, mind, body, and spirit will be impacted, and that responders will constantly compensate they can perform their jobs and have to deal with the impact at some point in their lives. This chapter will help to identify considerations related to these points and provide important information for responders and management alike. As we have seen with the COVID-19 response in 2020 and beyond, the toll it takes is far-reaching. This chapter is offered to include mental health and building strategies into operations at the prevention, monitoring, and safety integration levels. This chapter is offered in support of taking mental health and placing it as an important consideration in maintaining force wellness and safety. Suppose the goal is to have a healthier workforce that can perform long-term, bringing institutional knowledge and experience with them. In that case, management must recognize our responders are valuable resources that warrant resources, attention, and strategy for that long-term service. Mental health professionals charged with these responsibilities must have a seat at the table, be given authority to contribute to planning, prepare real-time embedded intervention and post-event elements.
