For many, the holidays are a time of togetherness and celebration. Yet for firefighters, the season often brings unique challenges that can lead to stress. From missing family moments due to being on call to managing tough calls during the festive season, it’s important to prioritize your mental and emotional well-being during this busy time of year. Here are a few tips to help fend off holiday stress.

Embrace quality over quantity in family time

Being on call or working extra shifts may mean missing out on family holiday traditions, but the time you spend with loved ones, no matter how brief, can still be meaningful. Focus on making the most of the time you do have with loved ones. Whether it’s an early morning breakfast together, enjoying a movie night or catching up on the phone during a break, focus on making the most of the moments you have to connect with your family and friends.

Use self-care to prevent burnout

The holidays can be busy – from festive celebrations to increased call volumes. But it’s important to decompress between calls and commitments. Take a moment for yourself here and there, whether that be practicing a breathing routine, listening to calming music or stepping outside for fresh air. Even small acts of wellness, like staying hydrated, eating nutritious meals and getting more sleep, can help you feel more equipped to handle the season’s challenges.

Use your support system

Lean on others when the holiday stress becomes overwhelming. Whether it’s talking to a friend, family member or fellow firefighter, talking through difficult experiences can help lighten the emotional load.

MnFIRE Peer Support is a safe, confidential space to talk about what you’re going through with someone who gets it. Minnesota firefighters and their family members can get connected with a peer supporter by calling our 24-hour helpline at 888-784-6634.

Seek help if you need it

Tough calls can feel even more difficult during the holiday season. If you’re struggling, seek out support. With the MnFIRE Assistance Program (MAP), firefighters are eligible for professional counseling visits. This confidential, free service is available for all active volunteer, paid-on-call, part-time and full-time Minnesota firefighters and their families, and for all levels of support. Prioritizing your mental health is a step of strength and supports your well-being.

This holiday season, remember to take care of yourself so you can continue to serve your community with strength and dedication. By focusing on small, intentional practices, you can navigate holiday stress while still finding moments of joy and connection with your loved ones and your community.

Contributed by Nicholas E. Blonien, D.O.

Firefighting is stressful, taxing the body and mind in unique ways. Firefighters experience stress while anticipating the next call, upon waking to the alarm in the middle of the night, during work on scene and after tough calls.

Stress 101

Stress is the result of nervous system activation, specifically the sympathetic nervous system, otherwise known as the “fight or flight” response. This response isn’t like an on/off light switch, but rather a light dimmer. The sympathetic nervous system can be mildly activated during times of slight anxiety or fully activated during times of danger/emergency, or anything in between.

The sympathetic nervous system is countered by the parasympathetic nervous system, or the body’s “rest and digest” response. Activation of this component of the nervous system results in calmness and relaxation.

These two systems are in constant opposition of one another, with activity of one predominating appropriately in response to a given situation. When intense physical activity and alertness is required, like when a firefighter is called to action, the sympathetic nervous system predominates. When it’s time to rest, the parasympathetic nervous system predominates.

Some level of stress is good, such as when focus or action is required. But too much too often can take its toll on one’s physical and mental health.

How can I reduce stress?

Structured breathing techniques can help boost parasympathetic nervous system activity and decrease stress during times when increased stress is not appropriate, like preparing for bed or spending time with loved ones. Breathwork can be a powerful tool to help reset after a nighttime call or difficult shift, calm the body in preparation for sleep, or even settle the mind during periods of anxiety and worry.

There are several different breathing techniques that have been shown to decrease stress, and a five to ten-minute session may be all that is needed. Here’s a guide for some of the most common breathing techniques.

Recent research shows the effectiveness of breathwork in improving mood and decreasing physiological arousal. Performing breathwork routinely can be a powerful tool that firefighters can use to combat occupational stress.

Additional resources for managing stress

Confidential mental health resources targeting the stress unique to the fire service – including counseling visits and peer support – are available to Minnesota firefighters and their families at no cost through the MnFIRE Assistance Program. Call 888-784-6634 or click here to learn more and get help.

When you’re going through something stressful or feeling anxious, negative thoughts can make difficult situations and feelings even harder. That’s because how we think affects how we feel, and how we feel affects how we behave.

Learning how to get ahead of unhelpful thoughts and reframing them to be more positive can help you get through those moments. It also can help improve your overall mental and emotional well-being.

While we generally cannot control the thoughts that come into our minds, especially after a tough call, we can control what we do with them. And we can train ourselves to alter our thinking patterns to be more helpful. Let’s look at how this works.

Types of unhelpful thoughts

First, let’s consider the kinds of negative thinking that may affect you. Here are some common ones:

Expecting the worst to happen.
This sometimes takes the form of “but what if?” thinking, too. In either case, even if something is going well, you expect the worst and think of all the bad things that could happen. As a result, you find it difficult to enjoy good times or be present in the moment. For example, if your boss sets up a meeting with you for the next day, an unhelpful thought would be, “I must be getting fired!” A way to reframe that more positively would be, “My boss wants to meet with me tomorrow. She isn’t on shift today, so I cannot ask her why. Tomorrow I will know why she wants to meet, and I can deal with it then.” 

Focusing on the negative.
Even if something good happens, you tend to think only about what went wrong or could have gone better.

Seeing things only as good or bad and ignoring the range of possibilities in between.
This is also called “all or nothing” and “black and white” thinking. This pattern oversimplifies situations. For example, thinking “if you don’t win, then you lose” overlooks the benefits of participating in something you enjoy, such as a tennis match, or in pursuing opportunities, like applying for a promotion.

Making negative assumptions.
For example, if something bad happened, you assume it will keep happening. Like, if you once failed a test, going into every test believing you’ll also fail them. But realistically, you have passed many more tests than you’ve failed, and you’re prepared for this one. A more helpful thought would be, “I failed that test, but I prepared well for this test – and I’ve passed many more tests than I’ve failed.”

Blaming yourself when bad things happen. Or blaming others for bad things that happen to you.
This thinking pattern fails to consider all the other factors that could contribute to a situation or event. If you didn’t arrive at the scene early enough to help someone, it can be easy to spiral or blame yourself. In the fire service, having to navigate survivor’s guilt also isn’t uncommon, especially if there has been a line-of-duty death. We must remember that placing blame on others does not honor the sacrifice of the fallen. Use critical incidents as an opportunity to learn from possible mistakes, but try to give yourself and your crew the benefit of the doubt when it comes to this uniquely challenging work.

In each of these thinking patterns, you aren’t considering the positive possibilities and variety of perspectives. You’re also not considering the full story or thinking about the facts. Many factors contribute to and come into play in every situation. Try to pay attention to where your brain goes in a difficult time.

If you find yourself getting trapped in one of these unhelpful thinking patterns, ask yourself questions to center your thoughts and see other perspectives. For example:

• Why am I so worried about this? Has this happened before? If yes, how did I manage that situation? If no, how likely is it to happen in this situation? And if it does, what can I do to get through it?
• Are there other reasons or explanations why this could have happened? For example, maybe my friend’s partner does not feel well, so they need to reschedule dinner. Or, I failed that test because I didn’t prepare properly, but I am prepared for this test – and I’ve passed many more tests than I’ve failed.
• If someone I cared about were in this situation, what would I tell them? Would I be as hard on them as I am on myself?

Another way to reconsider unhelpful thoughts is to go through this step-by-step exercise. Ask yourself:

1. Why am I stressed and/or having anxious thoughts? What happened?
2. What unhelpful thoughts am I having?
3. How do those thoughts make me feel?
4. What evidence supports these unhelpful thoughts?
5. What evidence challenges these unhelpful thoughts?
6. Based on the evidence, what is a more helpful, realistic and/or balanced way to think about this?

Then, take a deep breath. Let the other perspective sink in, and reset.

Going through these reframing processes can help you feel calmer in the moment and shift your thinking patterns over time to be more positive. With practice, thinking more positively can become part of your life – and help improve your overall mental and emotional health and well-being – both in the fire service and in your personal life.

Want to learn more or get more mental health support like this?

Confidential help is available over the phone or online, anytime for any Minnesota firefighter and their family through the MnFIRE Assistance Program (MAP). The MAP targets emotional health and stress unique to the fire service through connection to mental health care and peer support. For more details or for help, call 888-784-6634 or visit mnfireinitiative.com/hhap/#MAP.

Repurposed from MnFIRE Assistance Program partner, Optum.

Sources

MyHealth Alberta, “Learning about thought reframing.” myhealth.alberta.ca/Health/aftercareinformation/pages/conditions.aspx?hwid=abk7438. Accessed September 22, 2023.

NHS, “Reframing unhelpful thoughts.” nhs.uk/every-mind-matters/mental-wellbeing-tips/self-help-cbt-techniques/reframing-unhelpful-thoughts/. Accessed August 8, 2923.

Small Steps, “Reframing thoughts.” smallsteps.org.nz/reframing-thoughts. Accessed August 8, 2023.

Contributed by Paul J. Anderson, M.D.

There is no way around it, firefighting is a stressful job. Physically, you must be able to handle the stress of the station alarm or an emergency call, the truck sirens blaring, gearing up and working hard until the fire is out, keeping at it until overhaul is done, and staying until your gear is clean and back in your locker. Emotionally, you must handle distraught victims, exposure to horrible life situations and trauma, the unpredictable attitudes of your teammates, and anything else that comes at you on a call. On top of all that, if you are like most firefighters in Minnesota – part-time or volunteer – this might not even be your day job, and you likely have a family to take care of as well.

All of these things considered, firefighting exposes us to high levels of stress. With prolonged exposure to these elevated stress levels, firefighters can feel a negative ripple effect through various aspects of life that may eventually hinder a person’s ability to function.

The most important thing to remember about your body is that it cannot tell the difference between various kinds of stress. “Stress is stress” to your body. It’s also good to remember that too much stress can negatively impact almost all of the other lifestyle habits you might be trying to build or maintain. With too much stress, we eat poorly, sleep poorly, have low energy for working out, our relationships suffer and we may turn to alcohol or other substances a little too often to “take the edge off.”

But there are ways to counter the “crunch” of too much stress in your life. Here are a few thoughts to help you step out in another direction:

1. Prioritize: Being stressed out happens sometimes in everyone’s life, but often it happens because our priorities have gotten out of order. Think about what capacities are most important to you and what skills and resources are essential to helping you be your best for yourself and the people around you. Prioritize the time and activities that support those resources. Take control of your schedule. Decide to let some things go.
2. Downsize: So much stress comes from trying to do too much in too little time. Maybe there are some parts of your life you could simplify or let go of altogether to get back on track. Think about your commitments, your obligations and the extra activities that are filling your time. Maybe you can back off just a little bit and buy yourself some time to recharge.
3. Capitalize: Capitalizing means you take what you have and reinvest it in key resources that make you even more successful. Take your new priorities, and some of the time you gained from downsizing, and re-invest in your key relationships, the physical and mental health you have through physical activity and great nutrition, good friendships, spending time in nature and participating in activities or causes that bring you joy.

Managing stress is a key pillar of a healthy lifestyle that will improve your ability to be present to your work, your family, and yourself. You can read more about other healthy lifestyle pillars, such as physical fitness, here.

From the anticipation of beginning a new year to adjusting to whatever else life throws at you, the holiday season can be stressful for many people, but for firefighters and first responders especially so thanks to icy road conditions; increased cooking, heating and electrical hazards; and more.

As you’re celebrating the season with fellow first responders, loved ones and friends, it’s important to stay in touch with how you’re feeling mentally and emotionally, especially after a tough or traumatic call. Here are seven ways to guard yourself against and alleviate potential stressors, during this holiday season and year-round:

1. Be realistic – and optimistic
   You are one person with 24 hours in a day. Avoid putting pressure on yourself to be perfect. Instead, make goals about doing the best you can. Also, look for reasons to be positive. Inviting yourself to take pride in your personal and professional accomplishments, however small they may feel, can go a long way in helping you feel energized and motivated.
2. Set boundaries
   Resist the pressure or urge to make yourself available at all hours for all people. Trying to fit too much into one day can make you less effective and eventually lead to exhaustion. Do what you can to organize your time and tasks, so you’re focusing on the highest priorities first and most. For example, divide errands or chores into “must-do’s,” “could-do’s” and “no-need-to’s” where possible.
3. Take time for yourself
   Make sure to take time for yourself – even if it’s just a few minutes or an hour or two. Also, give yourself permission to decline requests for extra shifts or social invites. Giving yourself downtime to recharge can ultimately help you be more positive and productive overall.
4. Try to limit distractions
   Aim to limit distractions and focus your time and attention on one task at a time. Although it can be difficult to know when the next call will pull you away, dedicating certain hours in the day to one task at a time – such as checking your phone notifications or setting aside time to put on headphones and decompress after a shift – can help you feel more focused and at ease.
5. Take a break
   Relaxation is the natural countermeasure for stress, so do your best to take breaks to help you refresh and recharge. Even short breaks help improve your mood, performance and well-being. Also, schedule in activities you enjoy. When it comes to taking a break, it doesn’t matter what you do, so much as that you do take the opportunity to rejuvenate. If you do feel intensely stressed, consider using relaxation techniques like deep breathing, mediation, yoga or whatever else helps slow your breathing and heart rate to regulate your nervous system and bring you back to equilibrium.
6. Take care of your health
   Even when your schedule heats up, make time for regular exercise, getting enough sleep and eating nutritious foods. All of these can help you be more resilient to stress and feel better overall.
7. Reach out
   Having a solid support system among co-workers and loved ones can help you ultimately feel less stressed and be more productive. In a moment of high stress, having someone to listen to what you’re going through can help calm you down or cool off and reset. Plus, maintaining positive friendships generally correlates to mental health and happiness. That’s because healthy friendships can help keep your spirits up, give you a sense of connection, and improve your self-confidence, among other benefits. Take advantage of peer support and free counseling visits through the Hometown Heroes Assistance Program. Get confidential support and speak to someone who gets it and understands the full experience and challenges of being in the fire service.

For more details or for help, call 888-784-6634 or visit mnfireinitiative.com/hhap/.

Repurposed from MnFIRE Assistance Program partner, Optum

While civilians may experience traumatic events only a few times in their life, firefighters experience stressful events on a weekly, sometimes daily basis. As a result, research shows that those in the fire service experience much higher rates of mental health challenges than the general population – particularly in the areas of sleep disorders, depression, substance abuse, post-traumatic stress disorder and suicidal ideation/action.

There’s no magic vaccine for PTSD or the mental health challenges listed above, but building emotional resilience before responding to a stressful call can significantly diminish the potential damage.

The American Psychological Association defines resilience as “the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats or significant sources of stress.” It is the ability to “bounce back” after a difficult or traumatic experience.

Actively trying to prevent, or at least mitigate, the negative reactions to traumatic stress before the exposure to events occurs is key to reducing the risks of firefighting both mentally and physically.

Developing this emotional and mental resilience in the fire service starts with:

• Learning self-awareness and understanding stress – identifying the stressors a firefighter faces every day is the first step to addressing and coping with them.
• Communicating emotions – learning how to communicate your feelings is essential in connecting with others and overcoming trauma. Failure to talk about a traumatic memory creates a dangerous feedback loop and sharing feelings with a supportive community can help a first responder feel like they are not alone.
• Identifying coping resources – from counseling services to peer support, MnFIRE’s equipping firefighters with healthy resources to address emotional trauma and build up that resilience. Teaching actionable tips to protect firefighters from emotional trauma is key to reducing the stigma around asking for mental health help.

A proactive mental health program is also key to helping firefighters develop this emotional resilience, saving the lives of brothers and sisters in the fire service while saving fire departments significant time and money in the long run. Some of the fundamental pieces of these behavioral health programs include:

• Regular mental health or behavioral health education
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Easy access to counseling services – paid for by the department, union or health plan
• Formal mental health “fitness for duty” examinations
• Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) debriefings
• Family Support Night
• Peer Support Team

Although the act of fighting fires is reactive, we must be proactive about taking care of our own. As valuable as running training drills, teaching emotional resilience is the first step to preventing emotional trauma and keeping our first responders safer and healthier from the start.

Become “MnFIRE Aware” of your occupational health risks, including emotional trauma, by signing up for a MnFire Awareness Training. This training is ideal for departments who have not had previous MnFIRE trainings and is taught by firefighters and other health experts. Thanks to a grant from the Fire Service Advisory Committee (FSAC), this training is being offered both online and in-person at no cost to MN fire departments through June 30, 2021.

By Dr. Margaret Gavian, Medical Director, MnFIRE

Stress, and particularly traumatic stress, is an occupational hazard of being a firefighter.

All first responders have a particularly high exposure rate to traumatic stress inducing incidents. Doing chest compressions on an unconscious child, working to free a mother trapped in her vehicle after a collision, being with someone as they die, or recovering a body from a variety of unpleasant situations, are the daily realities of this job.

Industry leaders agree that being a firefighter today is vastly different than it was in years past; firefighters are being asked to do more with less, and with the net effect being more exposure to traumatic incidents, more stress, and more fatigue. Call volume has increased beyond fighting fire, with more medical and mental health calls, and increased exposure to motor vehicle accidents, violent crime, and medical complexity.

Providing round the clock service, firefighters often witness trauma in a disrupted sleep state, already fatigued. This is true for both career and non-career firefighters. Non career firefighters are often busy serving their community at night, only to have to work their “regular” job during the day while continuing to fulfill their roles as parent, friend and spouse. More than 90 percent of Minnesota’s fire service is non-career.

Support and services available to Minnesota’s 22,000 firefighters is scarce, leaving the burden of care on the individual and resulting in an overall department loss. Additional systemwide solutions are vital to keeping firefighters on the job and able to fulfill their deep commitment to service. They’re also essential to reducing turnover and healthcare costs when stress related disorders become chronic and to alleviating the havoc mental health disorders can wreak on families, children, and generations to come. If we expect firefighters to show up for us on our worst days, it is our responsibility to care and assist them on theirs.

Funding for additional training and development of behavioral health programming is critical. Focus on prevention, education, access to quality services and ongoing support is crucial. Existing mental health awareness training and peer support is a positive start, but so much more is required to provide our firefighters with the internal gear they need to protect themselves from the emotional risks of doing what we ask of them.

Another suicide, broken family or hero suffering in silence is simply unacceptable. We can and must do something before burying another public servant.

Note: This blog post is excerpted from “Beyond the Fire: The Mental & Emotional Cost of Being A Firefighter,” from MnFIRE’s Taking the Lead report. The full article can be found here.

Cardiovascular disease is the number-one killer of firefighters nationwide and is by far the leading cause of line-of-duty deaths in the fire service.

According to the International Association of Firefighters, more than 12 percent of all firefighters will develop heart disease at some point in their lives. Even young and healthy firefighters suffer from hardened arteries and impaired heart function after just three hours of prolonged firefighting, according to a 2010 study from the Illinois Fire Service Institute.

So how can you be a more heart-healthy firefighter this year for yourself, your department and your loved ones ? Below are six places to start:

1. Commit to a Healthy Diet

Eating a diet rich in whole foods, lean proteins and vegetables can be one of the biggest influencers on improving your heart health. The first step to pursuing a healthy diet is educating yourself on what constitutes as a healthy dish and how you can prepare it. Check out our Chef Marshall O’Brien trainings for resources that can help you pursue nutrition and that are specifically catered toward firefighters. Finally, explore the tracking applications available on your phone or smart devices that will allow you to document your eating habits, improve portion control and food selections.

2. Get Moving

Working out regularly has so many benefits, but even 30 minutes of exercise 3-4 times per week can help you lose weight, improve cholesterol, and even lower your blood pressure substantially. Commit to get moving at least a couple times per week and your heart will thank you. For those who already maintain a physical activity regimen, try incorporating some high intensity interval training that mimics firefighting duties on a weekly basis to improve your readiness for the extreme physical challenge of the job. Strength training is also a critical element of physical readiness for firefighters because muscular fitness and capacity reduces cardiovascular demand.

3. Find Healthy Ways to Manage Your Stress

Traumatic stress can also increase your risk of heart attack. A study from the University of California – San Francisco found that even limited exposure to trauma can boost inflammation in the body, a key risk factor for heart disease. Finding healthy ways to manage your stress and reduce the effects of the trauma firefighters experience everyday will be key to keeping your cardiovascular system strong. Look into methods like meditation, regular exercise or therapy to support your emotional wellness, and ultimately, improve your physical health.

4. Commit to Quit Smoking

With the cardiovascular stress already inflicted on firefighters, smoking can be especially detrimental to your health. The chemicals in cigarettes are proven to cause the cells that line your blood vessels to be swollen and inflamed. This causes the blood vessels to narrow and can result in multiple life-threatening cardiovascular issues, including stroke, coronary heart disease and aortic aneurysms. It’s never too late to quit, and the sooner you do, the better off your heart will be for it. Call 1-800-QUIT-NOW and work with a trained coach who can partner with you on a plan to kick the habit.

5. Sleep

Sleep also plays a crucial role in limiting cardiac issues. If firefighters do not get enough quality sleep, resting metabolic rates decrease and cause weight gain, increasing the risk of heart attack and stroke. It’s critical to maintain work schedules – by providing proper staffing – and allow firefighters to get enough sleep in order to help prevent cardiac disease.

6. Be an Advocate for Heart Health in Your Firehouse

Changing the culture of your firehouse to promote heart health can be helpful not only for your own personal wellness, but also for your firefighting colleagues. Small actions like swapping a donut spread for a healthier alternative, inviting others into fitness challenges, removing ash trays and leading through example can really go a long way in changing your department’s culture toward wellness and heart health.