The Difficult Psychology of First Responders

From an outside view, the life of first responders looks glamorous and exciting. The red, white and blue lights flashing, “busting” the speed limit, sirens screaming. However, when those first responders arrive on the scene, they often find sadness and desolation, the darkest side of humanity or tragic, unnecessary loss. Now, imagine facing those situations day-after-day or on almost every shift. As we are about to close the second decade of the twenty-first century, our first responders see this dark side far too often. Add to that the pressures of everyday life in today’s “I need it now” society and some reach a breaking point.
They don’t wear capes, nor do they have super powers, for those first responders are our neighbors, members of our church or synagogue, shop at the same grocery store that we do. And when we do see them in public, whether in uniform or not, there will probably always be a smile or a friendly nod. However, if we could look deeper, we just might see a very troubled individual.
My guest, Mark Lamplugh, Jr., is a former fire captain and knows of what I describe above. And he has dedicated himself to helping those first responders who suffer from the trauma of the profession, that truth be told, they love. For the past ten years, Mark has answered phone calls and emails from first responders around the county, reaching out from the darkness for help.
In today’s episode, Mark discusses the issues that many first responders face and how he has helped them deal with these behavioral health problems. Additionally, he has taken that experience to create a non-profit agency, to allow first responder agencies or their communities to have their own, private and secure website, customized specifically for that agency or community, where those first responders can turn to learn or for help that has already been vetted to not only work with first responders, but will also accept the insurance coverage of the responder. Learn more with my guest, Mark Lamplugh, Jr.