Burnout vs. PTSD in First Response Fields

Similar, but NOT the same. How breaking the mental health stigma requires recognizing PTSD symptoms do not always correspond to a PTSD diagnosis.

Let’s compare Burnout vs. PTSD :

Burnout vs. PTSD = not the same.

But much of the discussion around mental health in the fire service does not differentiate between the two. While firefighters are exposed to more traumatic events than the general public, putting them at higher risk for PTSD, symptoms are not enough to indicate a mental disorder. This is important because redlining and PTSD each need different treatment strategies.

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Burnout (unlike PTSD) is not a classified as mental disorder.

No disorder = No diagnosis = No medical treatment intervention

So what would happen if redlining was reframed as something

other than a mental health crisis?

Redlining is prolonged physiological exhaustion - and you haven’t been equipped with the tools or strategies to solve for it, especially because the 3 primary solutions are non-medical:

• You need self-regulation:

  The tools for managing your life holistically with the demands of the fire service. This includes techniques for completing the stress cycle and sleep protocols.

  
  

• You need inter-personal regulation:

  Strategies for managing your relationships and how they are impacted by the demands of the fire service. This includes self-advocacy and agency for managing time and priorities with your loved ones.

  
  

• You need organizational regulation:

  True camaraderie within your shift - both on and off calls, because at the end of the day, you’re in it together. Teamwork doesn’t have to include friendship, but it does require respect, morale, and shared professional values that build trust and result in problem-solving.

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Related Sources:

Calhoun, Casey D et al. “The Role of Social Support in Coping with Psychological Trauma: An Integrated Biopsychosocial Model for Posttraumatic Stress Recovery.” The Psychiatric quarterly vol. 93,4 (2022): 949-970. doi:10.1007/s11126-022-10003-w

Carmassi, Claudia et al. “PTSD and Burnout are Related to Lifetime Mood Spectrum in Emergency Healthcare Operator.” Clinical practice and epidemiology in mental health : CP & EMH vol. 16 165-173. 30 Jul. 2020, doi:10.2174/1745017902016010165

Oliveira J, Aires Dias J, Duarte IC, Caldeira S,Marques AR, Rodrigues V, Redondo J and Castelo-Branco M (2023) Mental health and post-traumatic stress disorder in firefighters: an integrated analysis from an action research

study. Front. Psychol. 14:1259388. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1259388

van der Kolk, B. A. (2014). The body keeps the score: Brain, mind, and body in the healing of trauma. Viking.