You probably know someone who is struggling. The world in which we live is filled with potential challenges and stressors. They may be professional, personal, or otherwise. They may give rise to symptoms or signs, but as likely may be indiscernible in the pace and tempo of our lives. And, it is possible our reaction could be humor; I recall a coworker years ago who had a faded sign hung on the cubicle wall that read "I don't suffer from stress, I am a carrier." What made it really humorous was the general agreement to the sentiment among that person's coworkers.
Similar stressors may impact different people in different ways. As individuals, we are each differently abled in terms of both discerning and coping with stressors. There is individual susceptibility that is worthy of consideration. An important element of the personal consideration is the extent to which an individual can or will recognize challenges, stressors, and reactions, and be amenable to seeking help.
Recently, I was reminded of a a lecture I attended many years ago, presented by a psychologist. She explained the importance of stoicism in regards to Worker’s Compensation injury. She noted a documented reluctance of some individuals to admit injury. Her theme focused on delays in reporting of Worker’s Compensation complaints and symptoms by some individuals with personal perceptions of invincibility. She concluded that certain individuals are reluctant or even in capable of admitting weakness or injury. That lecture led me to some reading, an excellent example is Danger Zone: Men, masculinity and occupational health, but a Google search will find you many such references. It is important that such stoicism may or may not have any coincidence with gender, occupation, or other indicia.
That personal perspective has been illustrated as regards to physical maladies recently. A recent article by the British Broadcast Corporation (BBC) reported the death of celebrity French twins. They had each personally foregone Covid Dash 19 vaccination, but were not reportedly being particularly “anti-VAX.“ They believed they "were not at risk" based on lifestyle and physical strength. A telling quote from the article noted that: "they had left it too late to seek hospital treatment."
When I read that quote, I was reminded of a news story from WXTL Tallahassee in which patients with “mild“ symptoms were encouraged not to visit emergency rooms, due to the facilities' struggles with patient volumes. This illustrates that we are individually encouraged to assess our symptomatology, to consider societal impact, and that we may in fact be mistaken in our beliefs or conclusions regarding when it’s time to access professional assistance. We must have judgement and discretion, which may be difficult in the best of times (these are likely not the "best of times" or "the worst of times," apologies to Chuck Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities, 1859). However, there is indicia that these are stressful times, see Mental Health News (September 2020).
There are also statistical supports that various occupations present significantly greater stress than others. U.S. News reported last year that the most stressful occupations include doctors, lawyers, therapists, firefighters, paramedics, and police. Business News provided a similar list late last year. One might also consider the occupations demonstrably more likely to experience such challenges as substance issues (doctors, lawyers, firefighters, police officers), divorce (bartenders, flight attendants, production workers), and suicide. I have written about the mental health challenges for attorneys, see Risks for Attorneys (June 2019).
Despite that potential statistical foundations thus illustrated, an individual particularly susceptible to stress, or lacking personal coping strategies, might be overstressed or overwrought in any occupation, even one that does not present such statistically significant risk. Conversely, even statistically risky occupations include populations of individuals who somehow personally manage and cope with the stress and challenges involved. The first conclusion that I can reach based upon this complicated set of facts is that it is simply impractical to reach broad conclusions regarding either the potential for stress, or personal ability to cope with stress and challenge. Thus, I return to my opening thought, "You probably know someone who is struggling." However, you may not know it.
These thoughts came this week in perusing two news stories. The first comes from WEAR. This announces that the sheriff in one of Florida’s least populated metropolitan counties, Escambia (includes Pensacola) has instituted a second-of-its-kind in Florida mental health program. The other program is in the most populous county, Dade. The Sheriff notes that law enforcement "is not easy." He also acknowledges that "the pandemic has added extra stress."
The program involves mental health professionals as part of the police/sheriff force. It will include internal counseling, referral to outside counseling, and more. One expert quoted in the article suggested that such a program "needs more wellness programs," thus focusing on the prevention of stress accumulation rather than merely on the remediation of such impacts after they have become such that one seeks help.
Following the WEAR article, I ran across a tragic story from St. Lucie County regarding two sheriff's deputies. They were the proud parents of a one-month-old child. Something led to the suicide of one deputy the last week of 2021, although the officer was removed from life support this week. The second deputy then resorted to suicide "in the wake" of the other. The outcome is tragic, but more so for a child who will never know either parent.
The Sheriff "saw these two deputies as young, ambitious, and a great complement to my already amazing group of professionals.” He reminded that such officers might be seen "as superhuman . . . but let's not forget that they’re human just like us." By no means diminishing law enforcement, the same can be said for a vast spectrum of occupations. Let's remember doctors, nurses, teachers, lawyers, etc. may similarly seem immune and yet are merely human.
The Sheriff's most telling thought was "'it is impossible for us to fully comprehend' what was happening in" the deputies' lives. Here again, that is not limited to police officers. And, it brings us back to the theme with which this post began: "You probably know someone who is struggling." There is an added degree or two of patience and compassion dictated by the pandemic in which we live. But, in any time, there is room for our compassion and care.
There are people around you that are struggling. They may not even realize the effect that stress is having on them. They may have access to a program like the one instituted in Escambia County, or more likely not. As a community, we owe it to ourselves to strive to recognize the threat of stress. We should perhaps ask if we are carriers? We should each strive for consideration and compassion as a general rule, but more so in this pandemic. There is still a job to do, difficult decisions to make, and challenges to confront. However, we can face those challenges professionally and compassionately, recognizing the impact they may have on the people involved. A kind word, a thorough explanation, a bit of patience, could each go a long way perhaps.
