Carleton’s Student Alliance for Mental Health (SAMH) hosted a discussion on post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a mental health problem that affects many people, especially first responders, on Nov. 18.
Annick Allard, a paramedic for the city of Ottawa, was the first speaker of the evening.
“I believe we cannot prevent PTSD because you don’t get to pick which calls you go to, but we can prevent it from becoming debilitating,” she said.
Allard drew on the experiences of her husband, an Ottawa paramedic diagnosed with PTSD. After accumulating 26 years of experience, she said her husband had angry outbursts and did not sleep.
When he did sleep, she said, he sweated to the point where they had to change the sheets when he woke up.
Allard spoke about legislation that would assume presumptive diagnosis for PTSD when a worker makes a claim to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board. This means if a first responder was diagnosed with PTSD, it would be assumed it was because of work and full compensation would be given.
The bill is currently a private member’s bill working its way through Queen’s Park, but Allard said the process has been slow.
“The Ontario government says it wants to focus on prevention, but I want to know what they’re doing right now for those who are suffering,” she said. “The prevention is just to stop it from becoming debilitating so [first responders]. . . can continue their careers.”
According to Allard and the second guest speaker, Bruce Phillips, only four to seven per cent of paramedics make it to retirement. The rest switch careers due to the physical and mental stress of the job.
Phillips spoke about his work with veterans as a peer support in the Occupational Stress Injury Social Support program.
A veteran now, Phillips spent 28 years in the Canadian Armed Forces. His presentation focused mainly on the stages of PTSD.
“Occupational stress injuries directly relate to the frequency, proximity, and intensity of combat,” he said. “When soldiers get deployed overseas, they’re on 24/7. Sure they sleep, but there’s no down time.”
Marcela Farias, recruitment co-ordinator for the SAMH, said PTSD is something that affects students.
“[Anything] can be a traumatic event, there are so many different things that people’s lives that I could see someone having PTSD over,” she said. “If someone is having an issue with PTSD, there are many resources on campus such as the Paul Menton Centre, the Health and Wellness Centre, and us.”
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