As victims and their families deal with the emotional and mental toll of mass shootings, another not often talked about group in need of help coping with such incidents. Studies show that the number of first responders dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder has increased since the COVID-19 pandemic, reports Scripps News. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, one in three first responders develop PTSD. Dr. Geoffrey Mount Varner, a trauma emergency physician, says, "Unfortunately, I have taken pediatric patients who have had violence put on them." A study from the American Hospital Association shows there's been a rise in mental health disorders among first responders. Only 13% of front-line health care workers say they've received behavioral health services.
Dr. Dan Bober encourages everyone to seek mental health services, saying it could be the difference between life or death. "You need to talk to a therapist," he said. "Because after dealing with all of this negativity and toxicity and pain and suffering, you know — if you're doing it right — it's something that you internalize and something that very often you need to reach out to get some help." Bober said reactions he expects are things like shock, disbelief, fear, and anxiety. Other PTSD symptoms first responders show are depression, insomnia and numbing. "So I think it's important to check in with people to make sure that they're really okay," Bober noted. "Because sometimes people are not always going to tell you that they're having a difficult time." Varner says that for anyone who's experienced trauma, "it is absolutely key for them to get some kind of professional help, because trauma is unusual. You may not feel it then, but you're going to feel it later."
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