Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Recreational Dive Rescuers

[Shearwater]

Sometimes rescuers get injured during a rescue, and sometimes their injuries are not readily apparent. @Jim Lapenta tells us about simple PTSD in dive rescuers: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Recreational Dive Rescuers - Shearwater Research

 

[Kimela]

I'm a therapist, trained in trauma work, and I worry that folks who are exposed to diving accidents (trainers, DM's that are helping, staff, and bystanders) minimize the effect that witnessing tragedies and near-misses have on them. Most of us are encouraged to "get over it", "buck up", "suck it up buttercup", etc., and that simply does not make the damage go away. Trauma affects us on a physiological as well as psychological level. Living with trauma will touch many parts of your life - safety and control may become big issues in intimate, work and other social relationships. Please seek out help for yourself if you've witnessed or been involved in something traumatic and encourage others to do the same. Look for someone trained in trauma work.

PSA done.

 

[caruso]

I couldn't imagine what goes through the minds of some of these rescuers, some of whom have to dive in near zero visibility waters to find a bloated body. That's something that would scar me for life, couldn't do it no way.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

Watched some friends (including a couple prominent SBers) go through that after an unsuccessful attempt to rescue a woman who ran out of air at depth and blew up her lungs making a rapid ascent from nearly 100 feet. Even knowing that she was basically dead by the time she surfaced didn't prevent the second guessing in terms of what they did, and what they *should* have done. When someone dies, it's hard to grasp that there was literally nothing you could do to save her ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[Lake Hickory Scuba]

58 feet down, I look over and notice my student was wide eyed, panicked, and motioning to go up. Two seconds later, her eyes rolled back, her regulator fell from her mouth and she went limp. Brought her up, performed rescue breaths and revived her.

13 feet deep retrieving a drowning victim in our local lake. As I flipped him over to begin my investigation, and to prepare him to be brought to the surface, I saw the grim aftermath of the damaged done to his body from the local Fire Department who attempted to drag for his body before my arrival. His face looked like it had been raked through a meet grinder.

20 feet down, during an investigation of an attempt of suicide, where a lady had driven her car off a boat ramp, and as it sunk, she had a change of heart and swam from the vehicle. While doing a sweep of the vehicle for other evidence or victims, I open the back door only to find a child in a car seat still strapped in.

These are just a few of the incidences I have been involved in the last 30 years. To say I am immune to the nightmares, would be a lie. As a Public Servant, serving a career as a Police Officer, Firefighter, and EMT, I have witnessed multiple suicides, one in particular, a man who was only a few feet from me when he place a 45acp. to his head and pulled the trigger. Another incident, a 6 year old was slung from a vehicle during a motor vehicle collision that occurred right in front of my patrol car. Her body was unrecognizable after going through the car window and slamming to the ground.

No matter if an incident occurs above or below the water, it stays in your mind for the rest of your life. I have never met anyone who could convince me, that they were the same after witnessing a traumatic incident. Anytime something happens, you should never be afraid to sit down and talk with someone. When we see things in movies, we know that it is make believe. Its a story, they are just actors playing dead. But when you witness it in real life, and you realize that person is never coming back, then the worst thing you can do is keep your thoughts bottled up.

The nightmares are real, and even though that person is gone, you should never make yourself the next victim, by letting the after thoughts of a traumatic incident eat you alive. I encourage everyone to find someone they feel comfortable talking to, and get it off your chest. It never gets easier dealing with these bad incidents, but the recovery of your own mind is much easier with the help of others.

 

[Kimela]

Bryan, I'm so sorry you've had to witness this - and so incredibly grateful for you and others who are willing to serve the public in this way. If you haven't tried EMDR for trauma I strongly encourage you to look into it.

From the EMDRIA (international association) website:

"Approximately 20 controlled studies have investigated the effects of EMDR. These studies have consistently found that EMDR effectively decreases/eliminates the symptoms of post traumatic stress for the majority of clients. Clients often report improvement in other associated symptoms such as anxiety. The current treatment guidelines of the American Psychiatric Association and the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies designate EMDR as an effective treatment for post traumatic stress. EMDR was also found effective by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense, the United Kingdom Department of Health, the Israeli National Council for Mental Health, and many other international health and governmental agencies. Research has also shown that EMDR can be an efficient and rapid treatment."

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

58 feet down, I look over and notice my student was wide eyed, panicked, and motioning to go up. Two seconds later, her eyes rolled back, her regulator fell from her mouth and she went limp. Brought her up, performed rescue breaths and revived her.

13 feet deep retrieving a drowning victim in our local lake. As I flipped him over to begin my investigation, and to prepare him to be brought to the surface, I saw the grim aftermath of the damaged done to his body from the local Fire Department who attempted to drag for his body before my arrival. His face looked like it had been raked through a meet grinder.

20 feet down, during an investigation of an attempt of suicide, where a lady had driven her car off a boat ramp, and as it sunk, she had a change of heart and swam from the vehicle. While doing a sweep of the vehicle for other evidence or victims, I open the back door only to find a child in a car seat still strapped in.

These are just a few of the incidences I have been involved in the last 30 years. To say I am immune to the nightmares, would be a lie. As a Public Servant, serving a career as a Police Officer, Firefighter, and EMT, I have witnessed multiple suicides, one in particular, a man who was only a few feet from me when he place a 45acp. to his head and pulled the trigger. Another incident, a 6 year old was slung from a vehicle during a motor vehicle collision that occurred right in front of my patrol car. Her body was unrecognizable after going through the car window and slamming to the ground.

No matter if an incident occurs above or below the water, it stays in your mind for the rest of your life. I have never met anyone who could convince me, that they were the same after witnessing a traumatic incident. Anytime something happens, you should never be afraid to sit down and talk with someone. When we see things in movies, we know that it is make believe. Its a story, they are just actors playing dead. But when you witness it in real life, and you realize that person is never coming back, then the worst thing you can do is keep your thoughts bottled up.

The nightmares are real, and even though that person is gone, you should never make yourself the next victim, by letting the after thoughts of a traumatic incident eat you alive. I encourage everyone to find someone they feel comfortable talking to, and get it off your chest. It never gets easier dealing with these bad incidents, but the recovery of your own mind is much easier with the help of others.

When I went through my apprentice year to join a ski patrol, one of the EMTs teaching related a story how in MVA he had to label a 9 year old boy as black. I’ll never forget the look of anguish on his face and how he said a night never passes without him seeing that little boys face.

I salute you first responders.

 

[Lake Hickory Scuba]

Bryan, I'm so sorry you've had to witness this - and so incredibly grateful for you and others who are willing to serve the public in this way. If you haven't tried EMDR for trauma I strongly encourage you to look into it.

From the EMDRIA (international association) website:

"Approximately 20 controlled studies have investigated the effects of EMDR. These studies have consistently found that EMDR effectively decreases/eliminates the symptoms of post traumatic stress for the majority of clients. Clients often report improvement in other associated symptoms such as anxiety. The current treatment guidelines of the American Psychiatric Association and the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies designate EMDR as an effective treatment for post traumatic stress. EMDR was also found effective by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense, the United Kingdom Department of Health, the Israeli National Council for Mental Health, and many other international health and governmental agencies. Research has also shown that EMDR can be an efficient and rapid treatment."

Thank You, I will check into it. We have really good resources here in North Carolina for Public Servants as well, and even here in our County. We always do a Critical Stress Incident Management meeting after all major calls. Very recently, our area lost a Public Safety Diver who died in the line of duty during a body recovery, and even the Fire Department that I am currently a member of, lost a member in the line of duty back in 2012, while responding to a scene. From my perspective, the programs that are put into place to help Public Servants really do help (this of course is speaking from personal experience).

 

[Lake Hickory Scuba]

I salute you first responders

Thank you, it really means a lot.

 

[DerekR]

I took some time away from the water, after being in law enforcement, and doing a number of body recovery dives. I didn't know why, but whenever I got ready to dive, an overwhelming sense of panic would strangle me. After diving for decades, I no longer enjoyed diving, and I couldn't figure out what was causing it. It wasn't until I retired and came back into the sport that I came to grips with the ghost in the back of my mind that said that whenever I splashed, I was going to run into a dead person. The really weird thing is that, in all of the things that I have seen and done over a long career in law enforcement, dead people under water haunted me more than almost anything else that remained in my memory. While it is better now that I have recognized the trauma, I still become anxious, at times, before a dive. Now I know why, and I can work through the feelings and have a great dive. Yes, PTSD in public safety diving is very, very real.