Wildland Firefighter Mental Health: The Silent Crisis and How to Overcome it.
In wildland fire, life is about preparing to execute. All winter, all spring, you train your body and hopefully your mind to execute for the few insane months of the fire season. You train so hard to execute the mission and get results, where does it leave time for yourself? Get in, get the job done, and get out.
Get this fire wrapped so we can get to the next fire. Whether you are on the saw, driving an engine, or rappelling into a fire, the execution of the mission is when failure can kill, and the stakes couldn’t be higher. It takes a special person to perform under such raw conditions. Poor sleep, shit food, smoke, heat, cold, poor logistics, and never having enough people to do the job right. Embrace the Suck.
Inevitably, there is a failure; wildland fire folks are so insistent on perfection that failing at even small things starts to add up. The crew cracks a joke, and you take it personally. The gnawing “I’m not good enough” starts to run the hamster wheel in your head.
Literally beating yourself up about the shit that didnt go right. When in reality, there are so many variables in the whole equation that no one is blaming you but yourself. We get beaten up by the fireline, but we beat ourselves up ten times worse inside our own minds.
Now stack more stress from being away from family, childhood trauma, and unresolved negative emotions. And the layers start getting heavy under all the stress.
Oh, one more layer. The political climate, the chaos, and employer abuse. Don’t forget being called unskilled labor…
“Stats from a major national survey of thousands of wildland firefighters show depression and anxiety hitting 2–3× higher than average, PTSD at 4× the rate—yet most cases go undiagnosed.”
After a few years and some solid fire operations, you learn to use the anger to get the job done and stuff down the fear. And then the disaster hits…
The burn over, the helicopter crash, the suicide, the heart attack… Whatever happens in your vicinity or to your crew gets reported and discussed, and the operation keeps moving.
It’s just another highway sign blowing by, and we keep moving, keep focusing on the execution of mission results. The culture is improving, and at the end of the day, the job has to get done.
Yet the big failure comes when we can’t hold it all in anymore and can’t control our emotions…
They said to go to the CISM, try therapy, or go to the doctor to get meds. And nothing is working because the problem isn’t brain chemistry or post traumatic stress. It’s the core wounds deep beneath the trauma, and the body thinking it’s on the fireline when it’s not. Think about it, how many days does it take to integrate back into your family life before your body starts to settle, if it ever does?
Just when your nervous system thinks it's safe to let go and relax, the next fire assignment comes up, and it’s time to roll out. After a few years of this pattern, the body learns to never just be at peace.
“The more traumas that you have layered on top of each other, the more likely that you will develop PTSD or depression.” — Dr. Angie Moreland-Johnson, clinical psychologist specializing in firefighter behavioral health
So what’s the answer? Clear up the deep core wounds from childhood that created the internal stress in the first place. Connect to a higher purpose or energy, something like happiness, joy, or spirit.
Letting the mind and body complete the experiences to the end, to tell the stories through sensation. And… Detoxing your body every winter season. The toxins and little T traumas bring a major burden to your brain.
When you can’t hold it all inside anymore, when you are at the end of your rope, but the season is still moving forward. It’s time to check in with yourself and see if you need some support.
"Recent findings hit hard: 22% of wildland firefighters report a history of suicide attempts, with suicidal ideation reaching 37–40% in some groups—far above general population levels."
How did I overcome it all?
I did 14 years on the line in wildland fire. About 10 years in, I was a complete train wreck. I found myself having health issues, panic attacks, anxiety, and insomnia. When it all started, I had 10 years of fire operations, a divorce, and losing my best friend, all stacked on top of childhood trauma. I lost fire operations and people I knew many times.
I get it. I have walked this healing path in Wildland Fire myself. And it took years to figure out what the hell to do. And yes, it took me being at the end of my rope to get help.
Why do we do that? DO we have to be at the bottom of the barrel to finally admit we failed at something or that we need support?
If you get anything from this post, please get the help you need before it’s too late, and the stress compounds and gets worse.
What Changed My Life?
I started with acupuncture because I thought a medical doctor or therapist would put me in a mental institution. Yes, that’s how far gone I was, I was afraid to get help…
The acupuncture helped me immediately, and I remember the day I went into the acupuncture office. I was thinking, “If this doesn’t work, I think I’m going to die.”
After my first needles, my body was shaking uncontrollably, and the acupuncturist said, “oh thats the trauma leaving your body. In Chinese Medicine, we call it internal wind.” I felt relief from some of my fear and anxiety just by removing the Western labels, and that’s why I loved acupuncture so much.
Then I found Mental and Emotional Release® and everything changed becuase the moment I released fear at the root cause, during birth… My entire body shifted, and I could breathe again.
My convincer was when my physiology changed quickly and permanently in the best way possible. And that’s when I heard the voice, “You are going to do this with firefighters.” And I opened Mountain Mind Mastery, and the rest is history.
This is the same mindset work I detail in my book, Six Minutes for Excellence: Leadership, Peak Performance, and Mindset in Wildland Firefighting, available on Amazon. It breaks down practical tools to take charge of your mind on and off the line.
Now, I don’t think it’s all in your mind. Well, 90% of it is, and that’s the good news. Years of smoke inhalation, crap camp food, sleep debt, and toxin buildup hammer your nervous system, your heart, and your hormones.
Healing this level of trauma and emotional buildup will take working on all four bodies. The spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical. And if you miss one of these, you won’t solve the issues at hand.
Want to learn more about Wildland Fire Mental Health?
Schedule a free call with me to see where you are, whether you want to work together, or if I can point you in the right direction.
Check out my page dedicated to Wildland Firefighter Mental Health
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