The Love of the...Stress?
The firstbook that I read on this subject was Dennis Smith's "Firefighters". It was aseries of interviews that described in the firefighters' own words on why theyloved what they did. It was released in 1988 in hardcover.
Morerecently (2008), Rick Lasky released his "Pride and Ownership: A Firefighter'sLove for the Job". Rick captured the essence perfectly and in a style that wasuniquely Rick's. He articulates what many firefighters feel, but struggle todescribe or to explain.
An articlein a Sunday paper got me to wondering; if firefighters love what they do, thenwhy is the firefighting profession listed as Number 2 on the list of moststressful jobs of 2012?
What isn'tclear in the article is the type of stress that the author is referring to.There are many types of stress and I can only assume from the tone of thearticle that they were writing about mental stress. However; there are manytypes of mental stress as well. But, I will address it in general terms.
The 10 moststressful jobs of 2012 are:
10. TaxiDriver
9. Photojournalist
8. Corporate executive
7. Public relations executive
6. Event coordinator
5. Police officer
4. Military general
3. Airline pilot
2. Firefighter
1. Enlisted soldier
Read thefull article: http://qconline.com/archives/qco/display.php?id=579194&query=stressful%20jobs
Thearticle's author offers opinions for the causes of the stress and some of themmight have merit, but firefighters have a uniquely different view of the jobthat they do.
When"firefighting" as an occupation or an avocation is mentioned, it is spoken,using very positive adjectives to describe it. For instance:
"I lovewhat I do".
"It's not ajob; it's a calling".
"It's thebest job in the world".
"I get arush when we are at a job".
"I'm happiestwhen I'm with my crew".
"We are afamily; a brotherhood".
"There'snothing like it".
When afirefighter talks about it, there is excitement in their eyes, a smile on theirface and a mouth that won't run out of things to say about a job that definesthem as a person.
We talk andtalk about the "big ones" and of some of the extraordinary efforts made byothers that we were witness to. You might even get a mention, but you willdeflect it with a "That was nothing", but inside; you are proud that your peersnoticed your effort.
All of thejokes, the good times, the meals shared, training together, respondingtogether, attending each others' family milestones and retirementsâ¦
How couldthis possibly be stressful?
Many firefightersrecognize their mortality and know that, on any given day, that they may perishor that a fellow brother or sister could. But those thoughts remain deep insideof them and thoughts of accomplishing their mission are what occupy their mindsand even if they are thinking about their mortality, they don't talk about itmuch; if at all.
Firefightingis their dream job. They have been preparing to be a firefighter since theywere a kid. It is everything that they had hoped for times ten!
Does any ofthis sound stressful to you?
According to Dr. MelissaConrad Stoppler: Stress may be considered as any physical, chemical, oremotional factor that causes bodily or mental unrest and that may be a factorin disease causation. Physical and chemical factors that can cause stressinclude trauma, infections, toxins, illnesses, and injuries of any sort.Emotional causes of stress and tension are numerous and varied. While manypeople associate the term âÂÂstress' with psychological stress, scientists andphysicians use this term to denote any force that impairs the stability andbalance of bodily functions.
If stress disrupts body balance and function, then is allstress bad? Not necessarily. A mild degree of stress and tension can sometimesbe beneficial. For example, feeling mildly stressed when carrying out a projector assignment often compels us to do a good job, focus better, and workenergetically.
Likewise, exercising can produce a temporary stress on somebody functions, but its health benefits are indisputable. It is only whenstress is overwhelming, or poorly managed, that its negative effects appear.
An important goal for those under stress is the management of life stresses. Elimination of stress is unrealistic,since stress is a part of normal life. It's impossible to completely eliminatestress, and it would not be advisable to do so. Instead, we can learn to managestress so that we have control over our stress and its effects on our physical and mental health.
If we take that and applyit to what I have written so far, I have described "good stress".
Bad stress as described byDr. Stoppler could be sleep deprivation, the many obstacles getting to thescene, being short handed, critical injuries requiring swift decisions,deceased victims, a Mayday call or anything pulled from Murphy's playbook arejust some of the bad stuff that plays out everyday in this country.
Add crappy pay,the threatof loss of jobs or the loss of health benefits as you fight cancer during your"retirement" and I have to wonder if the good outweighs the bad.
I know that the "badstress" isn't enough to discourage those who are serving and those wishing toserve. 1.3 million are still answering the call and there are more wanting toget in than are getting out. And that is good.
We seem to be willing torisk the "chemical" changes to our body that over the years, will impact ourgood health because of the love for the job. Many will say that they don't feelstress, but it's sneaky stuff. Just like we may not know if we've had one toomany barley pops, the cumulative effect of stress may be building and might tapyou on the shoulder at a most inopportune time. It is here that I hope thatgood will triumph over bad.
I would add one moredescriptive reason to the list and that is:
"It is worth the sacrifice"and "it" is friends, strangers, neighbors, families and the communities that weserve.
TCSS.
The opinions and views expressed are those of the article'sauthor, Art Goodrich, who also writes as ChiefReason. They do not reflect theopinions and views of www.fireengineering.com,Fire Engineering Magazine, PennWell Corporation or his dog, Chopper. Allarticles by the author are protected by federal copyright and cannot bereproduced in any form without expressed permission.
