Analysis of common psychological problems and solutions for frontline firefighters

Analysis of common psychological problems and solutions for front-line firefighters

Front-line firefighters have increasingly heavy workloads and increasing pressure. In addition to their own family and social pressure, they also face the risk of death. Cruel problems such as fighting against the disease, injuries, and fire demons will inevitably lead to psychological illness if not taken seriously. This requires firefighting forces at all levels to proactively take measures to avoid or eliminate psychological stress, psychological crisis or psychological barriers caused by psychological pressure, improve the physical and mental health of front-line firefighters, and prevent the occurrence of mental illness and physical and mental illness.

Common psychological problems and hazards

The particularity of the firefighting profession can easily lead to mental health problems such as psychological imbalance, emotional disorders, and personality disorders among firefighters. In order to better understand the mental health status of firefighting officers and soldiers, we organized dedicated personnel to go to grassroots squadrons and took the form of discussions, questionnaires, etc., to gain a clear understanding and grasp of the mental health status of frontline firefighting officers and soldiers. Specific manifestations include the following aspects:

Anxiety psychology: When faced with the intense work, training, study, and living environment of grassroots troops, some firefighters lack self-control, reduce their judgment, and form a fear of the environment. Anxious psychology is particularly easy to be excited, irritated, fatigued and exhausted.

Lost mentality: Firefighters’ roles and tasks are constantly changing. When it is found that the ideal fire fighting and disaster relief work conflicts with the actual situation of sticking to the post and making silent contributions in reality, it will cause inconsistent cognitive conflicts. Worrying all day long leads to a sense of loss.

Depressive psychology: When firefighters face problems such as strict management, interpersonal relationships, and training performance, their inner self-confidence and self-improvement gradually weaken, resulting in emotional disorders such as depression, depression, weird words and deeds, and self-blame. , long-term self-denial will produce depression.

Inferiority mentality: Due to different living and growing environments, when extreme pursuit of comparison and catching up, some firefighters will develop maladaptive emotions such as depression, lack of self-confidence, timidity, and pessimism. This may give rise to low self-esteem.

Common causes of psychological problems

Analysis of the causes of psychological problems among firefighters can be summarized as follows:

Overload of body and mind: some fire fighters When members' wishes such as applying for military academies, selecting non-commissioned officers, selecting technical studies, getting married, joining the party, and doing meritorious service cannot be realized for a long time and their normal needs cannot be met, they will become pessimistic and disappointed about life. Some firefighters have opinions about certain things, but they keep them in their minds for a long time, causing an increasing burden on their minds.

Excessive task pressure: When firefighters face heavy work and various extreme environments such as high temperature, high altitude, darkness, noise, etc., they will have varying degrees of psychological tension or fear, coupled with strict military discipline and arduous training, firefighters' stress cannot be relieved, and they are prone to anxiety, depression, impatience and other emotions, and serious psychological problems will occur.

Improper discipline methods: Due to the simple management methods of individual unit managers, they seriously hurt the personality and self-esteem of firefighters, causing some firefighters to develop feelings of inferiority, depression, self-abasement, etc., which led to firefighters' psychological question.

Improper leisure and relaxation: Many firefighters are emotionally stressed for a long time, but they are not good at leisure adjustments. When they have leisure time, they have excessive entertainment and disrupt their work and rest patterns. This has also become a cause of psychological abnormalities.

In addition, factors such as being an only child, personality traits, social environment, etc. will all have an impact on the psychology of firefighters.

Preventive measures and countermeasures for psychological problems

Firefighting forces must do a good job in mental health and fully build a good mental health environment in order to prevent and reduce the occurrence of mental illness in firefighters. Lay a solid foundation for improving the combat effectiveness and cohesion of the troops.

Popularize mental health education: Establish psychological consultation service institutions, establish a three-level network model for psychological work in detachments, brigades, and squadrons, equip full-time psychological counselors, and establish psychological consultation rooms, psychological examination rooms, and psychological counseling and treatment Rooms, psychological catharsis rooms, psychological mailboxes, online mailboxes and psychological hotlines are opened, and psychological assessment and psychological development training are conducted for firefighters every year. Fully integrate the resources of military and local psychologists, hold special lectures on mental health knowledge regularly or at an appropriate time, and continuously popularize basic mental health knowledge. Regularly conduct mental health surveys of firefighters to record in detail the personality characteristics and psychological qualities of each firefighter to enhance the early warning function of team management.

Carry out firefighters’ psychological consultation and intervention services: Establish a “trinity” firefighters’ mental health work system of psychological training, consulting services, and crisis intervention to treat firefighters with common or a small number of psychological disorders and psychological problems. , using group consultation and individual consultation respectively, so that firefighters can understand what the dilemma they are facing is. For firefighters with mental illness, while providing psychological consultation and guidance, they should be promptly transferred to the hospital for psychological treatment to prevent various problems due to mental health reasons.

Establish and improve the psychological work system: Establish a psychological counseling service system to proactively provide psychological services to firefighters who suffer from psychological imbalances caused by various setbacks in their work and life. Establish a major stress counseling service system. For firefighters who encounter emergencies, major changes, etc. in their lives that cause serious psychological stress reactions, the firefighters involved are required to call a psychological consultation phone number or contact a psychologist within 48 hours. Interview. Establish a special operation system for firefighters with mental illness. High-risk firefighters with psychological disorders, especially those with mental illness, are not allowed to participate in special operations that are incompatible with their psychological quality. Establish a confidentiality system for firefighters' mental health files, and strictly keep the contents of psychological tests, consultations and mental health files of officers and soldiers confidential. Establish a normal vacation system for firefighters, organize and consciously carry out entertainment and leisure activities, guide firefighters to express and vent negative emotions when they encounter them, and make firefighters happy and relaxed physically and mentally.