Owning My Crazy (ePub)

Most of us are just trying to get through the day, but paramedics are often

extremely harsh on themselves. We have high expectations and feel a pressure to have all the answers.

Add to this the training we receive from day one, to respond quickly, to be ever-vigilant, to 'switch on' without notice, and then make difficult logistical and clinical decisions, for an organisation that doesn't seem to care for the carers when they fall, and we are all a recipe for disaster. Paramedics, firies and police have front row seats to the greatest shit row on earth.

We have high expectations and feel a pressure to have all the answers. Add to this the training we receive from day one, to respond quickly, to be ever-vigilant, to 'switch on' without notice, and then make difficult logistical and clinical decisions, for an organisation that doesn't seem to care for the carers when they fall, and we are all a recipe for disaster. Paramedics, firies and police have front row seats to the greatest shit row on earth.

The question is not 'why' we break; it's why it sometimes takes so long…

From high functioning, multi-tasking, goat-owning paramedic, to broken, blubbering mess on the side of the road, Kim's journey through PTSD, anxiety and depression after 20 years as a paramedic has more ups and downs than a toilet seat.