I have a dilemma / not for weak stomachs

[Aloren]

I think it shows that you are a feeling, caring and dedicated person for even pondering upon whether you have an issue or not. I can also distance myself from feelings easily and it is part of the reason i am choosing to continue in law enforcement as a police officer. (I was a correctional officer before)

[Wingnut]

Originally Posted by hordak

Being able to unplug from your emotions is one of the most important aspects in any emergency especially if it's your job.

I definitely agree with this statement. When you became a firefighter, you must have known that you would encounter such situations. You probably were already of the temperament to be able to compartmentalize things, and possibly took some preparatory time on a personal level for the things you wouldn't deal with as well. I imagine that after many consecutive incidents, you'll have a crash down moment at some point, but I could be wrong.

[RainofGold]

Thank goodness for people like you.
I freak out in emergency situations and don't know what to do. One time my daughter was choking on a hard candy and I panicked, fortunately my sister was there, she did the stomach thing and she spit the candy out. My first reaction is always to call 911, but sometimes you have to act at the moment because if you wait for the paramedics to arrive it might be too late.
I am thankful that there are people that are trained to stay calm and take control of the situation.


Take care of yourself,

Rain

[livy111us]

I work as a full-time Firefighter as well as a part-time Firefighter at another station, and know what you are talking about. To tell you the truth, I think it is a gift not to dwell on bad situations. Some of them can haunt you. But one thing that I've learned is to separate FF life with home life. What you are doing, in my opinion, is the way it should be done. We need to keep our cool on scene, learn what we need to from the situation, and then forget about it. Otherwise, it can eat you up.
Also, when I see some bad stuff, it doesn't bother me for a while, but eventually catches up with me. If you have a wife, you need to talk about it, or be debriefed at work. Just don't keep it in.