Montgomery Municipal Cable
It's Okay for First Responders to Ask for Help
Road to Recovery host James Sutton has special guest, Abby Morris, MD who is the Medical Director of the IAFF Center of Excellence for Behaviorial Health Treatment and Recovery that only serves First Responders who are either Fire Fighters, Dispatchers, or EMTs and are part of the IAFF (International Association of FireFighters) union. Dr. Morris is also a Medical Consultant for SWAT (Special Weapons And Tactics) and the CIT (Crisis Intervention Team).
What is Trauma?
"Its a complicated topic," according to Dr. Morris. Trauma is Greek for wound. Physical Trauma is when you get a wound from bodily injury, but Emotional Trauma comes from an Emotional Stress the body can't integrate or deal with and it overwhelms the brain. Not every one with the same event may be traumatized by the event. Interpretation, expectation, and unpredictability of the event that someone goes through also matters. Professional First Responders experience all types of traumas that are indirect and direct for their career, everyday, all days of the year. They have some training to help their resilience, but Dr. Morris says, "I'm not sure any human being can really be prepared for the daily, persistent exposure to trauma." Here in the United States, Fire Fighters are called for a variety of events other than fires. Like natural disasters, shootings, suicides, car accidents, drownings, school crisis...and many more. It is not just the horrific things they see, but also witnessing people's reactions to those events.
The inability to manage, cope, or integrate with one's grief. The horror, and humanity that these First Responders have to deal with while they realize they follow every protocol, does everything right, and people still die. Feeling that sense of helplessness that beats in them. Yes, they may deal with trauma better because they are aware that they have to see horrible things, but the amount they see, the variety of things they have to deal with, and their emotions they have to bury lead to cumulative damages or Complex Trauma, Complex PTSD, Chronic PTSD, or C-PTSD. This is created when one's response to trauma, in an acute fashion, ups in Cortisol and the flight or fight action is triggered to protect ourselves and others close or get out of a situation or to safety. If that response becomes chronic, by more trauma and/or stress persist than more changes in the brain and body accumulate.
Most-Affected Areas of the Brain from Trauma
The Amygdala is the core of a neural system for processing fearful and threatening stimuli.
The Hippocampus it has a major role in learning and memory.
The Prefrontal Cortex plays a central role in cognitive control functions, and dopamine in the PFC modulates cognitive control, thereby influencing attention, impulse inhibition, prospective memory, and cognitive flexibility. An inability to manage emotions and executive functions.
Watch this episode to learn about Trauma.
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Montgomery Municipal Cable (MMCTV) is a government access station in Montgomery County, MD. MMC was designed to increase community awareness among the citizens of the county by broadcasting municipal events, educational programs and interviews with elected officials and other noteworthy individuals. You can find MMC on Channel 16 on Comcast, Verizon and RCN every evening as well as 24/7 access to our online video archives. Channel 16 is a member of the PEG Network (Public Education and Government) of Montgomery County. We are able to provide programming due to the continued support from the municipalities within the county.
We are located in the Kensington Town Hall/Armory. We have a state of the art, all virtual studio which allows us to change the background for each of our programs. All of our programs are produced and hosted by municipal and county residents who volunteer their time as a way of communicating a topic they are passionate about for the residents of Montgomery County.
MMC’s programming includes shows that provide the public with information pertaining to health and wellness, politics, business, the arts and life planning including services, organizations and local events. We also have programs for the Hispanic community. Whether you’re looking to hear from your elected officials about what’s going on in our community or if you are looking for volunteer opportunities close to home, MMC has something of interest for everyone in the county.