Emergency workers urge men to seek help with stress

Dealing with grief, loss and trauma is all in a day’s work for Bunbury’s front-line workers, but sometimes even their mental well-being is challenged by the stress.

First Const. Nick Cockinos said he knew all too well about carrying around work-related stress.

“You can’t get away from it, I’ve seen some horrible stuff,” Const. Cockinos said.

“Fatal crashes are one of the hardest things for me because you have to pick up the pieces with the family and revisit the same things again during the investigation.

“It is important to take advantage of support networks.”

Fire station officer Dean Fanderlinden agreed.

“As men we tend to bottle things up – it wasn’t always trendy to talk about feelings,” he said.

“But these days we debrief after a job and talk things over, there are also other services such as a chaplain and outside support.”

Men make up the majority of front-line emergency service staff but are less likely to get help to deal with stress than women, according to One Life Suicide Prevention spokeswoman Melody Birrell.

“In Australia four out of five people who take their own lives are males between 14 and 44,” she said.

Paramedic Chris Smith said most people didn’t realise there was a problem until it was too late.

“It’s good to come forward and talk about feelings of trauma and grief but often people don’t know where to start,” he said

The inaugural Grief and Loss symposium will be held in Bunbury on October 3 and 4.

The first day will cater for frontline staff and the following day will support community members.

The Grief and Loss Symposium is the initiative of the One Life Suicide Prevention Strategy and the Mental Health Commission of WA.

Celebrity chef Matt Golinski will talk about how front-line workers supported him during his time of grief.

Funeral director Adrian Barrett will also be attend the symposium.

“It’s important to be strong and help people in their time of need, but we can’t forget to acknowledge our own feelings,” he said.