Ryan Mains shares his story about ultrarunning to raise awareness for firefighter PTSD as a firefighter who is struggling with PTSD himself.
Table of Contents
About Firefighter PTSD – #EndTheStigma
Some first responder mental health statistics include the following:
- 1 firefighter commits suicide every three days in the United States
- First responders are five times more likely to have suicidal ideations than the general public
- Among firefighters – 46.8% have ideations of suicide, 19.2% plan suicide, and 15.5% make an attempt. (SAMHSA, 2018)
- Among the general U.S. public – 13.5% have ideations of suicide, 3.9% plan suicide, and 4.6% make an attempt (SAMHSA, 2018)
Resources and Links
Ryan finishing up the 130 km ultrarunning event “Run for Our Lives” in 2020, view video on Facebook
Follow Ryan and his cause on the Facebook Page, Run for Our Lives
The Illinois Firefighter Peer Support Hotline has a page dedicated to Run for Our Lives and information on firefighter PTSD.
Read the 2018 report from Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration about mental health needs among first responders. Firefighter PTSD is addressed here and information on first responder mental health statistics is provided.
Listen to these past related episodes of Beyond the Rut
BtR 118 – Sean Douglas on Resilience and Life Transformation
BtR 122 – Melissa Monte on Knowing What You Stand For
BtR 151 – Rob Decker Surviving Suicide and Overcoming Drug Addiction
BtR 218 – Katina Stith Overcoming Sexual Assault, Human Trafficking and Suicide
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Music Attribution
“Oceans Apart” is our theme song composed and performed by Scott Ian Holmes.