Three Types of Stress

In this article, we discuss three types of stress: Acute stress, episodic acute stress, and chronic stress. First responders can, and often do, experience all three. Stress can impact firefighter situational awareness and, equally concerning, stress can have devastating long-term impacts.

As I was writing this article I recalled various times during my thirty years on the line where stress impacted my performance and my well-being. Responders are generally aware of the stresses that come from doing this job. Crawl into a burning building and you are going to feel stress. Deal with a major trauma (especially when it’s a child) and you’re going to experience stress. Ride in an apparatus in heavy traffic during an emergency response and you’re going to feel stress.

However, some responders don’t always realize when they’re feeling stress because stress doesn’t always feel like physical or emotional stress and strain. Endorphins and adrenaline stimulate the brain (in part to prepare you for the often discussed Fight or Flight Response). This stimulation may cause you to feel excited, not stressed. Firefighters exiting a structure after successfully extinguishing a fire may feel adulation, not stress. They may feel victorious. They may high-five. They may backslap. They’ve slain the dragon! They are excited. And, while it may not feel so, they are also stressed. Let’s spend some time examining three kinds of stress.

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Thank you!