Simon's story
Simon talks about the importance of reaching out and talking to people about mental health problems, the different types of support that are available and the improving culture in the emergency services.
I volunteer in the search and rescue service alongside my jobs in the fire and ambulance services. I've had some stress and sleepless night over incidents I've attended and I know other personnel that have experienced a mental health problem.
I don't think we can stress enough how important it is to speak about mental health. In an emergency services environment, dealing with the day to day calls and incidents in addition to the day to day running of an emergency service can be as stressful sometimes, if not more, than an incident itself.
I don't think we can stress enough how important it is to speak about mental health.
I've accessed support through the Blue Light Programme. It's encouraged me to be more aware of my own mental health and see that there are other people like me who I could talk to and who would understand. It's helped me understand how to support colleagues more than before too.
The most important thing I've learnt is about taking care of me. But also recognising when my team members might be struggling, how to approach them and how to access further support. The booklets available in the free search and rescue pack are particularly useful to refer back to.
Don't be silent and don't try and deal with it on your own.
If someone needed support I would talk to them and tell them that there is support out there from a number of angles including the Blue Light Programme, myself or Blue Light Champions and other charities. Don't be silent and don't try and deal with it on your own.
Things are starting to change when it comes to mental health. I think some of the team would be willing to talk; we have a good mixture of other blue light service personnel in our team to who bring their experiences and can talk.
Things are starting to change when it comes to mental health [...] The overall culture has become much better and will improve further.
The overall culture has become much better and will improve further. Our partner organisations are doing the same and at the end of the day we are one big 999 family working together.
Information and support
When you’re living with a mental health problem, or supporting someone who is, having access to the right information - about a condition, treatment options, or practical issues - is vital. Visit our information pages to find out more.
Share your story with others
Blogs and stories can show that people with mental health problems are cared about, understood and listened to. We can use it to challenge the status quo and change attitudes.
