Immediate help
If you may hurt yourself or someone else, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department. In the United States, call or text 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Agency peer support and EAP resources may also help, but they are not substitutes for emergency care.
The six-part EMS wellness system
Sleep
Use a pre-shift and post-shift sleep plan, control caffeine timing, protect a dark sleep environment, and address persistent snoring or excessive sleepiness.
Strength and mobility
Train for lifting, carrying, stairs, awkward positions, grip, trunk stability, and repeated submaximal work.
Nutrition
Build portable meals, hydrate before calls stack up, and avoid making every difficult shift a fast-food shift.
Mental health
Notice changes in sleep, mood, anger, avoidance, alcohol use, concentration, relationships, and enjoyment.
Relationships
Create boundaries around overtime, communicate after difficult calls, and maintain an identity outside EMS.
Recovery
Use days off for actual recovery, not only errands and more work. Plan decompression before reaching exhaustion.
Build a shift survival kit
- Water and an easy-to-carry meal.
- High-protein snack and a simple carbohydrate option.
- Weather-appropriate extra layers and dry socks.
- Basic hygiene and medication items you are authorized to carry.
- Sleep mask and earplugs when station rest is possible.
- Mobility band or simple recovery tool.
- A written contact plan for family when held over or after a difficult call.
Recognize when normal stress is becoming a problem
Watch for a pattern, especially when symptoms last, worsen, or interfere with work or home life.
- Repeated nightmares, intrusive memories, or strong physical reactions.
- Avoiding reminders, people, places, or conversations.
- Feeling constantly on guard, angry, numb, detached, or hopeless.
- Using alcohol, drugs, gambling, food, or excessive work to escape.
- Relationship conflict, isolation, reckless behavior, or loss of interest.
- Thoughts that others would be better off without you.
Seeking help early is a professional decision, not a failure.
A practical post-call reset
Complete immediate operational needs
Patient care, handoff, documentation, equipment, exposure procedures, and required notifications.
Check your body
Slow breathing, lower muscle tension, hydrate, eat, and address pain or exposure.
Name what is present
Anger, sadness, fear, guilt, numbness, or nothing yet. Avoid forcing a specific reaction.
Use the right support
Partner, peer support, supervisor, chaplain, clinician, EAP, union or association resource, or crisis support depending on the need.
Follow up
Stress reactions can appear later. Reassess sleep, mood, concentration, and relationships over the following days.
Wellness check-in
Wellness content is not medical care
This guide is educational. A qualified clinician should evaluate persistent symptoms, injuries, sleep disorders, substance concerns, or mental health changes.