I’m an N.Y.C. Paramedic. I’ve Never Witnessed a Mental Health Crisis Like This One
New York Times
By Anthony Almojera
December 7, 2022
I’ve gone down the road of despair myself. The spring and fall of 2020 left me so empty, exhausted and sleepless that I thought about suicide, too. Our ambulances are simply the entrance to a broken pipeline. We have burned down the house of mental health in this city, and the people you see on the street are the survivors who staggered from the ashes.
Mr. Almojera is a lieutenant paramedic with the New York City Fire Department Bureau of Emergency Medical Services and the author of “Riding the Lightning: A Year in the Life of a New York City Paramedic.”
There are New Yorkers who rant on street corners and slump on sidewalks beside overloaded pushcarts. They can be friendly or angry or distrustful. To me and my colleagues, they’re patients.
I’m a lieutenant paramedic with the Fire Department’s Bureau of Emergency Medical Services, and it’s rare to go a day without a call to help a mentally ill New Yorker. Medical responders are often their first, or only, point of contact with the chain of health professionals who should be treating them. We know their names and their routines, their delusions, even their birthdays.
It is a sad, scattered community. And it has mushroomed. In nearly 20 years as a medical responder, I’ve never witnessed a mental health crisis like the one New York is currently experiencing. During the last week of November, 911 dispatchers received on average 425 calls a day for “emotionally disturbed persons,” or E.D.P.s. Even in the decade before the pandemic, those calls had almost doubled. E.D.P.s are people who have fallen through the cracks of a chronically underfunded mental health system, a house of cards built on sand that the Covid pandemic crushed. read more here
Every day is hard for people with #PTSD. This time of year is usually harder. If you've healed, you remember what it was like to see people "celebrating" when you had a hard time just getting out of bed. It's hard to think of anything beyond living day to day as hope slips away that the next day will be any better. So what happened to you? What helped you heal? Was it a friend helping you find your way? Was it a family member taking the time to listen to you? Was it a stranger there to help you when you finally reached the point when you decided to seek help? Was it something someone wrote, or a video they put up to help you understand you weren't alone?
Being part of a miracle happening is saying "yes" to God. Standing in the way of it is saying "yes" to the darkness the miracle was supposed to defeat. It is that simple.
Christmas is coming and we're supposed to be celebrating the birth of Jesus. Set aside the debate as to when He was actually born and how all the celebrating we do was tied to the winter solstice. I focus on the life He lived, what He achieved, and the simple fact that He was not forced to do it. He had the chance to refuse to do what He was sent to do.
Mary had the chance to refuse to become His mother. Joseph had the chance to refuse to take her as his wife and protect the mother and son. Mary and Joseph could have refused to travel to Egypt to save His life.
When He was grown and went to John the Baptist to be baptized, John had the choice to not believe what his soul was telling him about the man standing in front of him.
When Jesus was fasting for 40 days, He had the choice to allow Satan to corrupt Him.
When He returned to the villages, He asked fishermen to help Him. Each one of them could have refused to do it. The people they asked for help could have refused to help them, as well as refused to listen to what He had to say.
Imagine what would have happened if none of what happened, was able to happen because people said no to becoming part of a miracle.
How many times have you had the chance to be part of a miracle but refused to do it?
How many times have you received a miracle but refused to acknowledge it?
If you live your life only caring about yourself, then you are saying "no" to God. If you live your life doing something for someone else, you are saying "yes" to God. Which way do you think will make you happier?
This Christmas, instead of debating what December 25th means, think about what His life was supposed to mean and do something for someone else. It doesn't have to cost you a dime but may cost you a little time you spend listening to someone, praying for them, or even giving someone clearly having a bad day a smile.
Amazing what a good therapist can do. I have rewritten these books so many times now, that I am dreaming about the characters as if they are real friends of mine. I am working on the next part but taking my time. The thing is, had it not been for my therapist, there is no way The Ministers Of The Mystery Series would have been finished.
If I helped you over the last 40 years, or since 2007 on Wounded Times, can you help me?
I wrote before about how the beginning of this year started out with the heartbreak of losing one of my best friends. I don't get much support, and to tell you the truth, most of my life has been that way. To lose someone like Gunny to COVID was like losing a part of myself. He believed in me when no one else did. He encouraged me, corrected my notorious typos, and let me know when something I wrote was spot on or totally missed the point.
So there I was, trying to rewrite the books when I felt more connected to the darkness and suffering of the story and the loneliness than I did to the hopeful messages. What made it worse, was, a lot of people liked the story but it didn't fit in with what most people believed. That meant I was struggling on every side.
I needed help to get passed that grief of losing Gunny to be able to just finish the work I started a year ago. Being an author is a lonely thing to do as it is. Add in living in a new state, having moved in 4 months before the pandemic hit, and then politics getting in the way of everything, and the loneliness grew to the point where I just couldn't trust anyone that I had not known for years. The biggest thing was, I couldn't trust myself after I lost faith in so many others and figured it had to be because I wasn't worthy of making friends or finding support like Gunny gave me.
Being able to open up to a therapist helped enough so that while I miss Gunny, my heart is no longer broken and I don't cry several times a day. Now we're working on getting me to the point where I am able to reach out again. This is the first step.
If you are dealing with #PTSD or know someone, so is everyone else in these books. They don't focus on the doom and gloom but make room for healing and hope that you can too.
If you shoved people out of your life when you needed them the most, everyone in the books did too. They all had to learn how to trust again. They all had to be encouraged, inspired, and supported by someone letting them know they were worthy of being happier.
If you wonder where God was or why He didn't prevent something, so did everyone in these books until they understood He does not mess with freewill and that includes those who choose to harm others, as much as those who refuse to do what they can to prevent something from happening.
The premise is, God tried to get the protagonist Chris to listen to Him so he wouldn't suffer. He tried over and over again but ended up having to be blamed for everything Christ went through.
So how did Chris go from, "I would have told you what I thought about God,” he looked down, “that He’s a vindictive son of a bitch playing around with people’s lives and making us suffer for fun. Now I don’t know what to think,” kind of thinking? His friends opened his eyes because they suffered too, blamed God, and suffered until someone helped them.
I couldn't put these books into "The Christian" genre because they claim it goes against "the church" when in fact, scripture supports the direct connection we all have to God and do not need a building to do it for us. If you go to church, that's fine too, as long as you accept the fact that Jesus prayed and preached outside most of the time, and then you'll understand how others who chose to not belong to a church still love God. If you have a problem with some claiming to be witches, also claim to be Christian, but can understand that the miracles in the New Testament were thought to be "witchcraft" or "sorcery" topped off with Jesus being accused of serving Beelzebub by the Pharisees then you'll be able to understand how many people used the gifts of their spirit to help others.
The Vision Awaits Prophecy: "The 13th Minister shall arise from the shadow of Proctor’s Ledge and demons will dread the sword of truth in the hands of the powerful scribe."
In modern-day Salem, The Master Ministers were preparing for the most powerful one of all would take his place as the 13th Minister. All they had to do was convince him to do it.
Ministers Of The Mystery Series explores the miraculous power within all of us to help one another achieve the purpose we were all sent here to fulfill.
Some churches say that no one can be a Christian and a witch at the same time. Are Christian witches, witches, or ministering spirits? “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” 1 Corinthians 12:7. The churches point out the passages condemning witchcraft while ignoring the fact that in each case, those practicing witchcraft were accused of doing it for evil purposes. In all the other passages, someone using gifts of the spirit was accepted because they were using their gifts to help others. So are these Christian witches, really witches or are they ministering spirits empowered by God to do good in this world?
We know evil exists. The question is, why did God let it happen? Did God try to prevent the Salem Witchcraft Trials? Did He try to prevent the suffering of His servants here on earth? If you believe the Bible then you know that God does not create evil, but He does create miracles. What if Reverend George Burroughs was sent to Salem Village to prevent the trials but the people who were supposed to help him, turned against him?
What if there is someone on this earth today sent to help heal the world and prevent suffering but is receiving the help he needs to do what he was sent to do? What if everything is in place for it to all happen, but he decides to not do it?
The Scribe of Salem is book one. The Visionary of Salem is book two. 13th Minister of Salem is book three.
Chris thought he knew all there was to know about Salem and the Witchcraft Trials. He was about to discover how wrong he was. He began to feel as if his life was a horror novel the ghost of Thomas Aquinas started and Edgar Allan Poe was put in charge of the ending. He was about to discover how right he was about that!
He hated changes since most of the ones that already happened made his life worse. In one single night, at Bishop Hotel bar in Salem, a series of changes began that had him terrified. Chris didn't know how right he was to be afraid.A Master Minister was waiting for him in New Hampshire.
There was a time when people claimed to be Christians but proved they did not follow the values faithfully. They made false accusations against over 200 people and rejoiced when 20 were put to death because Puritans decided to hate them. It wasn't a new phenomenon. The Pharisees accused Jesus of serving Beelzebul and their lies were responsible for nailing Him to the Cross. The Puritans may have given up the persecution of so-called witches but their use of the power of lies was a lesson far too many learned. The people with gifts beyond nature were forced into hiding knowing a time would come when they too would be vindicated. The Master Ministers were preparing for when the most powerful one of all would take his place as the 13th Minister.
Never underestimate the power you have within your skin! While your body came from your parents, your soul came from God. With it came everything you need to do for the purpose you were sent here to do. In Chris's case, he was sent in a time of darkness sweeping over the world to light the darkness with the flame of hope.
Chris and his friends face more battles as he struggles with trying to finish his third book. He's haunted by terrifying dreams of a woman. He is stalked by a fraud who passes himself off as a reverend while having hallucinations of Reverend George Burroughs who was hung during the witchcraft craze in 1692.
Chris always wondered what those people would think about what Salem turned into as a tourist destination. He just never thought that real witches were all around him and he wasn't the only one keeping secrets.
He discovered that the people in his life were there for a reason and a higher purpose. He had to fight to heal, reconnect to his spiritual faith, and believe in miracles again. The only thing standing in his way was his inability to believe in himself. It took a witch named Mandy to show him the power within himself. He healed, became a best-selling author of two inspirational books, a series being filmed, reunited with friends, and had more wealth and fame than he ever dreamed of, but still, he fought against changes in his life. His new psychologist was trying to get Chris to figure out what she already knew about him. She gained his trust, but he had no idea what she did in her free time.
Chris’s battles were growing. He became so famous, he had to hire security just to be able to go out in public. After taking down Haman Cain, he was getting death threats from his cult. He hated the fame his books brought to him, as much as he hated the changes that were coming non-stop. The series from his first book, making wedding plans were only the beginning of his torment. He was shot and feared he’d never be able to use his hand again.
The worst came when he received a Master Minister of the Mystery warning.
“Dark forces are already at work writing your wedding dirge. Your assailant has been chosen but so has your avenger.”
The help I need from you is, I have the eBooks at $2.99 and the print books are priced as low as I can too. If you can, please buy one and let me know what you think. Did they give you hope you can heal too? Inspire you to help someone else? Encourage you to feed your spiritual connection to God again? Did they help you see the Salem Witchcraft Trials in a different way?
You can leave a comment on the sites you purchased the books from or you can email me at woundedtimes@aol.com.
What do the Salem Witchcraft Trials have to do with PTSD? Oddly enough, a lot! When you consider the people at the time who thought they were fighting against evil, they must have also thought the people doing the accusing were on the side of what was good. They had no clue that those making the false accusations had other motives for doing so. Call me Polly Anna but, I have to believe there were good people who got caught up in the conspiracy must have been sick to their stomachs they believed the lies, and innocent people died.
Consider how long it took them to come to their senses and then try to give some justice to those they attacked.
On Thursday, September 22, 1692, Wilmot Redd was brought to the execution site at Proctor’s Ledge in Salem, along with Mary Easty, Martha Corey, Ann Pudeator, Margaret Scott, Alice Parker, Mary Parker, and Samuel Wardwell.
And this is when people tried to clear her name along with others.
In September of 1710, a committee was sent to Salem to look into how to make restitution to the victims of the trials after a number of the surviving accused had filed petitions with the court asking that their names be cleared. For reasons unknown, none of Wilmot Redd’s relatives filed a petition with the committee.
And this is when it finally happened.
On October 31, 2001, the Massachusetts legislature amended the 1957 bill and officially exonerated five victims not named in either the 1711 bill or in the 1957 bill: Wilmot Redd, Bridget Bishop, Alice Parker, Susannah Martin, and Margaret Scott.
On the 300th anniversary of the Salem Witch Trials in 1992, the Salem Witch Trials Memorial was built in Salem, Mass and a marker was established for Wilmot Redd.
In 1998, the town of Marblehead placed a cenotaph for Wilmot Redd next to her husband’s grave at Old Burial Hill.
After the site of the Salem Witch Trials, executions was discovered in 2016, the Proctor’s Ledge Memorial was built there the following year and a marker was established for Wilmot Redd.
People with PTSD were falsely accused too when no one knew what it was.
It is thought that many of the accusers during the witchcraft trials suffered from PTSD after they survived attacks from Native Americans.
Then, by the Civil War, the lingering ailments were finally seriously researched. This is from the National Center For PTSD.
Early Attempts at a Medical Diagnosis
Accounts of psychological symptoms following military trauma date back to ancient times. The American Civil War (1861-1865) and the Franco-Prussian War (1870-1871) mark the start of formal medical attempts to address the problems of military Veterans exposed to combat. European descriptions of the psychological impact of railroad accidents also added to early understanding of trauma-related conditions.
Nostalgia, Soldier's Heart, and Railway Spine
Prior to U.S. military efforts, Austrian physician Josef Leopold (1761) wrote about "nostalgia" among soldiers. Among those who were exposed to military trauma, some reported missing home, feeling sad, sleep problems, and anxiety. This description of PTSD-like symptoms was a model of psychological injury that existed into the Civil War.
A second model of this condition suggested a physical injury as the cause of symptoms. "Soldier's heart" or "irritable heart" was marked by a rapid pulse, anxiety, and trouble breathing. U.S. doctor Jacob Mendez Da Costa studied Civil War soldiers with these "cardiac" symptoms and described it as overstimulation of the heart's nervous system, or "Da Costa's Syndrome." Soldiers were often returned to battle after receiving drugs to control symptoms.
And this, they also knew about non-veterans.
The thought that physical injury led to PTSD-like symptoms was supported by European reports of "railway spine." As rail travel became more common, so did railway accidents. Injured passengers who died had autopsies that suggested injury to the central nervous system. Of note, Charles Dickens was involved in a rail accident in 1865 and wrote about symptoms of sleeplessness and anxiety as a result of the trauma.
You can read more about Charles Dickens here. When you think about everything Dickens wrote, it isn't hard to see some of yourself in the characters created by parts of his own inner struggles. Now, imagine being around him and what he must have been acting like. It would have been very easy to make assumptions about him because no one had a clue back then.
Now, we know better, or, at least, are supposed to know better. The fact the general public has no clue what it is like is not so much a reflection of ambivalence, but more, due to the fact reporters won't look beyond what they see at the moment they see it. Events centered around veterans with PTSD bombard them and they go to cover those events. They remain blind to the fact most of the people involved in the events they cover otherwise, do not always "move on" from the story they focus on just long enough to write the article.
I asked a few reporters over the years why they don't cover what happens to the rest of us and they said no one is interested in it. Feeble excuse but it is what it is. It makes me think back to the witchcraft trials and how good people didn't give up on getting some sort of justice. We shouldn't either.
For us, be aware that while you know what PTSD is, too many do not. Try to open their eyes so they see what struggles they have are not new. After researching this article, I'm going to watch A Christmas Carol in a totally different way, because I never made that connection before.
‘Scars for the rest of my life’ victim suffering from PTSD after BK subway attack
PIX11 News
by: Magee Hickey
Posted: Dec 2, 2022
“I don’t think I’ll ever be fully OK. This was a traumatic experience,” the victim told PIX11 News. “I have a few signs of PTSD. So mentally and physically, there’ll be scars on my face for the rest of my life.”
PROSPECT LEFFERTS GARDENS, Brooklyn (PIX11) — A woman who suffered burns to her face after someone threw a chemical substance at her in a Brooklyn subway station spoke out about the attack Friday night, telling PIX11 News she will be scarred for the rest of her life.
“She was aggressive with her words and with her body language,” the 21-year-old victim told PIX11 News.
The victim wants to remain anonymous to protect her safety, but she shared pictures of the severe burns to her face. Police said it happened early Friday morning. The victim was heading to her job at Kings County Hospital. In a video taken by the victim, the suspect splashed an unknown chemical substance on the victim’s face. read more here
When you consider that and understand that PTSD hits survivors, it seems an injustice when you read this headline,
Patients with COVID-19, who also had post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), were more likely to die or be hospitalized than those without a psychiatric disorder. And for patients with other mental illnesses, the risks were substantially higher.
Yet in the second paragraph, you discover the only patients they considered were veterans.
Researchers from UC San Francisco and the San Francisco VA Health Care System found that veterans with PTSD had an 8 percent increased risk of death if they had COVID and a 9 percent increased risk of hospitalization, compared with patients with the virus and without a psychiatric diagnosis, adjusting for age, sex, race and co-occurring medical conditions.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a disorder that develops in some people who have experienced a shocking, scary, or dangerous event.
It is natural to feel afraid during and after a traumatic situation. Fear triggers many split-second changes in the body to help defend against danger or to avoid it. This “fight-or-flight” response is a typical reaction meant to protect a person from harm. Nearly everyone will experience a range of reactions after trauma, yet most people recover from initial symptoms naturally. Those who continue to experience problems may be diagnosed with PTSD. People who have PTSD may feel stressed or frightened, even when they are not in danger.
There was a time, a long time ago, when I focused on just veterans with PTSD. At first, it was because all the reports I read were always about veterans dealing with what they lived through. I survived over ten events just as a civilian, and I had no clue the term applied to me too.
I had no clue what I was dealing with was a "rare form" of PTSD because, for me, the first time, I was only five, and then it was one event after another. The thing that gets me now is, with all that has been learned over the last 40 years or so, how is it that a college still fails to learn that survivors of the events we live through and the need to know we matter too are just as real? Our scars are carried for the rest of our lives too and with help, those scars heal but we won't search for hope if we don't know how many more of us there are.
All of this is also a disservice to veterans because if they understand we get hit by PTSD too from just one event, they will understand just how human they are too!
