Virginia Firefighters Confront Depression, PTSD And Suicide By Protecting Their Own

  • Source: Community Idea Stations (WCVE PBS/WCVW PBS/WHTJ PBS)
  • Published: 11/08/2018 06:35 AM

About five years ago, a firefighter at Fort Belvoir took his own life. Jonathan Lang: That person slipped through the cracks. Jonathan Lang saw himself slipping too - into addiction. Lang: Guys knew that I had an issue, but it was all swept under the rug. Lang says his fellow firefighters who covered up for him thought they were doing the right thing. Lang: When in actuality they were enabling me to continue on with the same behavior. Nobody called me out on it. Lang didn’t want anyone else to slip through the cracks, whether facing substance abuse, depression, post traumatic stress or all of those things at once. Lang: We’re supposed to be the good guys, we’re supposed to be the heroes, the ones that come to help other people. We spend so much time worrying about other people, we don't take any time for ourselves.



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