A former first responder for Yukon’s Emergency Medical Services (EMS) will be conducting four workshops at Yukon University next week on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Michael Swainson served as a paramedic on a Whitehorse ambulance crew for 25 years and was diagnosed with PTSD 11 years ago.

He tried three times to return to work. But after he had his third bout with the disorder, after he spent three months in bed with the covers pulled over his head because he didn’t want to feel the pain anymore; it was time for him to leave the EMS.

Now a resident of Kelowna, B.C., Swainson provides workshops and instruction in Canada and the United States on how to cope with PTSD and how to recognized its symptoms.

He explained in an interview Monday PTSD can take a while to surface.

Health care professionals who may be affected because of the COVID-19 pandemic may not show any signs for a year, he said.

Swainson said he definitely expects to see a spike in PTSD among healthcare providers who have been providing front line services during the pandemic.

The impact may not be as pronounced in the Yukon because of a relatively small number of cases here but he expects to see it elsewhere in Canada, and particularly in the U.S., he said.

The U.S., he said, has not been as vigilant as others have in taking steps to prevent the spread of COVID-19. At the same time, it’s also facing the defund-the-police movement, which is likely to be hard on police officers, he suggested.

Some police officers, he said, are feeling under-appreciated.

Swainson said he expects the number of PTSD cases in the States to skyrocket.

Particularly stressful for first responders is losing one of their own in the line of duty, he said.

Swainson, who has been on workers’ compensation, still faces emotional triggers.

On Oct. 15 and 16, he’ll be teaching Assisting Individuals in Crisis, a two-day course from the International Critical Incident Stress Foundation.

The course will be held at the university campus, as will all four of his courses, and the cost is $300 per individual.

He’ll follow up on Oct. 19 and 20 with Group Crisis Intervention, another two-day course from the foundation. The cost is $350.

On Oct. 21, Swainson will be providing a workshop on Survival Skills for the First Responder Spouse or Partner, a course he developed himself. The cost is $25.

Swainson will finish up in Whitehorse on Oct. 22 with a workship on Survival Skills for the First Responder, another course he developed. The cost is $50.

After Whitehorse, he’ll travel to Dawson City to give a series of workshops there.

Swainson said he’s provided instruction on PTSD to 1,500 students.

It’s important for spouses and partners to understand the signs of PTSD, he said.

It’s important, he said, that first responders with PTSD understand the importance of not shutting out their spouses.

“We need to teach first responders that your spouse is the number one person in your life and you have to let them in,” he said.

Swainson said first responders regularly deal with traumatic circumstances, and it can catch up with them.

Statistics show approximately one in five will have PTSD, and it doesn’t go away, he said.

Swainson said you can manage PTSD, and it can go dormant, but it will always be there.

Swainson said he still gets emotional when he recalls responding to his one and only case of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome 25 years ago.

He still remembers the door of the home opening, with a father standing there holding his dead baby.

“My son was one year old at the time,” he said. “Did I have some issues around that mentally? You bet I did.”

Swainson said picture a first responder who’s beginning his or her career with two glasses in front of them.

One glass is full, and represents the first responder’s ability to deal with trauma. The second glass is empty of any traumatic incidences.

Over time, the empty glass begins to fill up with trauma, and the glass full of ability to cope begins to empty until it is empty, while the glass full of trauma begins to overflow.

Knowing how to manage PTSD is important, he said.

Swainson has been delivering PTSD courses in partnership with the Northern Institute of Social Justice with Yukon College – now Yukon University – for several years, going back to the days when he still lived in Whitehorse.