1. Some of the negative consequences of having PTSD are proving to be quite beneficial during this pandemic. Who knew that having PTSD was a good thing?
2. My PTSD symptom of hypervigilence actually helps keep me safe when doing a necessary grocery shop because I see everybody that is moving around me and everything that is going on around me allowing me to ensure social distancing is maintained by those who don’t actually understand the concept of social distancing
3. My PTSD symptom of isolation actually has made pandemic required self-isolation a breeze, I’ve been isolating for years now
4. In the unlikely event that there ever is a zombie apocalypse the vast majority of society will be gone within the first 24 hours because they lack the ability to use common sense and lack critical thinking skills necessary to survive.
5. Being a firefighter possessing a multitude of emergency skillsets, this pandemic is nothing more than a prolonged HAZMAT incident. It requires Hazmat skills and techniques to remain contamination free, no different then a HAZMAT incident with Hot/Warm/Cold hazmat zones and proper decontamination steps
6. My PTSD symptom of emotional numbness helps me not become overwhelmed hearing/reading about all the deaths that are occurring from the virus
7. Being a firefighter and in some sense, one of societies many problem solvers, I am extremely comfortable working in environments and situations that are unknown, out of control and completely chaotic. I have no problem remaining calm as I prioritize tasks, tactics and objectives to move towards the problem resolution. There is no panic buying of toilet paper!
8. My distorted views of the world, society and others are now not so distorted because the world, society and others continually prove my distorted views to be correct.
9. Being a firefighter I am very cognizant of the critical need to follow orders or direction during an emergency incident so staying at home when I’ve been directed to stay at home during an emergency is quite easy to do. For others….not so much (refer to #4 above)
10. Being a firefighter I understand the importance of team work whether it’s battling a fire, battling PTSD or battling the coronavirus so doing my part to help the team we call society is easy to do unselfishly. Not the case for many others who only think about themselves.