First responders should get the same pay and benefits as actors and athletes. Being a first responder also means you have a high chance of seeing crazy things that can badly affect your mental health. 

 After looking at multiple articles First responders’ mental health is much worse than a normal person dealing with something because they have to work while seeing unbelievable things like death, blood, or even body parts. That can tear down someone’s mental health when looking at that stuff every day.

“In a 2018 report published by the Ruderman Family Foundation, emergency medical services professionals, firefighters, and law enforcement officers experienced heightened levels of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and suicidal thoughts, and they were more likely to die by suicide than in the line of duty.” 

Most people are afraid of blood meanwhile first responders have to see dead bodies or innocent people killed while also taking care of their mental health. First Responders should take time off to spend with loved ones or even talk to someone about the horrifying things they are witnessing while working to know that someone cares to listen.

Basketball players and actors live lavish lives but still go through things but it is not worse than what first responders do. First responders are worrying about feeding their families or even making sure they can go home and see their families again. Actors and basketball players can go through mental health trials, and this is not meant to diminish anyone’s struggle However, we as a nation should see that first responders need more support and higher wages than what they are currently getting.

“combined and published in the article from psychiatrictimes, first responders showed disturbingly clear outcomes about suicidal ideation. According to the studies, there was a 28% lifetime prevalence rate of feeling as though life was not worth living, 10.4% had more extreme instances of suicidal ideation, and 3.1% revealed past suicide attempts. As well, 37% of the first responders surveyed for 2 primary studies had contemplated suicide nearly 10 times more than the typical American adult.”

https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/first-responders-and-mental-health-when-heroes-need-rescuing

After passing the training and course to become first responders, recruits are often unaware of the mental health attacks that come with it. They have to fight the voices in their heads about the bad things they are seeing due to the job they worked so hard to obtain. The risk involved on the mental health front is why they should be paid the same as actors and athletes who make seven figures yearly.

Many of these athletes or actresses have been working and grinding their whole lives to make an impact in their working space. 

Most athletes come from nothing to make a better life for their families who have suffered from wealth and money. This makes a huge impact on those around them because seeing that someone who comes from nothing can make such a big impact and bring a lot of money to their family for just playing a sport leaves a huge factor in a lot of parents’ heads. 

Actors usually come from a lot of wealth and have parents supporting and making sure they have love and care. They do face behind-the-scenes neglect and mistreatment. It has been proven that actors go through so much mentally as well due to the public shame and disrespect they face for just doing their jobs even when playing a certain role that can be hated by many. 

They both have their downsides but our first responders have to deal with many things the human brain just can’t malfunction correctly so the fact they witness these horrible crimes and sites while still maintaining their mind’s focus and concrete to is incredible.