For National Stress Awareness Day, we’re looking back at the 5 most stressed One Chicago characters across Chicago Fire, Chicago Med and Chicago PD!
Despite being a TV series, NBC’s One Chicago franchise has hit home with a lot of storylines – eating disorders, gun violence, car accidents and much more. However, perhaps one of the main themes littered throughout the One Chicago franchise is how tough first responders have it and how easy it is for them to get stressed, even if it is over the smallest of things.
First responders have some of the most difficult jobs, running head-first into a life or death situation to save lives whilst putting their own at risk. We see them as heroes, which is how they should be seen, but behind the scenes, things can get tough.
One of the things we love about One Chicago is how accurate it is to the life of a first responder and the difficulty of the job as well as the stress that comes with it. They show us the difficult life of a first responder without glossing over the difficulty, the stress that can build after the things they’ve seen.
From being Captain of a firehouse to being a psychology resident, One Chicago has presented us with many reasons as to why a first responder would get stressed. It is this stress that shows us they are ordinary people with an extraordinary job forced to carry the often traumatizing events which unfold day after day.
Click through the slideshow to see our Top 5 picks for the most stress characters of the One Chicago franchise, and our advice on how to handle the stress they’re routinely under.
5. Jay Halstead
As a member of one of the toughest unit’s in Chicago, Jay Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer) has had to deal with some of the toughest situations known to man. From taking down gang members to catching rapists and kidnappers, Jay has seen it all. Being a policeman is tough enough, but being a policeman on the Intelligence Unit is even worse. They take on some of the toughest cases in Chicago, putting themselves and their family in life or death situations on a regular basis.
They handle the worst Chicago has to offer and, like most first responders, suffer from the effects in the aftermath. Having been a trained Army marksman in the past, Jay has seen and been through a lot, so it comes as no surprise that he can get stressed or worked up fairly easily. He has one of the most difficult jobs that comes with a lot of risks and, eventually, it catches up.
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Not only has he got his own struggles to deal with in the form of his job, he also has a brother to look out for and family can cause all sorts of drama when you’re not expecting it. Jay’s younger brother, Doctor Will Halstead (Nick Gehlfuss), also sees a fair amount of drama on his end, and being a doctor comes with its own dangers. Jay would do anything to protect his family so his brother being at risk is likely to put a huge strain on his emotional and mental state.
There isn’t much Jay could do in terms of limiting his stress levels seeing how he is doing the job he loves despite the price it comes with. However, perhaps Jay could take up some relaxing workout routines, such as yoga or even Pilates! Just a nice, calming workout after work rather than going to bed and sleeping on it or pumping iron in a gym. All that testosterone is only going to make matters worse, nothing a good, relaxing workout won’t fix. Perhaps he could do it in a leotard.
4. Connor Rhodes
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The first time we met Dr. Connor Rhodes (Colin Donnell) was way back in season one of Chicago Med when he arrived giving chest compressions to the injured victim of a train crash. It was definitely a dramatic way to enter the show and gave us a real look at what Rhodes’ character was likely to be like as the show progressed. The fact that he didn’t even introduce himself to his future colleagues really showed his determination to prove himself and it is often the case where determination can be a person’s downfall.
Rhodes was originally introduced to us as being a quick thinking, fast-moving member of the emergency team. Having to think on his feet to save lives really puts the pressure on someone and, as we saw back in season two, not many can hack the pressure.
Despite being remarkable in emergency, Rhodes soon move to the cardiothoracic department to work under the watchful eyes of Dr. Latham (recurring guest star Ato Essandoh). Working in emergency meant making a life or death decision, moving to a cardiothoracic department meant having control over a person’s heart, meaning a slight wrong move could kill them.
While trying to prove himself to his new boss, Rhodes also had to deal with the mental deterioration of his girlfriend due to a neurological condition. The added stress of looking after his girlfriend reflected on his work and Rhodes was clearly starting to suffer from the workload he was under.
Even when his girlfriend moved away, Rhodes was still struggling. It’s as though he doesn’t have an off button and is constantly trying to prove himself to those around him. We know he has nothing to prove, but clearly, he does.
When it comes to dealing with his stress, Rhodes needs to step back and take a breather, perhaps go on holiday or something. Everyone needs a break, but Rhodes looks like he is on all the time with no signs of slowing or stopping in the future. Perhaps he could tag along to some yoga classes with Halstead, they both need a break and maybe they’ll feel better doing it together.
3. Matthew Casey
Since season one of Chicago Fire, Matthew Casey (Jesse Spencer) has been proven to be the Lieutenant every fireman wants. With a cool head under pressure and his constant need to look out for his men both in and out of the firehouse, Casey has proved that he can keep himself in control as temperatures rise around him.
Although he might seem as though he’s in control of a situation, looks can be deceiving and Casey feels the stress just as much as anyone else in the firehouse does. With a wife as a paramedic and trained firefighter, he worries about her safety almost as much as his own, if not more. His job is to look out for the men of the firehouse and having the pressure of so many other people on his shoulders, can take its toll.
Those who have been watching the show for a while will also remember Casey’s brief stint as an Alderman when he had to deal with political issues as well as issues in the firehouse. This leads to a build-up of stress for our favorite One Chicago Lieutenant who ultimately handed his position over to someone else, so he could focus on his career as a fireman and saving the lives of those who need his help rather than dealing with mundane, political incidents such as building sites being close to someone’s home.
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At the start of season six, we witness Casey being made Captain, an honor for any fireman, but it did add to the pressure and stress he was already dealing with. However, Casey seems capable of dealing with his stress, what with his cigar breaks with Severide (Taylor Kinney) on top of the roof or outside the firehouse.
That certainly appears to be a good way of dealing with the stress of the firehouse, especially since they have a good chat about things while they smoke. Maybe Casey has the right idea on dealing with stress, the occasional cigar with a friend to talk about someone’s problems.
2. Sarah Reese
When Dr. Sarah Reese (Rachel DiPillo) was introduced back in season one of Chicago Med, she was shown to be a very determined, head-strong med student and not much has changed since. Her switch from emergency medicine to psychology meant she had even more to prove since she didn’t have any prior psychology knowledge and was thrown into the deep end pretty much immediately.
With her determination to do well, Reese didn’t like to fail and often found herself doubting her knowledge and not trusting herself like she should have. However, that doesn’t mean there was any problems with her stress levels, just the usual amount for a med student, which is fairly high.
After the shooting of Dr. Charles (Oliver Platt) at the end of season two, as well as being threatened by an ex-patient just days prior, Reese’s mental state took a drastic turn. Her stress levels rose to the point she carried a small spray can of pepper spray in her medical coat to protect her. During an altercation with another patient, Reese pulled the pepper spray from her pocket and doused the patient resulting in a suspension from the hospital.
Being a doctor is difficult. Some patients don’t want to be treated and others lash out because of pain or because they don’t want to be there. It makes sense for doctors to be wary and to watch out for themselves, but Dr. Reese was feeling the pressure. She was suffering from the day-to-day stresses of being a doctor with the added fear of being shot be a patient, much like Dr. Charles.
Our recommendation for Dr. Reese would be to seek help by reaching out to those around her who could have helped her deal with the stress and work out ways of coping rather than keeping it hidden. Talking about an issue or a problem someone has doesn’t necessarily make them a weak person, just a normal one. It doesn’t take much to ask for help, and that’s something Reese should have done before it got out of control.
1. Hank Voight
In season one of Chicago Fire, we met Hank Voight (Jason Beghe), who back then was a crooked cop chasing after Casey. He was locked up by Antonio (Jon Seda) until we were introduced to him in the first season of Chicago PD as head of the Intelligence Unit.
Voight is known for having aggressive tactics when it comes to suspects, locking them up in the cage if they refuse to talk or give information. His harsh tactics in the interrogation room rubbed off on the other members of the Intelligence Unit pretty quickly and even led to Detective Erin Lindsay (Sophia Bush) in trouble with the high powers after she put a gun in a suspect’s mouth.
However, Voight’s tactics add up when we examine the criminals which he deals with on a daily basis. From rapists to kidnappers, gang members to paedophiles and everything in between, Voight’s unit deals with them all. They all must find ways of dealing with it, but it doesn’t look as though Voight even attempts to deal with his issues. Whilst others might have hobbies to distract themselves or take their minds off everything, Voight just seems to get worse rather than better.
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Although he runs an entire unit and deals with his fair share of difficult scenarios, that doesn’t mean Voight should just sit back and let his stress or work life consume him. Even the death of his son wasn’t enough to put some perspective into his life as he didn’t even take some time off.
Perhaps a good holiday is all Voight needs to handle his rapidly rising stress-levels. Or even to see someone for the anger issues he has. Much like Dr. Reese, it looks as though all he has to do is talk to someone rather than sitting on his issues and stewing on the events he faced. Talking to someone could help anyone, including a tough man like our Voight.
Which One Chicago character do you feel is the most stressed? Any tips for or suggestions for how our stressed One Chicago characters can deal with their stress?