ffviking,
I started in 70 and you are completely correct. Stress relief was within your shift. But I believed and still do that conversations with your peers is very important. It would be hard to trust skydiving instructions from a person who has never been in an airplane.
Also support from home is extremely important. When the home support is counterproductive, it can lead disastrous results, as I have experienced through a family member. The job wasn’t the problem, but the counterproductive home support was. Unfortunately the work peers didn’t realize the intensity of the problems they were making fun of.
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New on The Lookout: A conversation about first-responder mental health, and the steps Cal Fire has been taking to develop the wellness skills of their new firefighters and workforce in general. I interviewed my friend Jake Hannan about his path from firefighter to Wellness/Safety Battalion Chief at Cal Fire’s Training Center/Academy. We reflected on our own experiences with wildfire-related trauma and PTSD, therapy, and recovery.
Listen on Spotify:
Or watch it here:
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This is Type 1++ content!
Thank you both for capturing and sharing your story & conversations!
It took me breaking, freaking out and eroding the relationships of those i lived & worked with to figure out that a person trained to support 1st responders is as important to my fitness as cardio and strength training is.
For me i found that a couple/few years of cognitive behavioral therapy was the exact prescription/medication to get my train back on the tracks. At that time i was living & working in Sacramento and it was a chance meeting with Vicki Minor of the Wildland Firefighter Foundation that connected me with Dr Anne Bisek in Fremont. (doc911.net). She & Vicki literally saved my life as corny as that sounds. My dogs have their Human because of those two and some much needed line construction on my mentals!
My agencies EAP program let me down 3 times before i met Vicki and learned how to manage the agencies model of support to my advantage. The Wildland Firefighter Foundation is 1 call away and they have help/resources waiting for us right now! Dont give up if your agencies assistance program lets you down or is non existent - call the Foundation. I promise they will not let you down! If you still run into issues/concerns send me a note or DM here on this site/thread and i will do all i can and never give up on you even if its just listening, i can do that with the best of them! #Facts
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