Steve Farina on LinkedIn: What an honour to chat with these two amazing humans, Dr. Megan McElheran… (2024)

So proud of my friend Matt! I really enjoyed listening to this great conversation he had with Arjuna! Great perspective on stoicism and navigating a career as a first responder.Matt on self care in the fire service:“Those are the qualities that we celebrate as firefighters, those individuals in society that function over feeling, but it also leaves them really susceptible to ignoring self-care strategies, and that’s not really celebrated in the current lexicon of fire culture.”Matt on Fire Service Leaders:“I really think there is a need for more compassion-based leadership….when I look at leadership styles I think that the soft skills are important and that leading with your heart and maybe dotting your “I”s and crossing your “t”s secondary is important, and I think there needs to be a restoration of “fire chief” not fire administrators….we need more advocates for the fire service”.First Responder Health

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How do you work on accepting things in your world? Although this may not apply to every situation, I feel it is a great perspective to have on a daily basis! We have a finite amount of energy, so spending it on things out of our control is a waste of our resources in my opinion. My observations of others (and at times my own personal experience) have shown me when you are depleted, burnt-out or struggling, we focus on the negative and get stuck in this rut or loop. We put energy into complaining about the things that are out of our control, like the weather, instead of accepting that reality and possibly pivoting to the positive. Of course you need to be intentional with this shift and work at changing the narrative in your mind. Easier said than done sometimes for sure, but worth the perspective change!

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Over half of our career firefighters here in BC are now on a compressed hours schedule, working one of the several 24 hour shift patterns. Many firefighters are touting it as a life changer when it comes to rest and recovery as they are no longer working back to back night shifts. Some are finding it difficult to recover due to the number of incidents they attend in a 24 hr period with little time to rest. How are you managing fatigue in your workplace? Is it part of your risk assessment?Part of your accident/injury investigations? In addition to the info from WorkSafeBC (below), here is some info from the CSA as well, specific to first responders: "CSA Group publishes National Standard providing Guidance and Support for First Responders to Mitigate Risks related to Fatigue" - link in the comments below!

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I always appreciate these Mike! And considering the research is telling us that the average person has approximately 60,000 thoughts per day and about 75% of these thoughts are negative, and 95% are repetitive, we have to be very mindful of the story we tell ourselves and what we choose to believe! Choose self-compassion, self-love, and give your heart a hug!🤗 🧠 ❤️

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I came across this insightful post from Christine Hall, MA, RCC about betrayal trauma, and it certainly resonated! This concept or definition rings true to the organizational stress or sanctuary trauma that many individuals face in toxic first responder organizations unfortunately, and it often overshadows the lived experience of traumatic emergencies they attend! Feeling supported, seen and heard at work is just as important as in the family home. Matt Johnston First Responder Health https://lnkd.in/dBa7XNhy

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Grief and loss is often not talked about or dealt with in a way that moves us forward, or with the intention it truly needs in order to heal one’s heart and soul. I came across this post and picture, and it haunted me, but at the same time it perfectly explained grief, at least in my experience. It also made me think of my friend David from Blueprint who is an expert in this area, and who is helping so many of my first responder family process their experiences in our BC Firefighter Resiliency program. “This is what grief is.A hole ripped through the very fabric of your being.The hole eventually heals along the jagged edges that remain. It may even shrink in size.But that hole will always be there.A piece of you always missing.For where there is deep grief, there was great love.Don’t be ashamed of your grief.Don’t judge it.Don’t suppress it.Don’t rush it.Rather, acknowledge it.Lean into it.Listen to it.Feel it.Sit with it.Sit with the pain. And remember the love.This is where the healing will begin.”Matt Johnston First Responder Health Eric Kussin #SameHere The Global Mental Health Movement

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This training epitomizes collaboration and cooperation between multiple organizations and stakeholders! It also follows our mantra of “nothing built for us without us” when it comes to education, programming and treatment for our first responder family! Year one primed the pump for authentic discussions around relatable topics based on our very own BC First Responder Resiliency Program! I love these bite-sized online video modules curated by Matt Johnston from First Responder Health and anchored by Duncan Shields, Ph.D., R. Psych. from Blueprint, and I honestly believe this is a game changer. I am super excited to see what year two is bringing, as I have seen first hand what year one has already accomplished, with almost 7000 firefighters from across BC enrolled and with BC Wildfire Service now on board!The most amazing result is people reaching out to me and sharing that this video series made them stop and look themselves in the mirror and reach out for help. This is exactly the behaviour we are hoping for; education, awareness, early intervention and accessing care before a mental health challenge becomes crisis or chronic! Kudos to all involved!BC Municipal Safety Association British Columbia Professional Fire Fighters (BCPFFA)

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Have you taken a break, unplugged or rested enough?This message certainly resonated with me! Prioritize yourself, your sleep and your rest (physical & emotional) to optimize your capacity for meaningful work!

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What a fabulous initiative! Home is often Ground Zero for so many psychological injuries for first responders. It’s the first place it shows up and it can have a massive impact on the spouse, partner, and children. We all need to work together so that we can transform any trauma that exists so that it’s not transmitted on the ones that we love or at work.First Responder Health

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