Summary: First responders have an incredibly tough job: their role centers on the task of bearing witness and responsibility for traumatic events. At the end of the day anyone with a conscience, or as Jay Davies calls it, "compassion", would walk away carrying the burden of pain. This terrifically human firefighter joined me to discuss depression, anxiety, symptoms of PTSD and how heal. In our conversation we covered: Jay's personal story that led to PTSD How Jay attempted to "fix" himself flashbacks, alcoholism and addiction holistic self-care to reduce triggers 4 ways to get on the path to recovery MEET MY GUEST: I'm 31 and have two children. My Daughter is six and my Son is four. Me and their Mom get along but have been divorced for three years. I have been a fireman with the Edmonton Fire Department for just about seven years now. There were three calls I responded to in 2009, 2010 & 2011, the last two within a few months of each other. They were very intimate experiences where I witnessed people's last breaths and gazes. The calls were very physically traumatic. I never fully realized the amount of carnage they caused in my life and to those around me until it was much too late. I didn't think about the calls much for almost two years after when I suddenly began getting flash backs, vivid dreams and visions etc. My ptsd went undiagnosed and untreated for years due to my own stubbornness to be seen as weak and a chink in the armour of the team. I finally sought quality, consistent help in late 2012 when I was diagnosed with Depression, Anxiety and ptsd. There was a deep sense of denial as well. "I haven't seen enough..." was and is still is a feeling I have, though less and less. There have been quite a few bounces off rock bottom through this long hard journey. The hardest landing was last January when I found myself in my garage with the car running, going over the pros and cons of not shutting the car off. I shut it off. There are still bad days and weeks but I have come to realize they are short lived and that I am strong enough to rebound.
