A publication dedicated to the well-being of firefighters across North America and beyond.
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Ever find yourself wondering where you went wrong? Or maybe something in your life feels out of place. You wonder where your future is taking you and things feel uncertain. We all feel that way sometimes, but when it’s taking over your thoughts repeatedly, interrupting your daily life, you need to face it head-on.
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Anxiety is a natural stress response. The problem arises when anxiety becomes an everyday, or overwhelming occurrence. Anxiety is a part of our emotional toolkit that allows us to prepare for a potentially high-stress situation. However, there are times when it goes into overdrive. Having perpetual and/or overwhelming anxiety can greatly affect our quality of life. In time, our nervous systems acclimate to this exaggerated sense of threat. It becomes our normal, so much so that we will have trouble relaxing, as it feels unnatural.
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"It probably wasn’t money that drew you to this job: nevertheless, if managed well, your firefighting salary can enable you to both live well and achieve long-term financial success. You can exchange financial stress for financial success by taking command of your cash flow."
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I turned 50 last year and recently hit the 30-year mark in my fire service journey. Lately, I have spent a lot of time reflecting on my life and career. It has been an amazing ride, but I certainly recognize the physical, mental, and emotional toll that this job has taken on me over the last three decades.
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Firefighters all have unique journeys with many stories to tell from the profession. For Clare Frank, her journey is anything but ordinary and she honors these experiences in her new book, Burnt: A Memoir of Fighting Fire.
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Physical fitness facilities are a no-brainer for the fire services. Not only are firefighters expected to be physically fit but need to be athletes to perform on-the-job functions in a manner that is expected by the public.
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What do we mean by boundaries? Boundaries can be described as where you end and I begin. Or more succinctly, your personal boundaries are your limits. This includes physical distance/affection, time, mental, emotional or financial investments. Not everyone has the same boundaries, some people don’t have any at all! These people are often exhausted, resentful, and/or frustrated. Sound familiar?
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As far as I can tell, Father Time is undefeated, but it doesn't need to be a blowout. What do I mean by this? It means living life on your own terms for as long as you possibly can should be a priority. Until it's difficult to do them it's easy to take the mundane activities of daily living for granted, like clipping your toenails, putting a 20lb carry-on in the overhead bin or running to catch a bus. Not to mention the things you really want to do, like playing recreational sports or playing on the floor with a young child.
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If you have been a firefighter for more than a minute you know you face an increased risk of a cancer diagnosis due to the exposure to carcinogens you will receive during your fire service career. Even if you follow all the recommended actions during your career to reduce your risk, the unfortunate reality is you can do everything right and still get cancer.
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As a species, our brains have kept us safe from predators, rival tribes, dangerous situations, and the environment for generations through our sympathetic nervous system and the fight, flight or freeze response. We are attuned at a very primal level to sensing danger and being ever watchful for it. We are even able to deal with very stressful situations, process these, move from fight, flight and freeze and then regulate, through homeostasis back to our rest and digest state. But something happened to us along the way.
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