Over the course of our careers, we face different intensities of the physical, mental, and emotional toll of being a firefighter. We are extremely dedicated to our craft to keep others safe and will sacrifice a lot in that pursuit. A few years ago, I hit the lowest point of my career. My resilience and wellbeing had been driven down and I was pushing myself far beyond all the red flags and warning signs of burn out.
I was convinced that all the sacrifices I was making were necessary and that I had to take on all the problems, burdens, and crises in the universe alone to make things better. Every day I worked another hour longer, slept another hour less, forgot to eat another meal and missed another workout. I kept telling myself that I would have time tomorrow to catch up on sleep, eat properly and get that workout in. Each day there was a new crisis, and I was holding onto a hope of a tomorrow that would never become today. It all collapsed, and I found myself completely lost. My confidence was destroyed, I was physically deconditioned, and completely demoralized. As a result, I became more socially isolated and spiralled into depression. I realized that I needed to make a game plan to turn things around. I sought out mental health supports, and I refocused my attention on rehabilitating myself.
A few years ago, I hit the lowest point of my career. My resilience and wellbeing had been driven down and I was pushing myself far beyond all the red flags and warning signs of burn out.
At first it was overwhelming as I tried to fix everything all at once. Ultimately being more active was the key to rebuilding my resilience. Initially I wasn’t getting the results I wanted because I was trying pick back up where I left off. When every fitness story starts with the line “I use to be able to” it’s time to recalibrate your training. I beat myself up mentally as everything I tried felt like failure. I turned to journaling and it helped me be honest with myself. I simplified my training as I regressed the intensity to an appropriate level where I could experience success. I reformulated my short-term goals into manageable and realistic steps. An important lesson I learned from my mental health specialist was to be kind with myself. Being patient and compassionate with my progress was extremely healing.
Focusing on being more active had a cascading positive effect as I became more mindful of my well-being, better tuned in to how I’m feeling and taking the actions that I need to support myself. I regained my confidence as I improved my fitness levels and my desire to increase my performance drove me to adopt better sleep hygiene and focus my eating on fuelling performance instead of emotional coping. All of this has led me to feeling and performing better which helped me re-engage socially and enhance my relationships.
Focusing on being more active had a cascading positive effect as I became more mindful of my well-being, better tuned in to how I’m feeling and taking the actions that I need to support myself.
The WFI pillars are interconnected, and everyone may naturally gravitate towards one more readily than the others. Focusing on being more active helped me reignite my passion, restore my resilience and reconnected me to who I am. My personal experiences have shown me how important these pillars are to the overall well-being, longevity, and resilience of a fire fighter (and really anyone). Life can get complicated, messy, and overwhelming. Focus in on whichever one of these pillars you connect with, and it will help solidify your foundation, gut check your values and restore you to a resilient and capable person. We help others best when we have a strong foundation of resilience.
Take care and be safe.
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