Code One Support
Practical mental health tools for first responders and their families. Written by a firefighter, army veteran, and trauma peer support practitioner.
When did the job become who you are?
THE HANDOVER. Hi Mate, Each week I share one practical tool for people in the first responder and frontline worker world, and the families alongside them. Direct, honest, no bullshit. TL;DR (What this email is about) When your identity and your job become the same thing, losing one starts to feel like losing both. This week is about that line and what it costs when it disappears. This week’s idea At some point in our job, something shifts. It happens gradually, without you choosing it. The...
Emotionally empty. But nobody can see it.
THE HANDOVER. Hi Mate, Each week I share one practical tool for people in the first responder and frontline worker world, and the families alongside them. Direct, honest, no bullshit. TL;DR (What this email is about) After a heavy week on the job, the tiredness isn't always physical. Sometimes it's deeper than that. And it shows up most on the days you're supposed to be off. This week’s idea You've had a week. Car crashes. CPR jobs. Fires. Shit members of the public who made everything harder...
Nobody above you is losing sleep over your conditions, and its bullshit.
THE HANDOVER. Hi Mate, Each week I share one practical tool for people in the first responder and frontline worker world, and the families alongside them. Direct, honest, no bullshit. TL;DR (What this email is about) Being let down by the systems that are supposed to support you is one of the quietest and most corrosive sources of stress in the Emergency Services and Frontline world. This week is about that. This week’s idea You didn't get into this work for the pay. Most people in frontline...
Losing a mate on duty. This is the part nobody talks about.
THE HANDOVER. Hi Mate, Each week I share one tool for people in frontline and emergency work, and the families alongside them. Practical, direct, and nothing you'd find on a workplace wellness session or poster. TL;DR (What this email is about) Losing a colleague on the job is one of the most significant things that can happen in our world. The grief is real, it's complex, and it rarely gets the space it deserves. This week’s idea There's a kind of grief in this job that most people outside...
One person can poison every shift. And nobody says anything.
THE HANDOVER. Hi Mate, Each week I share one tool for people in frontline and emergency work, and the families alongside them. Practical, direct, and nothing you'd find on a workplace wellness session or poster. TL;DR (What this email is about) A difficult colleague can grind you down faster than a run of hard or critical incidents. It's one of the least talked about sources of stress in this work. This week is about that. This week’s idea You can handle the hard jobs. You've trained for...
You were trying to help them. Then they hurt you.
THE HANDOVER. Hi Mate, Each week I share a tool for people like us who do this job, and the families living alongside it. Direct, practical, and nothing you'd find in a corporate wellness handbook. Stuff that works on station, on the job, and at home. TL;DR (What this email is about) Being assaulted, threatened, or abused by someone you were trying to help is one of the most disorienting experiences in our world. The physical part heals. What it leaves behind doesn't always get the same...
You hold it together for everyone. Who holds it together for you?
THE HANDOVER. Hi Mate, Each week I share a tool for people like us who do this job, and the families living alongside it. Direct, practical, and nothing you'd find in a corporate wellness handbook. TL;DR (What this email is about) Being the reliable one, the person everyone leans on at the station and at home, has a cost that rarely gets acknowledged. This week is about that. This week’s idea There's a particular kind of exhaustion that nobody talks about in this job. It's not the exhaustion...