Everyone Has a Story - Chief Serbic shares his for us - Mental Health Beneath The Helmet Show - Firefighter Wellness & Mental Health (mind-body-spirit)

Brief Description
📚 Fire Chief Steve Serbic shares his powerful story and provides hope to all First Responders, reminding them that it's okay not to feel okay.

📚 Steve Serbic shares his experience of losing friends, including his brother, to suicide, highlighting the importance of raising awareness and having open conversations about mental health.

💬 Chief Serbic is not afraid to address sensitive topics such as organizational stress, dark thoughts, and addiction in the fire service, sparking important conversations and promoting mental health awareness.

🚒 Chief Serbic highlights the lack of support for fire chiefs in the past and discusses the establishment of a mental health task force and peer support group to provide resources and assistance to chiefs facing mental health challenges.

Episode Number: 15
Publish Date: August 15, 2023
Host: Arjuna George
Guest: Fire Chief Steve Serbic

Resources and Links Mentioned in this Episode:
🔗 BC First Responders Mental Health https://bcfirstrespondersmentalhealth.com/

🔗 BC First Responder Health https://www.firstresponderhealth.org/bcffoat

🔗BC Firefighter Resiliency Program: https://sites.google.com/view/bcfrrp/home?authuser=0

🔗 Tedx Talk - Climbing the Ladder to Stronger Mental Health: https://www.ted.com/talks/steve_serbic_climbing_the_ladder_to_stronger_mental_health?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare

🔗 BC Crisis Centre Line: https://crisiscentre.bc.ca/get-help/

🔗 WorksafeBC Critical incident response: https://www.worksafebc.com/en/claims/report-workplace-injury-illness/critical-incident-response

🔗 Heads Up Guys: https://headsupguys.org/

Recommendations:
📖 Book - Burnt Around the Edges – A Guide to Mastering Stress and Surviving Burnout - Arjuna George (Available on Amazon, Apple and Google Books)

📖The Unbroken: A Firefighter's Memoir by Steve Serbic
📖Extinguished: A Fire Chief's Memoir by Steve Serbic
📖Body Keeps the Score - Bessel Van Der Kolk📖When the Body Says No - Gabor Mate📖 Brene Brown (All her books)

Fire Chief Serbic Bio
Steve Serbic is a fire chief, author, speaker, Podcast host and TEDx presenter. He outlines his experiences with trauma, spotlighting one specific event that shook him to his core. Steve describes the feelings of shame that come along with trauma and stigma and how we, as a society, must work together to break the misconceptions surrounding mental health. Steve Serbic speaks about mental health and suicide intervention for organizations throughout North America. By sharing his own journey through mental health and recovery from Post-Traumatic Stress Injuries as a firefighter, Steve aims to guide organizations toward a more supportive and resilient working environment.

Steve currently sits on the Canadian Fire Chiefs Mental Health Committee and the British Columbia Fire Chiefs Mental Health Task Force.

Connect with the Host:
Arjuna George – Fire Chief (ret)
Owner of Silver Arrow Coaching and Consulting, Beneath the Helmet Show, and author of Burnt Around the Edges.
www.silverarrowco.com
www.burntaroundtheedges.com
www.beneaththehelmet.ca

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