On this episode I share the new emotions I’m dealing with as a retired paramedic during a pandemic.
Check Out These Books by Natalie Harris
📚 Brainstorm Revolution: Here
📚 Daily Lessons from Save My Life School: Here
📚 Save My Life School: Here
This episode of BrainStorm is brought to you by The Homewood Health Clinic Mississauga
.
➡️ BrainStorm by Natalie Harris is proudly produced by PodcastWagon.com
The feeling of career fulfillment – ahhhhh – like a post-turkey-dinner nap, or a gold-star-stamped exam – it feels wonderful doesn’t it? In essence it satisfies our being – and who doesn’t want that feeling? I know I sure do.
I had that feeling for many years as I zipped up my black steel-toed work boots and buttoned my advanced care paramedic epaulettes onto my uniform shirt. I had that feeling when I showed a paramedic student how to start an intravenous (IV) line and when I saw their eyes light up when I placed their hands in the proper place to feel that a patient’s pulse had returned. I had that feeling when I held a patient’s hand in the back of a bumpy ambulance as we drove them to the cardiac care centre to have the blockage removed that was causing them to have a heart attack. I had it when a healthy baby was born, and even when I stood frozen from the cold wind on the side of a highway waiting for a patient to be extricated from a car.
For me, career fulfillment didn’t come easily. It took a lot of endurance and hard work to become a paramedic, and alas, it was fleeting. What fulfills my life has changed since I was diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after a double murder call I was a paramedic at in 2012. And finding that feeling of fulfillment again took me quite a long time because sadly I placed all of my worth into being a paramedic and forgot that I was still a human being under my uniform.
The truth is, just when you think life has set you on a path of endless happiness, an unexpected fork in the road appears, and pulls you down a path you didn’t choose – or did you? That path may be dark, and filled with thorn-covered, tangled vines in which you have to navigate around, through, and under, careful not to cut yourself or get suffocated with. At some point the path may be filled with hopelessness…until one day a glimmer of light appears through the mess, and you suddenly remember that life can be fulfilling again.
Career fulfillment has returned to my life – I now I share my recovery story with the world. I let people know that there is hope and happiness after a major career change; sometimes happiness you never could have imagined if you didn’t make that change. I now have the opportunity to watch people grow through peer support meetings I helped to create called, Wings of Change, (a free solution-based peer support model that demonstrates to the meeting goers that they are not alone and that recovery can be a beautiful path.)
Now I get to listen to stories of enlightenment when someone finds a break in the binding chains of PTSD. I get to witness heartwarming moments of recovery. I get to say I have a voice again, and best of all, I get to witness other’s find theirs. I may not walk in paramedic boots anymore, but I have been blessed to now walk beside those who still do.
On this episode of BrainStorm: I share my thoughts on envisioning the future and how that can be difficult for people with mental illness and injury.
Books
Daily Lessons from Save My Life School: Here
Save My Life School: Here
BrainStorm by Natalie Harris is proudly produced by PodcastWagon.com
On this episode of BrainStorm: I share my kids and my experiences with being interviewed over several days for a documentary on PTSD in Paramedics. And … I saw AB!
Books
Daily Lessons from Save My Life School: Here
Save My Life School: Here
BrainStorm by Natalie Harris is proudly produced by PodcastWagon.com
On this episode of BrainStorm: I share the difference between emotional, rational and wise mind. I also explain how extreme thinking sabotaged many of my relationships and how I have changed the way I think in many situations.
Books
Daily Lessons from Save My Life School: Here
Save My Life School: Here
BrainStorm by Natalie Harris is proudly produced by PodcastWagon.com
On this episode of BrainStorm I share what it is like to be a patient at Homewood Health. I share journal entries, progress reports, and more…
Pre-order my New Book: Here
Get Save My Life School: Here
This episode of BrainStorm is brought to you by The Homewood Health Clinic Mississauga
BrainStorm by Natalie Harris is proudly produced by PodcastWagon.com
On this episode of BrainStorm: I read three excerpts from Save-My-Life School about being a paramedic;
Pre-order my New Book: Here
Get Save My Life School: Here
BrainStorm by Natalie Harris is proudly produced by PodcastWagon.com
On this episode of BrainStorm: I chat with Dr. Blair Bigham about evidence-based communication and how it can help to alleviate suffering.
Connect with Blair:
Twitter: @BlairBigham
Facebook: @blairbigham
Website: blairbigham.com
Pre-order my New Book: Here
Get Save My Life School: Here
BrainStorm by Natalie Harris is proudly produced by PodcastWagon.com
On this episode of BrainStorm: Katherine Pomerleau is the Program Administrator for Wings of Change – Peer Support. Overcoming adversity herself, Katherine has been a dedicated advocate for First Responder Wellness. She is a Registered Nurse, currently working on a Cardiac Intensive Care Unit and serves as an educator to other Health Care professionals..
Pre-order my New Book: Here
Get Save My Life School: Here
BrainStorm by Natalie Harris is proudly produced by PodcastWagon.com
Paramedic Nat 