Responder Resilience

S6 E23 Your Brain Is Stuck. He Knows How To Free It with Guest Daniel Sundahl

Daniel Sundahl ran calls for twenty years. As a career firefighter and advanced care paramedic in Alberta, Canada, he saw what the job builds in you — and what it quietly destroys. He didn't leave the profession when it got hard. He went deeper into it, earning credentials as a Registered Counselling Therapist and Trauma Specialist, and then wrote a book about what he learned. UnStuck — now a bestseller — is a roadmap built specifically for people who've been trained to suppress, push through, and move on. In this episode, DanSun breaks down the Emotional Diagnostic Tool (EDT), explains why the Default Mode Network makes boredom dangerous for first responders, and lays out a clinical framework for moving from reaction to response. This is the conversation the academy never gave you. Topics covered: The neuroscience of trauma response · Why suppression isn't strength · The EDT framework · Boredom, the Default Mode Network, and harmful coping · Post-traumatic growth vs. post-traumatic stress · Building a lasting foundation of inner peace 🎙️ Responder Resilience is built for first responders, mental health professionals, and anyone committed to the long-term health of those who serve. 🔔 Subscribe for new episodes every week. https://www.youtube.com/c/ResponderResilience 📩 Sign up for our newsletter: https://ResponderTV.com  ★ Resources for Responder Wellness ★ • Fitness: FightCamp (code RR10 for 10% off) http://joinfightcamp.com/rr • Free App: CRACKYL http://crackyl.respondertv.com • Book: Helping the Helpers https://a.co/d/dm0VS4Q Contact Daniel Sundahl: Art/Main site: dansunphotos.com [https://www.dansunphotos.com/] Linktree (aggregates all links): linktr.ee/DanSun [https://linktr.ee/DanSun] UnStuck — amazon.com/dp/B0GX5NVXVL [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GX5NVXVL] Instagram: @dansunphotoart  [https://www.instagram.com/dansunphotoart/] Facebook (art page): facebook.com/DansunPhotos [https://www.facebook.com/DansunPhotos] LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dansunphotoart [https://www.linkedin.com/in/dansunphotoart/] Contact Responder Resilience: Phone: +1 844-344-6655 Email: info@respondertv.com Our website with past episodes and more: https://www.respondertv.com/ [https://www.respondertv.com/] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ResponderResilience [https://www.youtube.com/c/ResponderResilience] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/responder-resilience-podcast/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/responder-resilience-podcast/] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/responder.tv/ [https://www.instagram.com/responder.tv/]

S6 E22 FightCamp: The Science Of Training Under Pressure with Guest Khalil Zaha

Most fitness products make you a promise. And most of the time, six weeks later, they're collecting dust in a corner. Khalil Zahar built something different. He was finishing his master's degree in Toronto when he walked into a boxing gym and fell completely in love — training four or five times a week, getting into the best shape of his life. Then he noticed something almost absurd: even elite-level boxers were still counting their punches with a clicker. An engineer saw a problem. FightCamp was born. What started as punch-tracking technology for Olympic and professional athletes became one of the most talked-about connected fitness platforms in the world. Today FightCamp has raised nearly $100 million in funding, backed by Mike Tyson, Floyd Mayweather, Georges St-Pierre, and Francis Ngannou. Two-thirds of its users had never boxed a day in their life. But that's not why we called him. We called him because of the first responders — the firefighters, cops, paramedics, and dispatchers who found something in FightCamp that a gym membership and a treadmill never could give them. Training that doesn't just build a body. Training that prepares the mind for chaos, processes stress instead of storing it, and builds the kind of composure that keeps you steady when everything around you isn't. In this episode, we hear directly from first responders who train with FightCamp — and we sit down with the man who built it to find out why it works, where it's going, and what it could do for you. If you know you should be training but haven't found the right thing yet — this one's for you. Responder Resilience is produced for first responders and mental health professionals. New episodes on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Facebook, and LinkedIn. All past episodes at ResponderTV.com. ★ Resources for Responder Wellness ★ • Fitness: FightCamp (code RR10 for 10% off) http://joinfightcamp.com/rr [http://joinfightcamp.com/rr] • Free App: CRACKYL http://crackyl.respondertv.com • Book: Helping the Helpers https://a.co/d/dm0VS4QFightCamp: Contact FightCamp: Website: https://joinfightcamp.com/shop [https://joinfightcamp.com/shop] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/joinfightcamp/ [https://www.facebook.com/groups/joinfightcamp/]Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fightcamp/ [https://www.instagram.com/fightcamp/] Contact Responder Resilience: Phone: +1 844-344-6655 Email: info@respondertv.com Our website with past episodes and more: https://www.respondertv.com/ [https://www.respondertv.com/] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ResponderResilience [https://www.youtube.com/c/ResponderResilience] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/responder-resilience-podcast/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/responder-resilience-podcast/] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/responder.tv/ [https://www.instagram.com/responder.tv/]

S6 E21 Pups, Cups & The Quiet EMS Crisis

They respond to the worst moments of people's lives — every single shift. Then they clear the call, restock the rig, and do it again. Nobody asks if they're okay. The system just keeps moving. In this episode of Responder Resilience, we sit down with two people who decided that wasn't good enough. Whitney Wilkerson (MDiv, BCC, NBC-HWC) is a board-certified chaplain, ordained interfaith minister, and trauma-informed wellness coach with 25+ years of experience supporting people through crisis — from pediatric hospitals to trauma centers to military burnout. Lucas Isola is a 15-year EMS veteran and Chief of the Irvington Volunteer Ambulance Corps in New York, who got tired of waiting for someone else to fix the problem. Together, they built Pups and Cups — a resilience initiative that brings therapy dogs, coffee, games, and stress-relief tools directly to EMS stations. No pressure. No clinical setting. Just real support, on the crew's terms. We get into why suburban EMS agencies are more psychologically vulnerable than most people assume, why spiritual care has nothing to do with religion, why the simplest interventions often land the hardest — and what happens to patient care, team culture, and retention when you actually invest in the people doing the job. This one hits different. 🎙️ Responder Resilience is built for first responders, mental health professionals, and anyone committed to the long-term health of those who serve. Contact Whitney Wilkerson and Lucas Isola: Website: https://www.irvingtonvac.org/ [https://www.irvingtonvac.org/] Website: http://pupsandcupsproject.com/ [http://pupsandcupsproject.com/] Website: https://reverendwhitney.com/ [https://reverendwhitney.com/] Website: https://whitneywilkerson.com/ [https://whitneywilkerson.com/] Contact Responder Resilience: Phone: +1 844-344-6655 Email: info@respondertv.com Our website with past episodes and more: https://www.respondertv.com/ [https://www.respondertv.com/] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ResponderResilience [https://www.youtube.com/c/ResponderResilience] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/responder-resilience-podcast/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/responder-resilience-podcast/] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/responder.tv/ [https://www.instagram.com/responder.tv/] ★ Resources for Responder Wellness ★ • Fitness: FightCamp (code RR10 for 10% off) http://joinfightcamp.com/rr [http://joinfightcamp.com/rr] • Free App: CRACKYL http://crackyl.respondertv.com [http://crackyl.respondertv.com] • Book: Helping the Helpers https://a.co/d/dm0VS4Q [https://a.co/d/dm0VS4Q]

S6 E20 She Made History. Then She Got To work. Visionary Leaders with Guest Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz

Sheriff Rosie Cordero-Stutz made history the moment she took office — the first elected Sheriff of Miami-Dade County in nearly sixty years, the first woman to hold the role, and the first Latina sheriff in Florida history. But making history was never the point. What she did next was. In this episode of the Visionary Leaders series on Responder Resilience, we sit down with Sheriff Cordero-Stutz to talk about what it takes to lead the largest law enforcement agency in Florida — and how she's working to build a culture where asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness. We cover: * Her journey from patrol officer in 1996 to Sheriff of Miami-Dade County * The mental health and wellness infrastructure she's building for her deputies * Her role in the Florida Sheriffs Women's Leadership Academy alongside Sheriff Michelle Cook * What every first responder leader needs to understand about sustaining their people for the long haul Whether you lead a team of five or an agency of five thousand, this conversation is worth your time. 🎙️ Responder Resilience is built for first responders, mental health professionals, and anyone committed to the long-term health of those who serve. ★ Resources for Responder Wellness ★ • Fitness: FightCamp (code RR10 for 10% off) http://joinfightcamp.com/rr • Free App: CRACKYL http://crackyl.respondertv.com [http://crackyl.respondertv.com] • Book: Helping the Helpers https://a.co/d/dm0VS4Q [https://a.co/d/dm0VS4Q] Contact Sheriff Cordero-Stutz: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/miamidadesheriffsoffice/ [https://www.instagram.com/miamidadesheriffsoffice/] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/miamidadeso/ [https://www.facebook.com/miamidadeso/] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rosanna-cordero-stutz-6b7414151 [https://www.linkedin.com/in/rosanna-cordero-stutz-6b7414151] Contact Responder Resilience: Phone: +1 844-344-6655 Email: info@respondertv.com Our website with past episodes and more: https://www.respondertv.com/ [https://www.respondertv.com/] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ResponderResilience [https://www.youtube.com/c/ResponderResilience] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/responder-resilience-podcast/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/responder-resilience-podcast/] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/responder.tv/ [https://www.instagram.com/responder.tv/]

S6 E19 Checked Out In Uniform: The Burnout Episode with hosts Bonnie, Stacy and David

Burnout in first responders doesn't announce itself. It doesn't look like a crisis. It looks like a paramedic who still shows up, still runs the calls, still does the job — and feels absolutely nothing while doing it. In this episode of Responder Resilience, Lt. David Dachinger (ret.), Dr. Stacy Raymond, and Bonnie Rumilly, LCSW, EMT have the conversation that first responder culture has spent decades making almost impossible to have. What burnout actually is — clinically, culturally, and personally. Why the stoicism and dark humor that help providers survive the job can quietly accelerate its damage. How moral injury, powerlessness, and the erosion of empathy compound over years of service. What untreated burnout does to families. And what it actually takes — beyond a hotline number and a mandatory training — to come back from it. This episode is for providers, for leaders, and for anyone who loves someone who wears a uniform. Because the quiet collapse is real. And it doesn't have to be the end of the story. Contact Responder Resilience: Phone: +1 844-344-6655 Email: info@respondertv.com Our website with past episodes and more: https://www.respondertv.com/ [https://www.respondertv.com/] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/ResponderResilience [https://www.youtube.com/c/ResponderResilience] LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/responder-resilience-podcast/ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/responder-resilience-podcast/] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/responder.tv/ [https://www.instagram.com/responder.tv/]