Episode 31: Erin Jane on Men's Mental Health and PTSD Awareness Month

Welcome to I Will Hold Space For Your Darkness; a First Responder Mental Health Podcast hosted by Erin Jane. A former Australian Police Officer and Detective, wife of an American Firefighter, previous crisis counsellor for a suicide prevention organization and current CISM trained, certified Life and Wellness Coach for First Responders, Emergency Services Members, Spouses and Loved Ones. In this episode, Erin speaks about the importance of the month of June, being Men's Mental Health Awareness Month and PTSD Awareness Month and how she's looking forward to sharing some conversations focusing specifically on men this month. Obviously both of these issues affect the First Responder and Emergency Services populations significantly, so she talks about how impactful it is to raise awareness for people struggling in that space right now. She speaks about what trauma actually is and how this community is uniquely affected, often in a cumulative manner, with constant exposure in the workplace. She reads out the clinical definition of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, as from the DSM-5, because with lots of opinions and conversations out there about PTSD, PTSI, PTS, etc it's sometimes helpful know the exact criteria and strongly believes knowledge is power. Erin discusses the mental health of men, from the perspective of the daughter of a father who completed suicide and how, 37 years ago, when he reached out for help, there was no one there to listen. That mental health needs to be spoken about by men, especially by men brave enough to share their stories, but also by the women who love and care for them. No one's voice should be silenced on an issue this important. Erin shares personal experiences of speaking with men battling the depths of depression and something important that most men fail to realise; that our perception of you won't change if you dare to cry or express emotion in front of us. She talks about the fact the tide is turning and how this podcast is evidence of that. Wonderful men have come on here and shared their experiences, emotions, failures and triumphs, in an effort to end the stigma and ensure men's mental health is a part of the conversation in society. That 30+ years later, there is the kind of help available that there once wasn't. It isn't perfect, but it exists and is improving each day we share it in places like this. Erin also discusses the changing emotions over her lifetime that she's felt towards her Dad, in the way that the she lost him and the choice he made to leave. That there has been the overwhelming grief of missing out on having him in her life, the disappointment and confusion as a young child, the anger and resentment that can manifest with a loss to suicide, the never-ending "Why?" questions we are all faced with and finally, with the birth of her own child at the same age her father died, landing in a place of empathy and compassion. Nothing more, nothing less. And how that empathy and compassion authentically extends to anyone who has found themselves in the same amount of despair, to be experiencing suicidal ideation or intention. Thank you for listening. Please feel free to reach out if you'd like a topic discussed, would like to be a guest or are interested in receiving coaching services from Erin Jane. Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.erinjanecoaching.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/erinjanecoaching⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Call or Text: +1 617 396 4695 You can watch the episodes as video on YouTube here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://youtube.com/@Erin-Jane-Coaching?si=XI8q0z3mhmzO_a7_⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Feel free to watch, listen, share and subscribe!