Go From Overwhelmed to Empowered

[00:00:00] Bart Leger: Do you feel overwhelmed by the constant pressure of your job and wonder how you can manage your stress better? In this episode of Surviving Your Shift, Dr. Anna Fitch Courie, Chief Well Being Officer at Clemson University, shares simple practical strategies to help you stay mentally and physically healthy in high stress environments.

[00:00:21] Bart Leger: Learn how to take control of your well being, even in the toughest moments. Stay tuned to hear more. Welcome to Surviving Your Shift, your go to resource for building resilience in your high stress career. I'm your host, Bart Leger. Where we'll not only talk about responder burnout and our experiences, the trauma, but we'll equip you with the practical steps you can take today to get your mind out of overdrive and find meaning and joy again in answering the call.

[00:00:59] Bart Leger: As [00:01:00] someone who has worked as and with first responders for years, I know how tough it can be to maintain your well being while managing the intense demands of the job. Today's guest has a wealth of experience in this area. So let me tell you a little more about her background before we dive into our conversation.

[00:01:17] Bart Leger: Dr. Anna Fitch Courie is the Chief Wellbeing Officer at Clemson University and a faculty member in the School of Nursing. With over 16 years of experience in public health, she has led wellness initiatives for the U. S. Army, AT& T's FirstNet, and now Clemson, promoting holistic wellness for students, staff, and the community.

[00:01:41] Bart Leger: Dr. Courie holds a doctor of nursing practice degree and is a passionate advocate for public health and well being programs.[00:02:00] 

[00:02:01] Bart Leger: Dr. Courie, welcome to Surviving Your Shift. We're thrilled to have you today and I hope I pronounced your name correctly. 

[00:02:07] Anna Fitch Courie: Yes, absolutely. Nailed it. I appreciate that. 

[00:02:10] Bart Leger: Oh, great. Well, let's start with you sharing a little bit about yourself. Where are you from? What led you into the field of well being and public health?

[00:02:19] Bart Leger: I know nursing has been your field. Is that right? 

[00:02:21] Anna Fitch Courie: That's correct. I got my undergraduate nursing degree from Clemson University in 1997 and started out in bone marrow transplant and then went in at Duke University and then went into medical surgical intensive care at Albemarle Regional Hospital, an area of practice that I thought would define my entire career.

[00:02:44] Anna Fitch Courie: And then I married an army soldier and my life was upended. 

[00:02:49] Bart Leger: I can imagine. With zero 

[00:02:50] Anna Fitch Courie: regrets. You all see it? With zero regrets. I'm still married to that soldier, uh, 26 years later. And it's been an incredible ride as a [00:03:00] military spouse and as his wife, but it did make a huge career change for me. I thought I was going to be when I was 20 years old to, you know, 49 and where I am today.

[00:03:12] Anna Fitch Courie: So I think it's an important thing to highlight, uh, when he joined the army, it was immediately in the aftermath of nine 11 and we are our first duty station was overseas in Germany. And so we were really ramping up for the global war on terrorism. He was. preparing for deployments, going to the field, training, getting ready as for his job in the army.

[00:03:37] Anna Fitch Courie: And I was struggling to find a job. This is in the middle of the nursing shortage in the nineties. And was shocked I couldn't find a position as a registered nurse overseas, but they generally put individuals who wore the uniform in those positions that I were qualified for in Germany. So, I didn't get to go over there [00:04:00] and be a critical care nurse, but what they were looking for was somebody called a health promotion coordinator.

[00:04:05] Anna Fitch Courie: And this position was a newly defined position for the first infantry division. And they were to assess the entire community health and well being and create a strategic plan for the soldiers, civilians, family members, and retirees that lived overseas, uh, on 1st Infantry Division installations. And that kind of cemented a love of community health improvement planning for me.

[00:04:29] Anna Fitch Courie: And the remainder of my career has been shaped by that time. Um, we were at, like I mentioned, we, the 1st Infantry Division was deploying to Iraq. And so, We were very, very focused on concerns with deployment health, the spouses, because the, your army had not deployed for that length of time in a very long period of time.

[00:04:52] Anna Fitch Courie: So they were very concerned about spouse wellbeing, uh, the dependence with, uh, um, the children of our service [00:05:00] members. And then more granularly, you know, sexual assault, PTSD, depression, anxiety, suicide All those things that have been shaping the narrative of our armed forces over the last 20 years. 

[00:05:13] Bart Leger: I love that focus on wellness, not only for the soldiers, but also for their families.

[00:05:18] Bart Leger: That's so important. You've had quite an impressive career from nursing to now being chief of Well being officer at Clemson University. Is that right? 

[00:05:27] Anna Fitch Courie: I am. I am. I just joined Clemson in January of 2024. This is an inaugural position. We're really building out, looking at that whole community well being, uh, approach to health and wellness.

[00:05:40] Anna Fitch Courie: So strategic, right? Not trying to get upstream from the issues facing this population. Not just being reactive as things come up. And what does that look like for us to take a collaborative approach? That's also kind of a hallmark of my career. Um, whether we're talking the Army or the private sector [00:06:00] where I worked for FirstNet, which was the broadband network for public safety.

[00:06:04] Anna Fitch Courie: That's how I spent most of my time working in First Responder. And public safety, health and well being. It's really looking at the whole, right, um, is how, how does, how does the system surrounding the individual contribute to their health and well being and what can we do better? What are we missing along the way?

[00:06:23] Anna Fitch Courie: Because increasingly the data demonstrate we have mental health and well, wellness problems across all facets. of our society. We have struggles that um, are difficult for people to articulate leading to stigma. And so there are also habits both at the individual level, the organizational, and then the national level that need to happen to advance health and well being.

[00:06:49] Bart Leger: So what is the role, what does chief well being officer involve? 

[00:06:53] Anna Fitch Courie: So strategy, right? There's different tiers what people don't realize in organizational work. It's strategy is [00:07:00] understanding the conditions of which an organization is operating and what is health and well being in that condition of operations.

[00:07:08] Anna Fitch Courie: How does it influence? So you have to define 

[00:07:10] Bart Leger: what well being is, correct? 

[00:07:12] Anna Fitch Courie: Correct. Correct. So for us, it's an optimal and dynamic state that allows people to thrive. That's how we define well being. We look at it through the eight dimensions of wellness, which include emotional, financial, social, spiritual, occupational, Physical, intellectual, and environmental health and well being.

[00:07:35] Anna Fitch Courie: So really looking holistically at the dynamics that influence an individual feeling well. Um, yeah. We're not a 

[00:07:44] Bart Leger: unidimensional being, are we? 

[00:07:46] Anna Fitch Courie: No, we're not. We're not. And what we've learned over time is if we invest too much in one area of our well being, At the expense of another, the dynamics of the system is thrown out, right?

[00:07:58] Anna Fitch Courie: So if we're [00:08:00] investing all of our time and attention into our career at the expense of our relationships, we're going to find stressors in our lives. And that's where we see a lot of the breakdowns, especially in our veterans, public safety and first responders is how much they give of themselves in their communities and in their work in service of others.

[00:08:22] Anna Fitch Courie: that they feel guilty oftentimes taking those steps to create habits of health and well being in their personal lives. 

[00:08:29] Bart Leger: Right. And we talk about sometimes balance. Uh, I, I prefer the term integration is how do we integrate each of these dimensions into our day. So, so as, as you said, it's holistic. What excites you most about leading this new initiative?

[00:08:47] Bart Leger: They're here at their Clemson. Oh, 

[00:08:51] Anna Fitch Courie: the university is eager for this. Like I, what really kind of lights my fire is working with a community that's excited for this. It's [00:09:00] really, really hard to go into an organization that's like, Oh, this is just a talking head. There's not going to be any real change. I've had organizations I've worked with like that in the past, and that's not the case here.

[00:09:13] Anna Fitch Courie: This organization is incredibly excited to invest in well being, to support each other, to help each other out and really look critically at what we can do better. And so that, those are hallmarks of an organization ripe for change and ripe for, um, Creating that positive environment, building off the strengths of the organization and improving the things that we can do better.

[00:09:40] Bart Leger: Oh, that is great. I, I worked in an organization that simply paid lip service to wellness. That was my role. That was my responsibility primarily. And, uh, you know, I would hear things about, you know, we, we didn't, we didn't hire the spouse we, so we're putting our attention on, on our own people. [00:10:00] And, uh, the, the things that they would say and do were sometimes.

[00:10:05] Bart Leger: Totally the opposite. So I'm sure it's exciting to know that your, your work is, is counting for something and it's being welcomed at, I'm hoping all levels within the organization within the student body as well. Now, student body, how is the student body responding to this? 

[00:10:22] Anna Fitch Courie: So I think they're still getting used to it.

[00:10:24] Anna Fitch Courie: I think that if you probably went out and surveyed some of our students, they might not know that there was a chief wellbeing officer at the university. And it's a new enough position that, you know, people are still understanding. What does it mean to have a chief wellbeing officer? What does it mean? to have somebody who leads and speaks for the people in terms of their health and wellness for the organization as a whole.

[00:10:49] Anna Fitch Courie: I, our students are incredible here at Clemson and incredibly engaged and what is, and I won't just say this about our student body population, [00:11:00] but what's exciting about Gen Z in general and what we're hoping and we're also going to see in Gen Alpha Is there, they're excited about well being as well.

[00:11:09] Anna Fitch Courie: They care about their bodies. They care about the world and they want, they're hungry and eager for more information on how to make those changes within an organization that leads towards a positive environment that leads towards that sense of wellbeing. They're more interested in that integration of wellbeing into their daily life, uh, which is very different from the Gen X generation that I come from, right?

[00:11:35] Anna Fitch Courie: Right. Very career and work focused and I come from a generation of women who were trying to do it all right and at the detriment of some of our own personal health and wellness. So I think that the intergenerational dynamics that campus life brings is very reflective of what we see. At army [00:12:00] installations what we can see in local communities that are very strong About how we support each other through that journey and that's where I Am excited to see our student body population get more involved 

[00:12:12] Bart Leger: That is exciting Now, let's move on a little bit.

[00:12:15] Bart Leger: You've worked with the military You've worked with first responders, you know, both groups obviously known for high stress professions What was the most impactful wellness initiatives you led? What, what, what do you think that some of the initiative you were leading had the most impact in these communities?

[00:12:33] Bart Leger: Had the most 

[00:12:34] Anna Fitch Courie: impact. So those are also time and environment related, right? So for the U S army at the installation level, where we were working directly with the people, uh, I started the walk to Iraq and back program. And so our spouses. over the year that their, uh, service member was deployed, walked the miles to Iraq and back and were engaged in variety of [00:13:00] different mind, body and spiritual community events to gain miles towards that very long time that they were separated from their spouse and giving them a destination, giving them a goal to pursue in an extraordinarily stressful time in their life.

[00:13:17] Anna Fitch Courie: Um, I, I think that the results of that program were profound for many people and realized that when they had a plan, they could not just cope with a stressful situation, but also potentially thrive in light of that stressful experience that they were undergoing. When you get up into the headquarters level and you're talking policy systems, structures, monitoring, evaluation, the data piece of it, it kind of gets less, um, interesting, I guess, to the general public because it's the nuance of the language you use and the recommendations that you make across a broadly geographically [00:14:00] dispersed organization, such as the U.

[00:14:02] Anna Fitch Courie: S. Army. I think my contribution, um, to the U. S. Army Very in what, depending on how you were looking at at that system, but we did implement what were called commanders ready and resilient councils that were across the United States army at 50 army installations worldwide. And put into place. What are the standards for commanders?

[00:14:27] Anna Fitch Courie: What do they need to focus on in the health and well being of their troops and spouses and retirees and civilians that work for worked and lived for them under their base. And I think giving leaders tools that they can own the well being of the organization that they're leading is extraordinarily powerful.

[00:14:46] Anna Fitch Courie: And so I like to think that that was the hallmark of what I left the army with. Um, at the headquarters level. When we get to first responders and public safety with the FirstNet program, without a doubt, the work of the FirstNet Health [00:15:00] and Wellness Coalition, which was the national advocacy group that is advancing health and well being for first responders, is probably one of the best things that I've ever had an opportunity to lead in my career.

[00:15:11] Anna Fitch Courie: We had a peer support team under that. We had therapy dog program under that. We looked at digital solutions to improve access to care. For that population and a number of other communication strategies and, um, advocacy efforts that were, were being implemented when I transitioned from that to Clemson.

[00:15:32] Anna Fitch Courie: So I, I've had, my career has been amazing. I am so blessed to have been able to be a part of these efforts. I don't think that those individuals realize how much I received from those experiences, not just hopefully gave back to the population, because that was my goal when I took all those various jobs, but it was deeply and meaningful and profound [00:16:00] gratitude.

[00:16:02] Anna Fitch Courie: That I have for the men and women and their families who serve our communities and our nation, uh, because these are vital infrastructure to the success of our communities being able to thrive. And so, um, those, those are some of the highlights of that crew, my long career in this space. 

[00:16:22] Bart Leger: Well, thank you. As a matter of fact, I first heard about you on Conrad Weaver's show 

[00:16:29] Anna Fitch Courie: and 

[00:16:29] Bart Leger: you were working with FirstNet at the time, and I enjoyed that episode.

[00:16:33] Bart Leger: I appreciated it. For what you were doing, I've been familiar with first net matter of fact, been on the first net, uh, from both my phone ever since it first rolled out as being a first responder and still, still on, still on first net system. So we, I appreciate all that they are doing now for those in high stress professions, like first responders, medical professions, what are some key steps?

[00:16:59] Bart Leger: What are some [00:17:00] strategies? They could adopt maybe some, some, some prescriptive actions. So let's, let's do a little bit of teaching. Maybe 

[00:17:08] Anna Fitch Courie: you also have to unpack it from like, where are they in their career? Right. You get the young, new recruit, new nurse, new, new doctor, gung ho, really passionate about their, their profession.

[00:17:21] Anna Fitch Courie: We need to be teaching them early on that these are not easy careers that they've they've chosen, but easy does not mean that they can't be profound and meaningful throughout. But what we're seeing now is because we haven't laid the foundations of what those skills and habits are early on in a profession, that by the time they get to that midpoint in their career, that's where we're seeing the burnout, that's where we're seeing the depression and the anxiety, the suicidal ideations, and in many cases, the post traumatic stress.

[00:17:51] Anna Fitch Courie: And so we go from this meaningful career to a language that we're using in the general public that's like, well, if you serve your [00:18:00] communities, you're going to be irrevocably broken. So I think organizing, I mean, I know you've asked me about those habits, but I just want to state That part one of that is talking about the narrative that we have out there about service to others.

[00:18:17] Anna Fitch Courie: Yes, it is difficult, but it is incredibly profoundly meaningful. And it can lead to incredible personal growth. Um, the science of post traumatic growth has demonstrated this year over year. When we look throughout history about the individuals. Who've gone through extreme trauma and stress, whether we're talking Vietnam, POWs, Holocaust survivors, looking at, um, the survivors of shootings or natural disasters, however you want to look at that cataclysmic event, there's story upon story of individuals who through connection.

[00:18:57] Anna Fitch Courie: Through habits, through self [00:19:00] work, have continued to lead a meaningful life, and while they have been transformed by that experience, they don't let their future be determined by their past. They are writing the story of what their future will be, and I think that's very important for anybody in a high stress job to remember and recognize, is that you have a choice.

[00:19:22] Anna Fitch Courie: My favorite quote of all times is from Viktor Frankl. He says, between stimulus and response, there is a space and within that space is the freedom for the individual to make a choice. And I think that having that self agency for the choices you make, even then, when it seems daunting is one of the most important things that individuals claim in the course of their career to make those choices towards the habits that they want.

[00:19:49] Anna Fitch Courie: So 

[00:19:49] Bart Leger: yeah, I love that. I love that quote from Frankel. And we do suffer sometimes from binary thinking because And we tend to overgeneralize [00:20:00] and, and often people think, Oh, well, if you're a, if you're a first responder, if you're a, if you're a cop, you're a firefighter, you're going to 30 years later, you're going to end up being broken.

[00:20:09] Bart Leger: And that's not always the case. 

[00:20:11] Anna Fitch Courie: And I think if we continue to portray that as the narrative of a life of service, we're going to be in a really scary position because nobody's going to want to be in those, in professions and I can't think of things that were more meaningful in my career than when I was at the bedside of somebody who perhaps was dying or was going through intense personal turmoil because of a cancer diagnosis in midlife and to be witness to the worst Days in somebody else's life is a gift and incredibly sacred, if you will.

[00:20:47] Anna Fitch Courie: So how would you say, how should we 

[00:20:49] Bart Leger: change? How should we change the narrative? What, what can we do to change that? The way, the way people view, yeah, 

[00:20:56] Anna Fitch Courie: well, it is, is somebody, if somebody says, [00:21:00] You know, um, that they've been diagnosed with PTSD is first of all, understanding that experience and also delving into further, what are the steps that they have taken to live with that in their lives?

[00:21:11] Anna Fitch Courie: And where do they find meaning and purpose? Um, the science of post traumatic growth would, would, you know, There are areas in our lives that we can invest in to grow from those experiences. And this is also our have corollaries to habits of a healthy life. First of all, Meaningful relationships. Where do we spend our time connecting with others and sharing our experiences so that not only, um, somebody who perhaps has not experienced a bad call knows what it is like to have lived through a bad call and come out of this on the other side, right?

[00:21:50] Anna Fitch Courie: So that whole sharing of the wisdom from generation to generation, connecting at work. But not just having work connections [00:22:00] is investing in relationships at home. One of the sad statistics out there is that cops have one of the highest divorce rates in all of the professions. I'm sure you have heard and experienced this and it's a sensitive topic.

[00:22:14] Anna Fitch Courie: And, um, and I by no means want to convey that there's Any, a fault discussion here, it is the nature of tension points between a career and a relationship and perhaps needing to work in those areas of communication and where we invest our time. And so, you know, again, integration, right? Not either, or it's that binary thinking that you were talking about is I can't progress in my career and then my family is going to suffer.

[00:22:45] Anna Fitch Courie: How do we bring that part? Hand in hand together so that the individuals in that relationship find that communication pattern that works in light of that stressful career. I think that, you know, that's [00:23:00] something as a military spouse. I struggled with with my husband when he deployed. For for extended lengths of time is communication was a struggle for us, and we had to figure out what did I need as an individual to feel connected to him and what did he need to feel connected to me?

[00:23:18] Anna Fitch Courie: And what was the right balance between my career and his career and the Children? So I, I like the word dynamic. You said you liked the word integration. I like this as well. I don't want people to think that we're trying to this, this, uh, 50 50. It's not, it's a flow and an ebb and a dynamic. It's where we get into trouble is where habits, negative habits and relationships.

[00:23:42] Anna Fitch Courie: Negative habits in our personal lives like drinking and alcohol or, you know, unhealthy food and not sleeping. When we have habits that extend for over two weeks and become negative repeating habits that we do all the time, that's really where it becomes [00:24:00] a problem in leading a healthy and well life in whatever profession that we're talking about.

[00:24:06] Bart Leger: Right. So, so we're, we're talking about changing the, the narrative, changing the way we, we view. I, for pretty much most of my career, uh, I taught at the academy, at our regional academy. And I would inform the, the students as they would come in that they were going to go through a, a change. They were going to go through different cycles during their, their law enforcement career.

[00:24:34] Bart Leger: And, you know, obviously it was not that they were going to end up broken, but that they had to be careful and always encouraged them to talk, to use our employee assistance program, to find a good therapist that knew about the culture and was, was culturally competent and just, you know, Talk to people about it, and hopefully they would not end up in a bad place.

[00:24:57] Bart Leger: And so we changed the narrative. Not that everyone who goes [00:25:00] into a stressful career is going to end up just riding off the rails, but that it should be more. How should I, how should I put this? Uh, they should be more intentional if you will, during their career about, about taking care of themselves, taking care of their family and making sure that they are doing the things they're supposed to.

[00:25:23] Bart Leger: So let's move into the, to the how I know there are the eight dimensions of wellness, Uh, give us some, some things that are technical application, 

[00:25:32] Anna Fitch Courie: right? Yeah. Give us some things our folks 

[00:25:34] Bart Leger: can take away. 

[00:25:35] Anna Fitch Courie: And I'll, I'll talk about some things that, um, I do personally. There's some things that, you know, depending upon where I was in my career, I struggled with and that, uh, You have to work on, right?

[00:25:47] Anna Fitch Courie: So when you talk about intentionality, it means the person has to do the work. You have to decide what one thing are you going to do? I love that book. What's the one thing? Where can you focus? Your effort that you feel is [00:26:00] attainable, right? And achievable in your health and well being. So I can give you a list of different things that have been shown to be extraordinarily effective in these professions for improving health and well being, but the individual really needs to commit to something.

[00:26:14] Anna Fitch Courie: So number one, like when you're stressed out, take a moment to breathe, right? I use box breathing, uh, four seconds in, hold, four seconds out, hold. again, around the box. And there's, it's a form of tactical breathing, right? That you center your central nervous system so that you have that operational capacity to respond effectively in those high stress moments.

[00:26:38] Anna Fitch Courie: And it's very much attuned with the kind of, um, tactical training that first responders and military and veterans, uh, are, are utilized as they become a part of that profession. Sometimes it's the 

[00:26:53] Bart Leger: terminology that makes the difference, but it's the 

[00:26:55] Anna Fitch Courie: same concept. I know, I know, I know. It's like tactical breathing, you know, instead of, [00:27:00] okay, let's meditate.

[00:27:01] Anna Fitch Courie: Let's, you know, which is also good, you know, if you really want to get a little granola in there, I love to meditate. I, I take, I try to meditate at least 20 minutes every day. It improves my stress, my blood pressure, my heart rate, my responses to people. But I can know that that can be scary for people, because it often changes.

[00:27:21] Anna Fitch Courie: At least six weeks of continuous practice within that meditation to see the bounty and output of it. So that can be daunting for some people, but meditation is a huge area of well being practice that I recommend for people. We already talked about investing in relationships. It's being intentional about when you are off.

[00:27:43] Anna Fitch Courie: doing things that are enjoyable with the people that you love to spend time with and not treating them all for say, uh, you know, drinking to burn off the stress with the guys in the bar afterwards. Um, making those intentional choices that for [00:28:00] this period of time this week is about investing in my family, investing in my relationships.

[00:28:06] Anna Fitch Courie: So intentional relationships. And if you, if it's not somebody who is not, does not have a partner, then those relationships at church in a civic community, in clubs and organizations that are meaningful to a person. So they feel that sense of connection, community, and belonging that is essential to well being.

[00:28:26] Anna Fitch Courie: Um, sleep. So I know this is a hot topic for first responders, um, and military and veterans, especially and shift workers, right? Is how do you put an entire 

[00:28:39] Bart Leger: episode on sleep? So go for it, 

[00:28:42] Anna Fitch Courie: but it is so true. If we don't give our bodies a chance to rest and recover, then we don't have that opportunity, um, to be our best selves when we go to the next shift that causes and that next bad call that occurs.

[00:28:57] Anna Fitch Courie: So sometimes we make choices in our personal [00:29:00] life at the sacrifice of a good night's sleep. And that's some things I like to challenge people on. Okay, can you increase your sleep by 30 minutes this week? What does that look like? What do you need to put in place for just 30 minutes more than your norm?

[00:29:14] Anna Fitch Courie: And then build that up towards that seven to eight hours of recommended sleep for an individual. The next habit is physical activity, right? Whatever floats your boat to move your body is one of the best ways that we can, um, you know, burn off cortisol and translate those stressful experiences that we hold in our body and get it to release.

[00:29:39] Anna Fitch Courie: So we've got to move our bodies, whether that's walking, running, swimming, biking, aerobics, tai chi, martial arts, uh, yoga, you name it, pick something. Enjoy and commit to it, uh, each day so that your body has a chance to release all that tension that you tend to [00:30:00] store up within the course of a shift. Now, I know, and one of the reasons that this is so, so, so, so, so important is the literature, number one, in first responders, 69 percent of first responders say that they don't recover from one incident before being called to another.

[00:30:18] Anna Fitch Courie: So we've got to put. skills and habits that help bring down that stress level so that the central nervous system can calm down because the secondary and tertiary effects of that stress on cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, hypertension, we're not just talking about mental health when we talk about the well being Of high stress populations, we're talking about their whole body because it's all interrelated.

[00:30:46] Anna Fitch Courie: So these habits are getting after offsetting those stressful environment, those stressful means. So we've talked about relationships. We've talked about breathing and mental [00:31:00] health and meditation, talking to people clinically, if you need it, reducing the stigma of reaching out and getting help. We talked about physical activity.

[00:31:09] Anna Fitch Courie: Sleep and then also nutrition, right? If you're fueling your body on garbage food, your body is going to start store up garbage within it and excessive sugar, excessive caffeine, excessive alcohol. Again, the word here is excessive. We're looking for a balanced diet that pulls from all those macronutrients of proteins, high quality carbohydrates, high quality fats.

[00:31:36] Anna Fitch Courie: Um, with omega threes and all of your micronutrients within them to fuel the body, right? So one of the things about first responders, veterans, military, healthcare workers that we need to understand is our bodies are our tools to do our job. They're tactical operations. They're not sit behind a desk and type.

[00:31:59] Anna Fitch Courie: [00:32:00] Work, we have to have our bodies as high performing the machines and just like an athlete, a performance athlete would focus on sleep, activity, nutrition, recovery, talking to people. This is the same mentality that we need for our first responders and veterans to think about their bodies. They are athletes of our communities.

[00:32:22] Bart Leger: Right. So you need to, you need good fuel. I remember on some of the nights we were going from call to call the high call volume nights and didn't get a chance to stop and eat. And when we did get a little bit of a break, it was seven 11 and we got that, that soft drink and a candy bar or a bag of chips.

[00:32:43] Bart Leger: And finally I learned I would take things from home and I'd put it in my go bag and, and it was some, sometimes it was piece of grilled chicken or something. And I would just. It's a little, little, little time that we would have. So it's, that's important. So yeah, it's an intentional 

[00:32:58] Anna Fitch Courie: choice. That's an [00:33:00] exact choice, right?

[00:33:01] Anna Fitch Courie: So all of these skills and habits are looking at how you save money, right? Right. You save money, um, your health, your, the food probably tastes better. You're more satisfied at the end of it, but you made that intentional choice. And so I really want all of these professions to think about intentionality.

[00:33:19] Anna Fitch Courie: Right. And, um, the choices that you want, what is that small 1 percent change you're willing to commit to, to create those habits within your life. And I do want to add one really, really, really important thing that the research is showing us today about burnout. The last part that I would say people invest in is caring again.

[00:33:40] Anna Fitch Courie: When we lean into caring about what we do, when we lean into caring for each other, whether that's the, the victim that we're supporting or the patient we're supporting, or it's my colleague to the left and to the right of me, when we lean into caring, it has a profound impact on our [00:34:00] holistic wellbeing as an individual.

[00:34:02] Anna Fitch Courie: And so sometimes it's really hard in these professions when you feel Beaten up, top down, left and right, um, communities, um, sometimes don't always appreciate the work of first responders and our service members, although I think that is also changing. There's a real awareness about how important these individuals to our communities.

[00:34:27] Anna Fitch Courie: Um, but the more times that we can choose to care than to get angry is not only better for whatever we're facing. But it's better for ourselves as well. So that's one of those things in my toolkit as well, when I'm stressed and frustrated is how can I care just a little bit more? How can I pull up that love and compassion and kindness and lead from that place in the middle of stress and anxiety?

[00:34:51] Anna Fitch Courie: And what does that do for me as an individual? 

[00:34:54] Bart Leger: Well, it not only helps us, but it helps, I believe those that we serve as well. [00:35:00] Just yesterday evening, uh, last evening, my wife and I were sitting on the couch I was going through some social media and saw a video. of um, of an officer that stopped during patrol just simply to help a young boy and it made a difference in his life.

[00:35:18] Bart Leger: They came back day later and and had his birthday and had no, no one show up for his birthday party. Uh, they came in and they, brought him some swag from their department and just, just really made a great day for the kid. And not only does it help the individuals who do take part in that, but also I think it's also good for our communities when they see that, that those that serve their communities, those that serve their country care.

[00:35:46] Bart Leger: And it's not just about the job, not just about tactically. So anything else before we, before we move on? 

[00:35:54] Anna Fitch Courie: I think that this has been this tremendous conversation and something so important that. My goal would [00:36:00] be, it's not just you and I having this conversation, but departments and units and, um, organizations all across the nation having these conversations about what is that 1 percent change we want to do.

[00:36:12] Bart Leger: Great. So as we move forward, what trends do you see in the wellness field, especially for those in high pressure careers? Where should we focus our efforts? 

[00:36:20] Anna Fitch Courie: Well, trends is a hot word because sometimes people see trends is novel and not necessarily science based. So I tend to look at trends from. what is evidence based and what are we seeing positive results about.

[00:36:32] Anna Fitch Courie: So, first and foremost, I think one of the popular, popular and evidence based trends that we're seeing in a number of different types of professions is peer support teams. They've been shown to be incredibly effective in a variety of different situations. And I would posit, if I bring out my science hat, that part of this goes back to that caring conversation that we had when we demonstrate we care for one another.

[00:36:58] Anna Fitch Courie: We build [00:37:00] connection, community, and the culture that we want to live, work, and play in. And that is so vital. And I think that that's what people were missing during COVID 19 is that sense of caring and peer support teams are a formalized way organizations can encourage that within their organizations that demonstrate.

[00:37:19] Anna Fitch Courie: And provide that listening ear for individuals to understand that their experience has been shared by others and that there are effective ways for coming out on the other side of a critical incident. So definitely, um, peer support teams. I would say that, uh, therapy docs are very popular right now. Uh, partially.

[00:37:43] Anna Fitch Courie: What's better than a dog, right? I ran a team of, um, uh, therapy dogs when I was at my last job and it never, ever failed to amaze me. You could have this really [00:38:00] stoic, introverted, intense. Um, perhaps scaring appearing officer. If you bring a dog into that situation and all of a sudden the barriers start to come down and they may talk about things that they wouldn't necessarily talk about outside of, um, having, um, one of those very specially trained dogs around.

[00:38:22] Anna Fitch Courie: So matter 

[00:38:24] Bart Leger: of fact, in the dog bed beside me, I have treasure. And, uh, we've been partners for six years. She is a facility dog. And so we, she works with me when, when we work with people who've been through trauma, she has been, uh, uh, she has been a very, very great and awesome treat. And, uh, she works with us.

[00:38:43] Bart Leger: So yes, dogs, uh, animals who work with, with individuals are, are awesome. 

[00:38:50] Anna Fitch Courie: Yes. And as you know, from your, your training and your backgrounds, um, with SISM, Is making sure those handlers are trained appropriately. There's not [00:39:00] every therapy dog is created equal and the best programs out there are structured and they have standards for not just the handler, but the dog themselves.

[00:39:08] Anna Fitch Courie: And so they have been trained up. I know, you know, this is a handler for treasure is your dog has gone through this experience as well and has learned along the way. And it's very important. There's a structured. Method for training those dogs to handle because not every dog has the temperament to handle critical incidents.

[00:39:31] Anna Fitch Courie: And so I always like to encourage organizations to make sure you have those standards in place if you're creating such a dog program and ensuring that the training is through a legitimate organization. That knows what they're doing and has the standards themselves, uh, before moving out peer support, therapy, dogs, long stir, long term trends have been wearables, you know, to manage your.

[00:39:57] Anna Fitch Courie: Sleep activity and nutrition and track that and [00:40:00] give the reminders on your mentioned, you mentioned 

[00:40:02] Bart Leger: sleep and the wearables. One of the latest things that I've been looking at and, uh, I have been doing a little bit of research on is the aura ring. Are you, well, how familiar are you? And I mean, I, I know that it's a 

[00:40:16] Anna Fitch Courie: product on, on, on the, um, on the market.

[00:40:20] Anna Fitch Courie: I don't have enough. I can't speak to it from a scientific or professional standpoint. But wearables in general, whatever the individual feels that gives them the feedback that they need to make those intentional decisions about their health habits. Uh, I think do provide insight for the individual. I mean, just from I can take on mine, I can tell you what my heart rate is right now.

[00:40:48] Anna Fitch Courie: I can go to 20 seconds of box breathing and I can have immediate biofeedback response that my heart rates drop 10 beats per minute. Okay. That's powerful information to show the individual that what they're [00:41:00] doing is making a difference in their health and well being. 

[00:41:03] Bart Leger: And there are many who are wearing a smart device, but have never utilized those features.

[00:41:08] Bart Leger: And so, just teaching them that you can. 

[00:41:12] Anna Fitch Courie: I know, it is, there's some really cool tech coming out, um, for how wearables to better your health and well being. That kind of excites me. I'm a little bit of a tech nerd, so I kind of get excited about that. So before we wrap up, 

[00:41:31] Bart Leger: is there anything that you'd like to share that we haven't covered today?

[00:41:34] Anna Fitch Courie: Oh gosh, we've covered so much Bart. I've had so enjoy my time with you and your audience, and I hope that at a minimum people feel empowered. To make that 1 percent change in their life to really advance, um, make those intentional choices in their personal life. And then I guess in closing, I want to convey a deep sense of gratitude and thanks for all the work that they do.

[00:41:57] Anna Fitch Courie: Because I know personally, [00:42:00] professionally, uh, philosophically, that what they do makes a huge difference to our nation, our communities, our towns, and our cities. And I'm so grateful for them. I, I love and miss my work with public safety. I, uh, miss my time in the Army, but they're always treasured. And in the next chapter of my life, I can't wait to help invest in those individuals, where they're developing, where they're going in their career and their health and well being, so we can continue to contribute to, uh, our great, our great nation and our great towns and cities.

[00:42:36] Bart Leger: Well, thank you. Is there a way for our listeners to maybe follow you, follow how your, your initiatives, how can they, or get in touch with you if they need? 

[00:42:47] Anna Fitch Courie: They can follow me on LinkedIn. And that is, um, I think if you search Anna Fitch Courie on LinkedIn and I believe I've got it for the show notes. 

[00:42:55] Bart Leger: It'll be in our show notes.

[00:42:56] Bart Leger: Yes. 

[00:42:57] Anna Fitch Courie: Uh, that, that would be the best place [00:43:00] to connect with me and hear all about what we're doing to advance health and wellbeing. 

[00:43:04] Bart Leger: Well, great. Dr. Courie, thank you so much for joining us today. Your insights on wellness, especially for those in high stress jobs were really helpful. You know, I know our listeners will appreciate the tips you shared and it's been great having you on Surviving Your Shift.

[00:43:17] Bart Leger: Thanks again. 

[00:43:19] Anna Fitch Courie: Thank you. 

[00:43:20] Bart Leger: All right. Have a great day. 

[00:43:22] Anna Fitch Courie: I appreciate that. I hope that was everything you hoped and wanted. 

[00:43:25] Bart Leger: Yes. Thank you very much. 

[00:43:27] Anna Fitch Courie: All right. Take care. Bye bye. 

[00:43:30] Bart Leger: Thanks so much for joining me today for another episode of Surviving Your Shift. Are you wondering if you're experiencing some of the signs of post traumatic stress?

[00:43:39] Bart Leger: Or know someone who is? Grab a lifeline by going to SurvivingYourShift. com and on the right sidebar, click to download your copy of Understanding PTSD, Its History, Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment. If you like the show, please follow and leave an honest review. [00:44:00] Tell us what resonated with you. Your insights help us grow and create a community that supports one another.

[00:44:11] Bart Leger: Ever end a shift feeling utterly exhausted, wondering how much more you can handle? In our next episode, we're sitting down with Alan Cormier Jr., a Marine Corps veteran and Sheriff's deputy who's been in your shoes. Growing up with a teacher mom and a cop dad, Alan's life has been all about service. But when stress started seriously affecting his health, he knew it was time to make a change.

[00:44:35] Bart Leger: Join me next time as Alan shares his personal story through stress and mental health challenges and also offers practical tips on how we can all better take care of ourselves. Stick around, I'll see you on that episode. Till next time, let's learn how to thrive, not just survive.