Navigating First Responder Relationships and Marriages

Navigating First Responder Relationships and Marriages

Speaker: Erin Nugent

This presentation focuses on the unique nature of what it takes to have a successful relationship, when one or more party is a First Responder, from someone who lives it every day. We draw attention to the additional stressors faced, including frequent and cumulative trauma exposure and how that impacts our habits and behaviors. We also shine a light on the experience of the spouse, the person at home, who is equally impacted, but not always recognized.

We will look at how communication leads to clarity, the role compassion and humor can play and when it may be time to have a hard conversation about a loved one's mental health. You will walk away with real world examples, the ability to identify when that conversation is needed and how to have it, with the greatest chance of success.

No one teaches us how to navigate these relationships; there is no "First Responder Marriage Academy". All these strategies, tools and observations come from two decades of experience, as either the Responder or the Spouse. They've been learnt, through my own challenges and mistakes, and shared to help you not make the same ones.

• The additional stressors we face and how our relationships can be more challenging

• The two-fold apprehension of a First Responder Spouse; whether they'll come home at all and if they do, what are they going to walk through the door carrying

• Why it's hard to ascertain and understand what their observable behavior can mean, what it can be impacted by and when it's time for a hard conversation

• How to have "The Hard Conversation"