{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Just Breathe","title":"The Lives We Don’t Talk About: Hope, Healing, and Recovery","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":1763,"description":"This episode discusses suicide, trauma, depression, and cumulative stress. If you've lost a colleague, friend, or loved one, or if these topics are personally difficult, please listen at your own pace. If you recognize yourself in this conversation, asking for help is a sign of courage, not weakness — and you are not alone.\nWelcome back to Just Breathe for the final installment of our three-part series, The Lives We Don't Talk About. The first two episodes covered understanding suicide and loss; this one shifts forward to what healing, treatment, and recovery look like for first responders and their families, and how agencies can build a culture where asking for help meets support instead of stigma.\nDr. Tracie L. Keesee is joined by Dr. Dorothy Novitskie, a licensed clinical and forensic psychologist and founder of Novitskie Forensic Psychology, with more than two decades of experience in clinical, forensic, correctional, and law enforcement settings. Together they unpack what recovery means after trauma, why asking for help remains hard in public safety culture, and what effective treatment, family involvement, and forward-looking leadership look like in practice.\nWHAT WE COVER\n- Dr. Novitskie reframes recovery not as \"going back to who you were\" but as regaining the ability to carry what you've experienced without being controlled by it — sleeping again, being present with family, and having access to joy.\n- Why the fear of asking for help isn't irrational for officers: mixed messages from agencies, and legitimate concerns about how disclosure could affect assignments, promotions, or firearm status.\n- How leadership sets the \"emotional temperature\" of an agency — officers watch what leaders tolerate and reward far more than what they say.\n- What a comprehensive treatment assessment looks like, including screening out medical causes (like a thyroid issue) before assuming a psychological diagnosis.\n- Why safety planning around suicidal ideation focuses on...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/U6hooJF6wPF6fib2UIxiCJPT3haZgYLNN9HJnTMTqd4/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9jZGVm/NmM3ZTQ5OTFjZjk3/NDZmZWNkYmVjN2Fj/OGFmMi5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}