A Challenge to Change Your Life

BY CHAPLAIN JOSHUA HOLDER

When I was a law enforcement dispatcher, it wasn’t uncommon for officers or dispatchers to play jokes or challenge one another to do something rather silly to give everyone a laugh or pass the time. My partner in dispatch at the time and I were no different. One challenge was awfully “mild” compared to most but was one of the most memorable.

We often ordered from a Mexican Restaurant down the street. Their hot sauce came served in an 8oz coffee cup. It wasn’t the most sizzling hot sauce in the world, but it had a strong afterburn, especially if you consumed quite a bit. My partner challenged me to chug two 8oz coffee cups of hot sauce as fast as I could. The challenge was accepted and completed in no time. Lesson learned: DO NOT ACCEPT SUCH A DUMB CHALLENGE IN THE FIRST 2 HOURS OF A 12-HOUR NIGHTSHIFT.

Even today, as a Chaplain to first responders, I still, within reason, love a good challenge. CAN I CHALLENGE YOU TODAY?

This challenge may seem pointless today but may save your life someday. It’s a challenge that may take all the strength you have. What is it? Schedule an appointment with a counselor or therapist, even if you think you don’t need it. Be sure to attend.

The first reason to accept this challenge is to help erase the unknowns. What is the session going to be like? Am I going to lay on a couch and must I tell all my deep, dark feelings? Am I going to share my feelings only to feel judged in the end? Maybe you’re nervous about going or do not know what to expect. If you go once, even when you do not need it, you get the answers to most or all your questions. That way, the nervousness, and questions are out of the way when, later, you are struggling and need to see a counselor.

Next, even if you do not need to go to counseling but go and talk about life for a session, the counselor might give you a new perspective on a situation. You don’t have to talk about anything deep or “spill all of the tea,” but the counselor or therapist might be able to help you see something you do share in a new light.

Finally, by going and realizing it is not as bad as you think it might be, you are helping erase the stigma about first responders being too tough to seek mental health help. Face it, we all have junk. We all need help from time to time. If we let the stress build up without a release, it can cause our mental and physical health to decline sharply. Suppose we find positive ways to release tension through exercise, hobbies, talking with trusted friends, and occasionally talking with a counselor or therapist. In that case, we will become stronger and more resilient. You may also be able to tell a friend who is afraid to go to counseling, “It’s not that bad, and it helped me.”

In Proverbs 11:14 King Solomon writes, Biblical kings would often surround themselves with a wise council to offer wisdom in making challenging decisions. Today, receiving opinions and input from counselors provides significant value and enhances our own mental safety. No man or woman has all gifts and wisdom, and the wise advice of a counselor may work well to bring greater wisdom, insight, and safety in life decisions.

CHALLENGE

Law Enforcement and Dispatch are demanding and stressful professions, making self-care crucial. I challenge you to be strong and courageous by scheduling an appointment with a counselor or therapist and follow through. It could be one of the best decisions you will ever make, one that could save your life.

On the Journey Together,

Chaplain Joshua Holder

"To console those who mourn...To give them beauty for ashes..." (Isaiah 61:3 NKJV)

Chaplain Joshua Holder is an Assemblies of God Missionary Chaplain to First Responders. Joshua has been married to his wife, Andrea, for 16 years. He is also a Chaplain for the New Orleans Fire Department, where he works with the department's Peer Support and Critical Incident Stress Management teams.

Joshua is passionate about preventing mental health crises and suicide in first responders. He has taught at the Serving Heroes National Conference for Peer Support at Chaplaincy and has been a guest for a Responder Health Webinar training on "How Your Purpose Coincides with Your Occupation."

Before Joshua's time in New Orleans, he served as a paramedic in Illinois on multiple fire departments for 16 years while simultaneously serving in law enforcement as a dispatcher for 14 years.

Joshua and Andrea have served in ministry roles for over 19 years.

*The views of this blog are Chaplain Joshua Holder's and do not necessarily reflect the views of the New Orleans Fire Department.