Emotional Awareness for First Responders: A Conversation with Mike Sears, Fire Captain

Embodied with Anne Bérubé

In this episode of Embodied, Fire Captain Mike Sears shares his journey from trauma to healing, showing first responders how trust and resilience can transform their lives.

How do we begin to trust ourselves when life demands we suppress our emotions? This question is at the heart of my conversation with Mike Sears, a Halifax Fire Captain, peer support advocate, and founder of Fight4Life. A firefighter for over two decades, Mike shares his journey of reconnecting with his body after emotional numbness, offering profound lessons in trust, healing, and transformation.

On Embodied, Mike talks about navigating the intense demands of firefighting, where vulnerability often takes a backseat to survival. After a breaking point left him physically and emotionally drained, he attended the BC Firefighter Resiliency Program, where he processed years of stored trauma and rediscovered what he calls a sense of “body calm.”

In our conversation, we explore:

• How suppressed emotions manifest in the body as physical symptoms.
• The courage it takes to step back and prioritize healing.
• Why vulnerability can be a profound strength, even in high-stakes professions.
• How reconnecting with sensitivity transforms not only individuals but entire communities.

Mike’s story powerfully reminds us that healing begins when we allow ourselves to feel.

“If you’re asking whether you need help, you’ve probably needed it for a while,” he reflected.

His openness and courage inspire us to embrace our journeys with trust and compassion.