Retired Long Beach Fire Captain James Owen spent his career running toward other people’s emergencies while addiction, trauma, and post-traumatic stress were building behind the badge.

In this episode of The Hopeaholics, James opens up about the murder of his close friend and fellow firefighter Captain Dave Rosa, surviving a motorcycle crash that broke his neck, losing and rebuilding his sobriety, and the realization that ultimately changed his life: after spending his career trying to save everyone else, the last patient he needed to save was himself.

James joined the Long Beach Fire Department and built the career he had dreamed about, eventually becoming a fire captain. But as the job became more of his identity, his recovery began to disappear. After years of sobriety, James found himself drinking again while dealing with divorce, overwhelming stress, internal investigations, traumatic calls, and the cumulative weight of life as a first responder.

James also discusses first responder PTSD and suicide, Alcoholics Anonymous, Adult Children of Alcoholics and Dysfunctional Families (ACA), nonlinear recovery, alternative recovery modalities, the importance of continuing to seek new ways to heal, and his book, The Last Patient.

Check out his book, The Last Patient here: https://shop.ingramspark.com/b/084?pa...

Firefighter PTSD, Addiction & the Cost of Being "Tough" w/ James Owen | The Hopeaholics Podcast #363

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0:00:00 Intro
0:06:11 Growing Up in an Alcoholic Home
0:07:19 Working in a Slaughterhouse at 16
0:12:13 Leaving for Mexico & Learning to Survive Chaos
0:16:46 The Moment He Decided to Become a First Responder
0:19:40 A DUI at 18 & the Road to Firefighting
0:23:53 Getting Hired by Long Beach Fire Department
0:28:18 Choosing Sobriety Over Alcohol
0:32:20 July 4, 1998: The Night That Pushed Him to AA
0:39:58 Fatherhood, Marriage & Letting Recovery Slip
0:43:52 When the Fire Department Became His Identity
0:46:28 The Murder of Captain Dave Rosa
0:51:14 Breaking His Neck in a Motorcycle Crash
0:53:58 Realizing He Was “The Last Patient”
0:55:48 Recovery Beyond One Program
0:57:15 What He’d Tell Someone at Rock Bottom
1:00:15 Mental Health & Overwork in the Fire Service
1:06:46 Seven Line-of-Duty Deaths
1:10:32 Bringing Trauma Home From the Firehouse
1:14:32 First Responder Suicide & Mental Health Training