Episode 77 | Mental Health in Military & Law Enforcement: Endurance, Identity, and Relationship Strain with Caleb Chestnutt, LAMFT

Featured Book:

Using ACT and CFT for Burnout Recovery: The Beyond Burnout Blueprint by Shaina Siber

Kindle: https://a.co/d/0iAlSrhC

Paperback: https://www.routledge.com/Using-ACT-and-CFT-for-Burnout-Recovery-The-Beyond-Burnout-Blueprint/Siber/p/book/9781041074304

Course Information: https://canva.link/3zd9769bl3hwj38

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Episode Summary: What happens when survival mode becomes an identity?

In this episode, Shaina sits down with Licensed Associate Marriage and Family Therapist Caleb Chestnutt to explore the mental health impact of chronic stress, trauma exposure, hypervigilance, and emotional suppression within military and law enforcement culture.

Drawing from both his clinical work and his lived experience serving in military law enforcement roles in the U.S. Air Force, Caleb offers a grounded and deeply nuanced conversation about the culture of endurance that exists within many first responder spaces — and the ways it can quietly shape relationships, emotional regulation, identity, and help-seeking over time.

This is a thoughtful and deeply human conversation about trauma, endurance, identity, and the emotional cost of operating in systems that reward strength while often stigmatizing vulnerability.

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Topics Discussed: