Career paramedic Jessica Vanderhoek has lived both sides of the job: the pride of service and the private cost. After years of high-acuity calls, insomnia, migraines, anger, alcohol misuse, and a brutal relapse, she hit the wall and looked for what actually heals. Her path led through equine therapy and carefully screened psychedelic work, then a rare return to frontline duty — and ongoing advocacy for safer, smarter support. In this conversation we cut through the myths. Jessica explains why peer support often fails in practice, how low pay and constant labor fights amplify moral injury, and why PTSD is […]