You’ve seen it. You’ve done it. You might be doing it right now.

That quiet shrug. The quick “I’m fine.” The way you change the subject before someone gets too close.

It’s not because you don’t care. It’s because caring hurts.

In this episode, Erin takes a hard look at The Denial Reflex, the automatic response that keeps so many first responders and spouses stuck in survival mode. It’s the reflex that says “I’ve got this” when your body’s screaming otherwise. The one that tells you ignoring the pain is the same as handling it.

But denial isn’t control. It’s fear in uniform.

Erin breaks down how this reflex forms on the job, how repetition, adrenaline, and conditioning make shutting down second nature and what happens when that same armor follows you home. Because the same instincts that keep you alive in chaos will quietly destroy your relationships if they never get turned off.

She shares what it looks like to catch yourself in the reflex, why vulnerability isn’t weakness, and how to start letting honesty replace emotional autopilot one small truth at a time.

This one’s not about blame, it’s about awareness. Because the more honest you get, the more reachable you become to the people who are trying to love you through it.

IN THIS EPISODE

• How trauma training wires denial into your nervous system
• The difference between professional detachment and emotional avoidance
• Why numbing your emotions keeps you from feeling anything even joy
• The subtle ways denial shows up at home (and what your partner feels when it does)
• The power of naming your truth before it turns into resentment
• Erin’s Honesty Check Protocol: a quick tool to interrupt the “I’m fine” reflex

MENTAL FIREPOWER

The Honesty Check Protocol

1. Catch the phrase: “I’m fine.”
2. Pause long enough to ask yourself, “What’s actually true right now?”
3. Name it...out loud, on paper, or to someone you trust.

You don’t have to dump everything. You just have to stop hiding from yourself.

WHO THIS EPISODE IS FOR

• First responders stuck in survival autopilot
• Spouses tired of feeling shut out
• Leaders who think they’re protecting their team by staying silent
• Anyone ready to admit that “fine” stopped being fine a long time ago

Music from #Uppbeat

https://uppbeat.io/t/needmospace/chill-power

License code: QUUZB4TP7STKMLJN