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Redefining Vulnerability, Mentorship, and Healing Outside the Rig with Tim Houweling
06/10/2026
Redefining Vulnerability, Mentorship, and Healing Outside the Rig with Tim Houweling
In this episode of the Warriorside Podcast, hosts Diego Ugalde and Noah Galloway sit down with firefighter, paramedic, and fire captain Tim Houweling, who shares a raw account of his career trauma—including a deeply impactful attempted suicide call involving a 13-year-old girl—and details how a subsequent back injury in 2022 stripped away his routine, sending him into a spiral of isolation, coping mechanisms, and suicidal ideation . He recounts how his friend Jimmy, a retired Navy SEAL, stepped in to introduce him to traditional plant medicine ceremonies in Mexico, leading to a profound personal transformation . The conversation expands into how Tim and his wife Angela founded the Siren Project to provide first responders with access to indigenous medicine lineages in Mexico, emphasizing the crucial roles of long-term integration, preparation, and humility over commercialized alternatives . Finally, the group discusses the unique psychological burdens placed on firefighters, paramedics, and police officers, examining how mentorship, deliberate peer decompression, and reframing vulnerability as an authentic strength are essential keys to processing trauma and ending the suicide crisis within the first responder community .
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