Season 4, Episode 13: The Broken Responder

🎙️ From the Front Lines to “The Broken Responder” | Richard BurnsIn this powerful episode of 8158 Podcast: Stories of Sacrifice, we sit down with Richard Burns, a Marine Corps and Navy veteran, former law enforcement officer, and now mental health advocate known as The Broken Responder.Richard’s path into law enforcement wasn’t something he had planned. After serving in the military, an opportunity brought him into policing in his hometown of Kearney, Nebraska. His career would eventually take him to Pueblo, Colorado, where the realities of the job looked very different.Richard shares stories from years on the job involving violent crime, drugs, overdoses, fatal crashes, mental health crises, and the situations first responders walk into that most people will never see.But this conversation goes much deeper than the calls.After years of exposure to trauma, Richard experienced his own mental health crisis. He was eventually medically retired from law enforcement due to PTSD and began the difficult process of figuring out who he was outside of the badge. He talks candidly about therapy, medication, depression, weight gain, suicidal thoughts, and the realization that he could no longer keep pushing everything down.Richard also shares two moments he describes as divine intervention — including the phone call from his best friend battling cancer that arrived during one of the darkest moments of Richard’s life.The conversation becomes an important discussion about something Richard believes the first responder community desperately needs to address: mental health before it reaches a crisis point.He talks about anger as an early warning sign, the cumulative effect of constantly witnessing trauma, the difficulty many first responders have asking for help, gaps in access to mental health treatment, and why the culture surrounding mental health needs to change.Richard isn't speaking about these issues from the outside looking in.He lived them.Today, he wants to use that experience to reach the people still standing on the front lines and remind them that asking for help doesn't erase everything they've done or everything they've survived.🎧 Listen now to Richard Burns — The Broken Responder — on 8158 Podcast: Stories of Sacrifice.⚠️ CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains detailed discussions of suicide, suicidal ideation, PTSD, addiction, drug overdoses, self-harm, death, and traumatic incidents. Listener discretion is advised.🌐 8158 Podcast: https://www.8158podcast.com🛍️ Support the Mission / Shop: https://www.8158podcast.com/shop💙 Donate: https://www.8158podcast.com/donatepodcast-1🎙️ Want to Be a Guest? https://www.8158podcast.com/appointments-4📧 Contact: 8158podcast@gmail.com📱 Richard Burns: Find him on TikTok as The Broken ResponderIf you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.#8158Podcast #StoriesOfSacrifice #FirstResponderMentalHealth #PTSD #TheBrokenResponder