HEALTHY MIND | Jada Hudson, First Responder Counselor, Contributes Article on the Impact of Anger, Alcohol, Stress, and Trauma on First Responders in Fire & Engineering Magazine

Wheaton Counselor to First Responders Recognized in Magazine for Fire and Emergency Services Personnel Worldwide, Jada Hudson, M.S., LCPC, CADC

WHEATON–Jada Hudson was recently featured in the December 2025 issue of Fire Engineering Magazine, where she shared her professional knowledge and insight into a very important subject– the Impact of Anger, Alcohol, Stress, and Trauma on First Responders.

The article explains that each person has a unique stress capacity shaped by overall wellness and life circumstances. For first responders, constant exposure to high-intensity situations keeps stress chemicals elevated, preventing the body from returning to baseline. Over time, this imbalance disrupts emotions, cognition, physical health, spirituality, relationships, and job performance. Hudson lists common stress symptoms ranging from numbness and anger to digestive issues, cynicism, isolation, and increased errors on the job.

The article distinguishes stress from trauma, noting that trauma overwhelms coping systems and triggers the brain’s fight-flight-freeze response. Hyperactive amygdala function and reduced prefrontal cortex activity produce flashbacks, nightmares, panic attacks, depression, and symptoms associated with PTSD and complex PTSD. Early intervention, along with holistic therapies like yoga and meditation, can help regulate cortisol, improve immune function, and support emotional recovery.

Hudson also explores addiction as a coping mechanism for emotional pain and physiological overload. Drawing on Dr. Gabor Maté, she explains seven universal components of addiction and the risk factors—such as loneliness, trauma, and difficulty expressing emotions. She emphasizes self-care, supportive relationships, and structured recovery steps as essential for healing. The article concludes by addressing anger, its neurological roots, and healthy ways to channel it for growth instead of destruction.

How Jada Hudson Wrote It

Jada Hudson wrote the piece in her signature compassionate, research-based, first-responder-centered voice, shaped by years of counseling firefighters, police, and EMS personnel. For the December 2025 edition of Fire & Engineering Magazine, she:

• Blended neuroscience, trauma psychology, and real-world clinical experience to explain complex concepts in accessible terms.

• Addressed firefighters directly, using examples and patterns she has observed from thousands of sessions with first responders.

• Structured the article around education + action, first explaining stress, trauma, PTSD, addiction, and anger, then offering clear, practical tools.

• Incorporated evidence-supported methods, including yoga, meditation, and emotional-regulation strategies.

• Validated common struggles—anger, shame, isolation, substance use—while emphasizing hope and recoverability.

• Wrote with a mission-driven tone, aiming to destigmatize mental-health issues and encourage early intervention.

• Used a trauma-informed framework, acknowledging vulnerability, compassion, and connection as essentials for healing.

  
  

Her style combines expertise, empathy, and advocacy, making the article both educational and deeply supportive for first responders navigating stress, trauma, and addiction.

About Jada Hudson

Jada Hudson earned a Master of Science in clinical psychology and trained specifically to counsel first responders. She counsels first responders in her private practice in Wheaton, Illinois, Hudson Clinical Counseling, and is the embedded police counselor for both Kane and Kendall counties in Illinois. In addition, she counsels the prosecutors within the Kane County State’s Attorney’s Office. Hudson has developed emotional wellness programs that are customized to meet the needs of Chicago area fire departments, has presented at FDIC International, and is the author of Firefighter Emotional Wellness (Fire Engineering Books, 2022).

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