Post Traumatic Growth – Finding Benefits within Challenges

Daniel Sundahl

Post-traumatic growth is more than recovering, it is about reconfiguration and becoming a better person than you were before the injury occurred. Daniel's journey from battling his demons to purging his nightmares in artwork is shared through images based on calls he has attended as a paramedic and firefighter. He will share how his job nearly destroyed his life and, although this is his story, you may connect with them through your own experiences and realize you are not alone in how you are feeling.

More importantly, Daniel will share what he did, and continues to do, to build resiliency and recover from his mental stresses. If Daniel can do it, so can you.

As DanSun Photo Art, Daniel's images are shared worldwide by hundreds of thousands of his peers. Learn the motivation behind his artwork and how the images have been therapeutic for so many of us.

ABOUT

Daniel Sundahl (DanSun) is a published artist and writer with four (4) art books produced of his works. Articles of his work are featured in several international publications, and his art is recognized worldwide. Daniel travels internationally, speaking about his art and personal experiences with occupational stress injuries and posttraumatic growth; he is an advanced care paramedic, pre-hospital educator, retired firefighter, photographer and photo editor. He is the president and founder of The Recovery and Resiliency Foundation, a charitable organization that helps support people living with symptoms of trauma.

Daniel was born in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Taking up a global residency as an English language teacher in Egypt, Mexico, Indonesia and Japan, he now works full-time as an artist, photo editor and public speaker. Daniel became a full-time paramedic and firefighter in 2003 and retired from his full-time position in 2022. He is now enrolled in a two-year counselling therapist program and will graduate in 2024 as a registered counselling therapist with the Canadian Professional Counselling Association.

His love of photography began during his travels, and as his technique developed, he produced a blend of photography and graphic art, which he calls Photo Art. The majority of Daniel's work involves emergency services photography. It comprises an emotional connection to the artist as most of his pieces are based on actual emergency calls he has attended as a paramedic and firefighter. He is passionate about reducing the stigma of PTSD for first responders and uses his art to raise awareness of occupational stress injuries worldwide.

Daniel enjoys combining the technical and artistic elements of his work. Each piece can take several days or weeks of processing until he feels it is ready.

First Responders' mental wellness initiatives were initiated after visiting his peers in Australia, Finland, and Mississippi. Daniel often travels and gains inspiration for his art from his experiences. Learn more about Daniel and his artwork by visiting his webpage at www.dansunphotos.com.