| The law enforcement profession is legendary | | | | the human mind just isn't designed to exist |
| for its high stress. It is repeatedly in the | | | | in a continuously shrinking frame of |
| top ten of most stressful jobs. And there's | | | | reference and the full-blown cynicism that |
| nothing like police work to make a candidate | | | | comes with it. Try to get out when you can, |
| for 'bringing your work home with you', | | | | keep socializing in your civilian life, stay |
| because you naturally encounter things on the | | | | current with the culture. Maybe have a hobby |
| job that take some processing in the off | | | | or interest that takes you far away from the |
| hours to deal with. | | | | job. It helps you remember that the whole |
| | | | world isn't one huge drama, and that there's |
| The first tip is to lose the macho exterior. | | | | still a lot of things worth living for. |
| As John Wayne said, courage isn't not being | | | | |
| scared. Courage is being scared as heck - and | | | | Take advantage of your force's stress |
| saddling up anyway. Acknowledge that you have | | | | management and counseling services. No matter |
| picked a tough job to do, and that you're | | | | how tough you think you are, the procedures |
| only too human. Expecting huge reserves of | | | | and practices your department puts in place |
| guts from yourself, going around denying it | | | | are there for a reason. Employee assistance |
| by saying, "It doesn't bother me.", this | | | | programs were put in place to respond to the |
| doesn't help you psychologically work with | | | | high incidents of stress disorders affecting |
| and move past the issue. Being able to face | | | | officers in the field. Especially after a |
| the fact of stress helps you vent it to your | | | | critical incident, you are, indeed, either in |
| peers (or doctor, if need be), and move past | | | | shock or dealing with some stage of grief. |
| it on your own. | | | | Even if you think you can handle things just |
| | | | fine on your own, talking to the councilor |
| Second, it may be perfectly OK to have a | | | | never hurt anything. |
| drink when you feel like it. But if you find | | | | |
| yourself stopping for a drink every single | | | | Learn when the time comes not to sweat the |
| day after you get off your shift, that's a | | | | details. Police work seems to bring out the |
| big trouble sign. Police work has one of the | | | | perfectionist nature. After all, attention to |
| most frequent instances of alcoholism, with | | | | detail is a survival skill. Not only that, |
| police more likely to develop alcoholism than | | | | but you're surrounded by perfectionists. Your |
| nearly every other profession. The problem is | | | | peers and superiors all had the same rigorous |
| not so much the alcoholism itself, as that | | | | training you did, and there's still a little |
| after a while it becomes your automatic | | | | drill sergeant left in everybody from their |
| answer to everything. Anything, even water, | | | | academy days. But going around expecting |
| is bad for you if you do it too much. The key | | | | everything to be perfect all the time is just |
| is to moderate. By all means, if you just | | | | unrealistic. We do live in an imperfect |
| went through a scene where weapons were drawn | | | | world, which is why you have your job, after |
| and you need a drink to stop your nerves | | | | all. |
| shaking, that's a different matter. | | | | |
| | | | Revel in your family. The families of |
| Don't take it personally. This especially | | | | officers receive a lot of residual stress |
| applies to the pressure you get from the top. | | | | from your job; it's tough for them, too. If |
| No matter what, every officer feels they | | | | you have a spouse and kids, there's almost no |
| deserved that raise or promotion every time | | | | limit to how much time you should spend with |
| it comes around. Every officer gets | | | | them, and it helps all of you keep a stronger |
| frustrated when they see another not doing | | | | family unit. Family problems are another |
| his or her job with perfect ethics, or feel | | | | famous occupational hazard of police work. |
| stressed out at the inherent inadequacies of | | | | Most especially infidelity is a frequent |
| the system. These are natural problems, but | | | | result. You should realize that serial |
| if they didn't happen to you, they'd just | | | | affairs, like alcoholism, are just another |
| happen to somebody else. It just happened to | | | | escape mechanism that is likely to have you |
| you this time. An officer's career is likely | | | | mentally trapped. It doesn't even necessarily |
| to have many ups and downs, and officers do | | | | help if your spouse is also an officer; what |
| tend to experience emotional drama over | | | | you actually need is the perspective of |
| things that affect their career. It's just | | | | somebody who doesn't wear a uniform every |
| how things go sometimes. | | | | day. |
| | | | |
| Take a step back from the monoculture. After | | | | The bottom line is, police work is a special |
| a while, officers tend to identify so much | | | | job that is prone to some of the greatest |
| with their job and their peers that they | | | | challenges of any profession. You are in the |
| become unable to see things from any other | | | | role of trying to be a hero to society, but |
| perspective. You do do an important job, but | | | | don't forget to be a hero for yourself. |