Trauma and Self Care
Imagine every day you wake up and put on a shiny badge that not only represents the safety you will bring to your community, but also represents the sacrifice you are willing to make for the citizens you protect day in and day out. In my own personal opinion, there is nothing more rewarding than taking pride in yourself, in the work that you do/your career, and for the family you have raised and protected. It seems as though that when entering law enforcement, you have a strong urge to make a difference in the lives of those who may be less fortunate, or are maybe just having a really crappy day. Unfortunately, as time progresses, police officers/law enforcement officials have been painted in a bad light due to all of the controversy over police officer on civilian shootings. Through all of this tragedy, I think some individuals forget just how difficult it is to be a police officer. Who are we to comment on what they do to protect themselves in a situation we have no idea about? An experience such as this can be considered a incidence of trauma. Police officers/law enforcement officials are presented with trauma on a regular basis whether it is responding to crime scenes, car accidents, assaults, child abuse cases, disputes, domestics, being subjected to physical confrontations, internal investigations, or anything that can be considered a traumatic experience (Renteria, 2009). Renteria (2009) encapsulates perfectly why it is so important for law enforcement to engage in self care by stating: “Police work is a physically and emotionally draining job. Repeated exposure to negative images and interactions affect the overall physical, psychological, emotional, and spiritual well being of police officers spilling over in to their personal lives drastically impacting their families”.
I believe that far too often, police officers are unaware of the impact trauma can have on their own lives until it is far too late. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (2017), “almost 1 in 4 police officers has thoughts of suicide at some point in their life. And in the smallest departments, the suicide rate of officers is almost four times the national average” (NAMI, 2017). This means that almost 25% of all police officers have contemplated suicide, which is astounding in the worst way. As if that was not frightening enough, NAMI (2017) stated that “more police die by suicide than by homicide: the number of police suicides is 2.3 times that of homicides”. Clearly, there needs to be something implemented to decrease these statistics significantly.
With the help of NAMI, the road to recovery for police officers is finally being paved. In order to help our brothers/sisters in blue that are in need, we as citizens need to be informed far more on trauma, vicarious trauma, and ways that PTSD and other mental health issues that result from trauma can be prevented in law enforcement. Within police departments, there is also much work that can be done to recognize trauma, and also how to deal with that trauma. As a male dominated job, self care and being in touch with your emotions is greatly frowned upon because men are supposed to be tough and not let anything get to them – newflash people…ITS 2017 AND ALMOST 2018! Gone are the days that someone should be ashamed of what they feel and why they feel it. Men have emotions too, and its time that they are taken care of, especially in law enforcement. In order to do so, I believe that each police department/law enforcement agency should have an onsite therapist that specializes in law enforcement trauma and PTSD, and how to manage/cope with these aspects. They will help implement mental health awareness/wellness programs, and also serve as the mental health incident commander in instances that could potentially involve someone with a mental illness, or some form of trauma (NAMI, 2017).
If we want law enforcement officers to protect and serve for us, their mental health needs to be a first priority. f you can admit that you need help, that is the first step in your journey to recovery, whether you suffer from PTSD or alcoholism. No matter how much money someone may have, how cool their job is, or what color their hair is, every person is a work-in-progress. There is always room for improvement, even in law enforcement. In a nutshell, every person on this earth needs a helping hand at some point in their lives. “Once we can understand this concept, we can accept our weaknesses, learn from them, move forward, and open ourselves up to positive changes. Embracing change allows us to be more willing to seek out the resources that can help improve our self awareness. It is never too late to make changes that positively impact our lives, as well as the lives of those who are closest to us” (NAMI, 2017).
NAMI. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2017, from https://www.nami.org/Law-Enforcement-and-Mental-Health/Strengthening-Officer-Resilience
Renteria, L. (2009, March 31). Law Enforcement Personnel and Family Life. Retrieved December 15, 2017, from http://www.lawenforcementfamilysupport.org/family-resources.php