Self-Care Practices
Self-care is extremely important in the criminal justice field. We know that this career path is not easy but it is very fulfilling. As criminal justice professionals we are exposed to other people’s traumatic events and that can be stressful for someone to internalize. Self-care is also important to prioritize our well being to be our best selves while working our jobs.
Self care is extremely important for us as graduate students. Most of us are working full time while taking class. For me, reading has been a great stress reliever as a way to escape for a little while, I find it to be beneficial especially before I sleep. This article on practicing self – care, mentions having a buddy to keep you accountable in your self -care (Bartholomew, 2014). I think that this is a good idea in theory. It is hard if all of your friends are in other states but you could do zoom self-care sessions together. Like exercising over zoom to keep each other accountable.
I think police officers have the most stressful jobs. They interact with the mentally ill, the homeless, criminals and see individuals in crisis situations that will obviously have an impact on their own lives. If law enforcement officers do not deal with their stress or burnout, it can manifest itself into a few different ways (Fish, 2019). Some of these issues can be relationship issues, poor hygiene, nightmares, and substance abuse (Fish 2019). If we can’t take care of ourselves the way we need to be taken care of, we won’t be able to do our jobs correctly and help the public out.
Other self-care practices that could be beneficial is journaling. I like to journal just to get my thoughts out and how I’m feeling. I also like to call a friend to chat and talk about what is happening in our lives, i think getting another perspective, maybe a friend or a therapist, is always useful in my life. Even taking a walk to clear my mind I find it very peaceful and helps me relax a little bit.
Works Cited:
Bartholomew, N. R. (2014, August). Tips for practicing self-care. Retrieved April 26, 2021, from https://www.apadivisions.org/division-18/publications/newsletters/gavel/2014/08/self-care
Fish, D. (2019, August 27). How Self-Care Can Reduce Police Officer Stress. Retrieved April 26, 2021, from https://www.lexipol.com/resources/blog/how-self-care-can-reduce-police-officer-stress/