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When I wrote the resilience building textbook Armor Your Self: How to Survive a Career in Law Enforcement several years ago I coined the term Blue Trauma Syndrome (BTS) as a means of discussing all the many factors that erode an emergency responders resilience. I used it to go beyond the simple label of “stress” as a catch all, and frankly far too simple, a description of the toxic effects of this career that eat us up from the inside out.
I want to raise that term again in 2024 to renew our on-going quest to make our law enforcement and other emergency service professionals as healthy, effective and resilient as they can be.
If you read my previous article “The High Cost of Unwellness in Policing” then you know about my beliefs regarding the importance of building resilience within our profession and you know that I believe that it’s not as simple as many people think. I suggest that many police agencies are just “Dabbling” in wellness without any clear strategy nor set of metrics by which to measure their effectiveness.
What I would like to do today is to CHALLENGE YOU to pick up this discussion in your agency, team or with a couple of peers and see what YOU THINK.
WHY?
Because, analyzing and discussing the challenges… we face every day in paramount to overcoming the ones we can influence. Because, just like I believe that the first step in police officer suicide prevention is to start a discussion. That’s it, talk is powerful! We hear what others believe and we also HEAR our own ideas when spoken out load that is the critical FIRST STEP toward prevention!
So, here is your challenge:
1. Download or print the attached discussion sheet.
2. Read through the questions and start a discussion.
3. Expand your discussions to more people in your circle or agency.
4. Give feedback about what you learned to your agency heads and you our readers in the box below.
5. Do something to prevent/impact/reduce the effects of BTS in your agency
6. Do something huge to prevent/impact/reduce the effects of BTS in our PROFESSION!
I CHALLENGE YOU to pick up this discussion of Blue Trauma Syndrome in your agency, with your team or with a couple of peers and see what YOU CAN LEARN.
Good luck and please stay safe!
John Marx
CLICK HERE to download our LESI Mini Discussion Worksheet on BTS
#BlueTraumaSyndrome, #PoliceOfficerSuicide, #ArmorYourSelf
REMEMBER: Police Wellness should be a SYSTEM, not a program!
At LESI we believe that an effective police wellness system should be strategic, comprehensive, specific, measurable and sustainable. The LESI faculty is always available to help you build the wellness system your agency needs whether that includes building individual resilience for your people; assessing and enhancing agency support systems; developing a positive wellness culture; promoting wellness leadership practices; or all of the above, we’re available to help you so please reach out by clicking here to email or by giving us a call.
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Leave your comments in the box below
CopsAlive is written to prompt discussions within our profession about the issues of law enforcement career survival, health and wellness. We invite you to share your opinions, ask questions and suggest topics for us in the Comment Box that is at the bottom of this article.
At The Law Enforcement Survival Institute (LESI) we train law enforcement officers to cope with stress and manage all the toxic effects and hidden dangers of a career in law enforcement.
Our “Armor Your Self™: How to Survive a Career in Law Enforcement” is a resilience building textbook, a do-it-yourself curriculum and a training program that can be presented live, on-site, virtually or through pre-recorded learning modules. These programs help police officers and other law enforcement professionals armor themselves physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually to build Tactical Resilience™ and survive their careers in police work. To learn more CLICK HERE. To learn about and buy the book CLICK HERE.
Our “Wellness Focused Policing Initiative” is a people focused policing strategy to promote wellness within law-enforcement first, and then to spread that sense of care, and focus on well-being, outwardly to the people served by the police. This is not a quick fix, “flavor of the month” or a band-aid solution but rather a long-term commitment to developing the comprehensive health and well-being of both law enforcement professionals AND the people they serve. To learn more CLICK HERE. To take our quick and free online survey to see where you stand now CLICK HERE.
The Tactical Resilience™ and Ethical Policing Project (TREPP) is our international initiative to promote the health and resiliency of law enforcement professionals by conditioning our people physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually, as well as paying attention to strengthening their mindset, level of personal mastery, depth of their social support system sand their financial fitness. It also provides a set of tools and techniques that, replenish their spiritual health and, restores their inner peace and clarity. TREPP is expandable to meet the needs of your community and your budget and can use training, assessments and consulting to assist you where you need it. We build human resilience, create processes to enhance agency support systems, promote a culture of wellness, and most importantly initiate community lead projects thru our Law enforcement officers as Community Action Leaders (LoCAL) initiative.
CLICK HERE to download our InfoSheet on TREPP.
The concept of “True Blue Valor™” is where one law enforcement officer has to muster the courage to confront a peer who is slipping both professionally and personally and endangering themselves, their peers and the public. It takes a system of organizational support and professional leadership to support and foster the concept of courage and intervention. We will train your trainers to deliver this program to your agency.
To learn more CLICK HERE
Our “Armor Your Agency™: How to Create a Healthy and Supportive Law Enforcement Agency” Program includes critical strategies that you will need to build a system of support and encouragement for a healthy and productive agency. To learn more CLICK HERE
CLICK HERE to read more about The Law Enforcement Survival Institute.
CLICK HERE if you would like to contact us to learn more about training for your organization.
I’m John Marx, Founder of The Law Enforcement Survival Institute and the Editor of CopsAlive.com. Connect with me on Facebook, LinkedIn Twitter. and Instagram.
CopsAlive.com was founded to provide information and strategies to help police officers successfully survive their careers and improve their heathy, wellness and effectiveness. We help law enforcement officers and their agencies prepare for the risks that threaten their existence. Thank you for reading!
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