Good and Bad Stress
As is the case with most people, a stigma is carried with the perception that asking for help is a sign of weakness. So much so is this fact that people have taken their own lives, before doing so. This is a universal problem that, to date has no solution. The prevalence of this problem is so severe education has been enforced almost to a mandatory level. Organizations have made suicide prevention training as such a part of the Job now that it almost seems routine.
As with soldiers that are expected to operate in high stress environments, so are officers and the risk of the pressure becoming too much is always there. An Organization known as SAVE (Suicide Awareness Voices of Education) has dedicated its mission to prevention and education, as we now know that one of the biggest defenses we have to this horrible problem is an educational offense. Knowledge is power. We need stress. Our bodies endure stress everyday and a certain amount of stress is healthy.
It is once we endure more than we can perceptively handle that the risk of suicide becomes prevalent. Most individuals in high stress professions excel under certain stressful situations, yet another reason that it takes a certain type of person to be able to handle the demands of police work, but every person is different and their body reaction to stress may be more severe. It is here that we see a stigma arise, in that an individual sees a counterpart that handles certain situations differently and perceptively better than they themselves creating a feeling of inadequacy.
It is because of perception that so many lives are lost due to this not so silent killer. Page 3 of 4 No singular definition can be used to pinpoint a definition for stress, but we are certain that “good” stress is known to be helpful. It’s the bad stuff that we have to look out for. In the past, law enforcement suicides often were ruled accidental deaths, and they are still underreported, Dandies says. “Most of us agree that the statistics are probably much higher than we actually know, because of the shame factor. ” (http://Saturday’s. Saturdays. Com)
If those in need of help would look past the stigma of weakness associated with getting help would we see a decrease in these senseless losses? Of course! “”These folks are taught to suppress their emotions and soldier forward,” says Elizabeth Dandies, a psychologist who works with California police agencies in the aftermath of suicides. “It’s very difficult for them to admit they need help. ” And I agree. I myself served five years as an Army PM and had to sit through countless hours of Suicide Prevention Training and memorizing a mantra using an acronym ACE.
Ask your buddy Care for your buddy Escort you buddy Did I encounter individuals that could’ve benefited from counseling and refused to go?
