FBINAA Associate Magazine Oct/Dec 2021

A MESSAGE FROM OUR CHAPLAIN

F B I N A A . O R G | O C T / D E C 2 0 2 1

Mike Hardee

A s trying as this pandemic has been on family and friends, it’s taken an even greater toll on those of us who serve the public face-to-face on a daily basis. We accepted the dangers of our pro-fession when we took the oath of office to serve and protect our communities, but what we did not sign on for is this deadly disease attacking so many of our fellow brothers and sis- ters. The Officer Down Memorial Page reports that 160 police of- ficers have died from COVID-related illness to date just this year. Add to this the increase in domestic violence and shootings since the coronavirus lockdown began, and an unprecedented series of lethal fires, hurricanes, flooding, and tornadoes across the country. Thousands have been left homeless, as well as thou- sands of desperate people from for-eign countries pouring into our country seeking shelter and protection. Protests, vigilantism and threats of domestic terrorism are on the rise. It seems more and more, law enforcement is being called upon to fight wars on a daily basis. Our ability to cope with these increasing stressors in our lives can be overwhelming. They say that there are no atheists in a foxhole—that in times of extreme stress and trauma, people will believe in, or hope for, a Higher Power. And certainly, now is the time to lean into our faith and be reminded that we are never alone and there is strength in the power of prayer. I find comfort in knowing that God is my life coach and to Him I owe everything. It gives peace and hope to call upon a Higher Power. (Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart to Him; God is a refuge for us. Pslam 62.8) But we also have the obligation to call upon our own, human powers, to manage our stress and maintain an inner strength. Stress hits us in many ways – from simple lack of sleep and poor eating habits to heart attack, cancer, accidents, alcoholism, and suicide – and statistics show that law enforcement officers are exponentially more likely to die from these diseases than from vio-lence on the job. (International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), American Psychological Association (APA) reports). Some studies suggest that a certain level of stress is not such a bad thing, as it can drive motivation and desire for us to accomplish and be successful. Still, stress isn’t the solution, ac-cording to Andrew Bernstein, author of the Myth of Stress . “If you’re successful and stressed out, you’re succeeding in spite of stress, not because of it.” A new approach to stress management has been recently making its way into the law en-forcement community, and it’s one that research has shown has proven results. It’s called Mind- fulness Training , and it’s based on the principle that in order to be mentally, physically and spirit-ually prepared at all times to help others we must first take care of ourselves. What is this new phenomenon of Mindfulness and how does it apply to us as law enforce-ment officers? There are many forms and practices if it, dating back hundreds of years and most of our knowledge today is partially based on historic yogic practice and Buddhist theology. But re-cently a number of organizations have begun to tailor these principles to First Responders and our everyday needs.

Essentially, Mindfulness is the practice of controlling our breath, our mind, and our body in a way that strengthens our ability to concentrate, react calmly, cope better, and be more resilient. For law enforcement, Mindfulness can give us the tools to prepare and respond before, during and after a critical incident. The 3-phases of Mindfulness Training for police officers include: respond-ing to in-the-moment situations, surviving to see another day and, and recovering to tell about it. The practice has proven results. In a study conducted by Dr. Ski Santorelli , Professor of Medicine at UMass Medical School and Director of the University’s Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduc- tion Clinic (MBSR) Mindfulness Training can offset the negative effects of both mental and physical ailments. MBSR Work is being done on anxiety disorders, body pain, asthma and stom- ach issues with indications of a decrease in hospital visits after undergoing forms of mindfulness training. Programs that are geared specifically to First Responders are beginning to crop up all over the country. A total of 43 police officers in Oregon completed an 8-week Mindfulness-Based Resi- li-ence Training (MBRT) program, which was designed to improve mindfulness, resilience, stress, health outcomes, and emotional functioning. Using multilevel models, the study found significant improvement in self-reported mindfulness, resilience, police and perceived stress, burnout, emo-tional intelligence. This pilot study examined the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of a mindfulness-based intervention designed to address police officer stress. (Michael S. Christopher, 2016) "One of the most powerful things you can do is teach people that it's OK to be human. It's not possible to walk through this profession and come out unscarred. It's a difficult, difficult walk to be a police officer," said Richard Goerling , one of the officers who taught that 8-week program. Physical and emotional stress for police officers is at an all-time high in this country and many agencies are implement- ing evidenced-based wellness programs to treat various forms of depression and anxiety. The scope of many of these programs illustrates the need for further research, devel-opment and methods to combat the threat of stress with law enforcement professionals.

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