PTSD Awareness Day 2020

Today is PTSD Awareness Day

PTSD – It’s time to stop talking and start learning

You might just save a life and that life might be your own.

Learn a little about PTSD today. Then learn about Trauma

PTSD (posttraumatic stress disorder) is a mental health problem that some people develop after experiencing or witnessing a life-threatening event, like combat, a natural disaster, a car accident, or sexual assault. There are currently about 8 million people in the United States with PTSD. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs – National Center For PTSD

Who Develops PTSD?
Anyone can develop PTSD at any age. A number of factors can increase the chance that someone will have PTSD, many of which are not under that person’s control. For example, having a very intense or long-lasting traumatic event or getting injured during the event can make… it more likely that a person will develop PTSD. PTSD is also more common after certain types of trauma, like combat and sexual assault.
Personal factors, like previous traumatic exposure, age, and gender, can affect whether or not a person will develop PTSD. What happens after the traumatic event is also important. Stress can make PTSD more likely, while social support can make it less likely.
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs – National Center For PTSD

PTSD, or post-traumatic stress disorder, is an anxiety problem that develops in some people after extremely traumatic events, such as combat, crime, an accident or natural disaster.
People with PTSD may relive the event via intrusive memories, flashbacks and nightmares; avoid anything that reminds them of the trauma; and have anxious feelings they didn’t have before that are so intense their lives are disrupted.
Adapted from the Encyclopedia of Psychology by the American Psychological Association (APA)

Law enforcement officers respond to and witness some of the most tragic events that happen in our communities. On-the-job stress can have a significant impact on their physical and mental well-being, which can accumulate over the course of a career. Many officers struggle with alcohol abuse, depression, suicidal thoughts, posttraumatic stress disorder and other challenges. Compared to the general population, law enforcement report much higher rates of depression, PTSD, burnout, and other anxiety related mental health conditions.
NAMI Law Enforcement Info Page

Learn More Today! Visit These Sites:

National Center For PTSD
https://www.ptsd.va.gov/understand/awareness/index.asp

American Psychological Association (APA)
https://www.apa.org/topics/ptsd/

PTSD among Police Officers: Impact on Critical Decision Making by Dr. John Violanti
https://cops.usdoj.gov/html/dispatch/05-2018/PTSD.html

Trauma on the Job: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Law Enforcement Officers – Lexipol
https://www.lexipol.com/resources/blog/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-law-enforcement-officers/

Cops and PTSD
Why you should care, what you can do by Ellen Kirschman, Ph.D. – Psychology Today
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/cop-doc/201811/cops-and-ptsd

PREVENTING SUICIDE AMONG LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS: AN ISSUE BRIEF
https://www.theiacp.org/sites/default/files/2020-02/_NOSI_Issue_Brief_FINAL.pdf

First responders struggle with PTSD caused by the emergencies, deaths, tragedies they face every day – The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/first-responders-struggle-with-ptsd-caused-by-the-emergencies-deaths-tragedies-they-face-every-day/2019/10/25/9c4c9a0e-d4b8-11e9-9610-fb56c5522e1c_story.html

NAMI Law Enforcement Info Page
https://www.nami.org/Advocacy/Crisis-Intervention/Law-Enforcement?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIpe6R1sKi6gIVRr7ACh1DFg2aEAMYAyAAEgLH5_D_BwE

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Military Veterans: Training Manual for Police Officers
https://www.ptsd.va.gov/professional/treat/care/toolkits/police/docs/Police_Toolkit_Instructors_Manual.pdf

Treating posttraumatic stress disorder in first responders: A systematic review
https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/nioshtic-2/20041710.html

Conceptualization, Assessment, and Treatment of Traumatic Stress in First Responders: A Review of Critical Issues
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6624844/

Learn, Grow, Stay Safe!

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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” on-site training program is an eight hour, hands-on, “How to” seminar based upon John Marx’ book of the same name. This seminar helps 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.

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.
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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!

About Editor

John Marx was a Police Officer for twenty-three years and served as a Hostage Negotiator for nineteen of those years. He worked as a patrol officer, media liaison officer, crime prevention officer and burglary detective. Also during his career he served as administrator of his city's Community Oriented Governance initiative through the police department's Community Policing project. Today John combines his skills to consult with businesses about improving both their security and their customer service programs. John retired from law enforcement in 2002. When one of his friends, also a former police officer, committed suicide at age 38, John was devastated and began researching the problems that stress creates for police officers. He decided he needed to do something to help change those problems and he wanted to give something back to the profession that gave him so much. He started a project that has evolved into CopsAlive.com. Put simply, the mission of CopsAlive is to save the lives of those who save lives! CopsAlive.com gathers information, strategies and tools to help law enforcement professionals plan for happy, healthy and successful careers, relationships and lives.
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