We put on our uniforms every day and go to work. The things
that we deal with on a daily basis will make the normal person cringe. We
raised our hand and volunteered to do this job. We volunteered to deal with the
brutality that society has to offer every day. We volunteered….Our families did
not.
Stress is an ever present factor in our daily lives. It is
an evil that we try to learn how to deal with. I say try because we rarely
succeed at it. We have gotten better at it over the years, but it is still a
constant struggle for us.
It came as a shock to me, but as I was researching the
divorce rates for Law Enforcement and Corrections, I found that the divorce
rate for LEO’s was lower than the national average at 14.7% and for corrections is was higher than the
national average at 21.3%. The national average is 16.35%. I honestly believed
for the longest time that we were at the top of the list (Dancers and
choreographers are at the top with 43.05%).
Even though it is great news that we are not at the top of
the list, when it comes down to stress, there is no doubt that we have one of
the most stressful jobs out there. How we deal with it, and more importantly
how our families are affected by it, is what makes all the difference.
How do we normally deal with stress? Since we are supposedly
built to show no emotion in the face of adversity, we bottle things up and
refuse to talk about our feelings. We don’t need to talk about them, right?
Isn’t talking for sissies? We just need to deal with whatever it is and move
one. How wrong can we possibly be about this train of thought?
We must learn how to control, and deal, with the stress
before it controls us and we loose all control of our lives. When we allow
stress to control us, we face the following just to name a few:
- Increased depression and/or suicidal ideations
- Use and/or abuse of alcohol or drugs
- Increase in health problems, both physical and mental
- Increased isolation
- Increased burnout at work
- Decreased familial interactions
- Increase in extramarital activities
- Decreased communication
- Inability to get adequate sleep
- Increased irritability/anger
I don’t know about you, but I sure don’t like the way that
it makes me feel when the stress starts building up. My back starts knotting
up, shoulders start killing me, can’t sleep well and then I get mad at the drop
of a hat. Not good at all. Who do we take it out on usually? Our family.
Now there are a few things that we can do in order to deal
with the stress and reduce the negative effects of stress:
- Develop or improve your community relationships. It has been shown that people that involve themselves in the community tend to live happier lifestyles.
- Take time for yourself. You need to find time to yourself so that you can unwind after a long day at work. It is better to look like a nutcase in your car on the way home by carrying on an argument with yourself and let it all out than it is to have an argument with your loved ones at home. Don’t let the frustration out on them. You chose the job, they didn’t.
- Get more sleep. If you are finding yourself getting up tired, try going to bed 30 minutes earlier and see if that makes a difference.
- Get into a nightly routine. Whether it is reading a book, listening to music, taking a bath or taking part in your favorite hobby, this can be a great way to relieve stress and relax. You know what you like to do.
- Get into a workout routine. 20-30 minutes of exercise 3 times a week not only increases your overall wellness, but it can also help in reducing stress.
- Forego drinking alcohol when stressed/angry. It may solve your problem at that moment, but the problem will still be there when you are done drinking (and hopefully not made it worse)
- Learn to communicate better with your family members. Bottling things up never work. It always comes out in the end. How it comes out is up to you though.
