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Mental Health and Wellness Support
A resource guide for Chicago Lodge 7 members
A message from EAP
Professional Counseling Division CPD Employee Assistance Program
312-743-0378
Widely trained clinicians and addiction counselors available 24/7/365
Peer Support Team
312-743-0378
The peer support team includes 300 officers who have taken a 40-hour training
Call for help
Put in the time to take care of your well-being
Each month, the Professional Counseling Division of the Department’s Employee Assistance Program (EAP) provides a message to promote better mental health for Chicago Police Officers. This month, Dr. Robert Sobo, director of the Professional Counseling Division, relates some thoughts about what is happening to officers’ mental health and well-being due to grueling work sched- ules and conditions.
The Professional Counseling Division is working overtime, too, trying to meet the demand from officers who have had their physical and mental well-being compromised by cancelled days off and the endless 12-to-16-hour tours. And it’s not just their
well-being suffering. Their families are strug- gling, too.
What happens when police officers become exhausted?
Their cognition isn’t as sharp. Dealing with conflict and frus- tration and some of the things they face on a day-to-day basis become more difficult to handle. And when you’re exhausted for a long period of time, the ability to utilize judgment, to think things through, to make better choices and understand the con- sequences of behavior aren’t processed as well as they normally are when you have good, restorative sleep.
There isn’t enough conscious awareness about addressing the situation. Officers need to be more aware about what they are experiencing when they become exhausted and emotionally drained. Beyond the impact on cognition, there is irritability, and the ability to defuse situations and handle them in ways you or- dinarily would be able to are compromised when you have had a lack of sleep.
The gamut of emotions the work schedule and conditions are causing includes being fearful, angry and resentful. You are part of an overwhelming majority if you feel like you are running out of ways to protect yourself and the communities you serve. You are not failing on the job if you feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of people on the street and not sure about how to main- tain order without creating more conflict. Know that you are doing your best to defuse situations rather than contributing to them escalating.
And you should not fear being part of the wave of more and more officers coming to the Professional Counseling Division on their own accord. They are coming individually and in small groups. They are asking for debriefings to process the experiences they are having on the street and the way they are impacting their lives.
Make no mistake that this is the impact of working countless numbers of days with no days off and extended hours. It is the impact of having personal and family lives disrupted. It is the rec- ognition that your ability to do the job the way you would like when you are in better shape is threatened by being submerged into these scary environments.
The problem is that there is no end in sight. And the anxiety of
not knowing how long this could go on and what the new norm might be is making things even more difficult to deal with.
Going out into the new status quo of the possibility of anger and violence breaking out is the ultimate ticking timebomb. It is exposing the physical and mental well-being of Department members and, by proxy, their families. And on top of it, your chil- dren are being schooled remotely, and you think, “How can I be there for them when I’m working 12 to 16 hours a day with no days off? How do I make sure my kids are safe?”
But you can’t wait for that pressure-cooker to explode. The best way to prevent yourself from being in a bad place is to come into EAP to address your well-being as soon as it is compromised. Officers must not wait until they are suffering to address their well-being.
With the consequences of everything going on, the recognition of it is a very important step in coming up with ways to cope. That is why coming in for debriefings on your own is even more critical than ever before. Confirm that your fears, anxiety and frustration are the status quo and that will be the first step to feeling better.
Professional Counseling also wants all officers to know that, more than ever before, they can trust the division and feel safe coming in. Give yourselves the freedom to take care of your men- tal health. CPD’s mental health services are the most widely used in the nation. Do not fall victim to those one or two people who say you can get in trouble if you come in for help.
Word of mouth is spreading through the Department that it’s OK to come in. Trauma debriefings have become so critical to deal with the aftermath of being involved in something that is so dangerous it causes physical or psychological harm. It can even lead to post-traumatic stress disorder if not dealt with.
We have also seen an increase in alcohol abuse and addiction. Alcohol sales have increased by 30 percent in the general pub- lic during the pandemic. Imagine what this does when you are in law enforcement. And you are not only dealing with the way the world has changed your personal life, but the extraordinarily heightened stress of the job.
It’s important for officers to understand that it’s a normal re- action to have increased difficulties in personal and professional life with all the stress and trauma on the job. But these difficulties need to be addressed so problems don’t become more disruptive to well-being.
You need to schedule today to take advantage of the long hours EAP is working alongside all officers. And not just because of what you have been through, but also because of what’s coming.
50 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ SEPTEMBER 2020