Page 38 - June2020 FOP Magazine

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
A little group therapy
The unprecedented challenge of responding to protestors in the midst of the unprecedented challenge of responding during the pandemic has prompted Chicago Police Officers to question the state of their mental health more than ever. So much so, in fact, that, for the first time, small groups of officers have been walking into the Department’s Professional Counseling Division offices request- ing services. With such demand for addressing the stress, Professional Counseling Division Director Dr. Rob Sobo offers this special therapy session for all Chicago Police Officers, discussing the issues they are all grappling with.
They cancelled days off, took away a holiday and I’ve had to work 12 days straight.
I’m sure you are physically and mentally exhausted and feel- ing frustrated, alone, angry and wondering where is the con- cern for your well-being. And who is trying to protect you while you are out there protecting others?
One of the hardest parts of all this is not knowing what you need to adjust to, not being able to make plans with your family and spend time with your children and do things that
bring you joy, allow you to rest and escape from the intensity and stress of being the police. One of the things you can do in the limited amount of time that you do have is to maximize that time with rest. Work hard to bring yourself to a place of relax- ation so you can spend some time with family or friends when you can.
It just keeps compounding. Everywhere I go, all I hear about is how bad it is and how bad the police is.
Limit the news. You don’t need to be watching the news. You are living it. Updates don’t do anything but keep your stress lev- els elevated.
Some other things you can do throughout the day – even at work – include finding a moment to breathe deeply. Slowly ex- hale and find a way to calm your body down. Even though it’s extraordinarily difficult when you are feeling threatened and being hypervigilant, it doesn’t mean you can’t find a moment or two to breathe.
But it’s keeping me awake at night.
Some police officers find that when they do have time to catch some sleep,lying in bed and doing deep breathing exer- cises helps. Bring your body and mind to a place of relaxation so your sleep has the opportunity to be restorative. One of the most important things you can do to reach a place of relaxation is to talk about your feelings with people you trust and feel com- fortable with.
Talking to my partner or other officers has always been help- ful. But morale at the district is bad. Everybody is having trou- ble talking to each other.
You want to be careful not to feed off each other’s stress. During this time of heightened stress, talk to people not on the job who can be supportive and empathetic. Call EAP and make
a telehealth appointment with one of our counselors to talk about what you’re going though, what it’s like, how you might cope with it and just not be alone in your feelings.
And there is all the talk about defunding the police and addi- tional civilian oversight. We feel like we can’t even do our jobs. It’s important to talk about it in order to process it. Because when you’re alone with your thoughts, they tend to persevere. They continue on and on, become bigger and bigger and cause more anxiety, stress and negative feelings. I think it’s also im- portant to realize that although you are bombarded with nega- tive opinions and perceptions about the police, there is, in fact, a lot of support out there. There are people who do care about
you, trust you and honor the job that you do.
It doesn’t feel like there is a lot of support for us out there.
The news doesn’t show you that too frequently. The protes- tors aren’t there to give you that sort of feedback. So you are bombarded by images of people yelling at you. That can make you feel like you are stripped of your identity as persons and the good you are as a man or a woman, as a family member and as a police officer. You become a symbol of negativity. That’s not who you are and you are frustrated that who you are is not being seen and appreciated.
It’s important to remember that so you can feel good about what you do, that you are important, that you make a difference in the community. When we were over at Guaranteed Rate Field doing roll calls, I was talking to a couple of officers and out of the corner of my eye I saw a couple of people coming with signs. I thought, “uh-oh.” But the signs read “thank you, we appreci- ate you, we love you and stay safe.” It’s easy to forget that is out there. So you have to pay attention to not just see the negativity.
I think I could find a way to deal with the stress if I had some time to recharge. But there’s no summer vacation coming and I don’t know how I’m going to find the time.
The truth is, it’s just going to be really difficult. That’s just a reality. So do the things we’ve talked about every day as much as you can. Making it an everyday practice is the way to try and gain a sense of well-being and safety and recuperate and recov- er from the stress of the job. It’s got to be an everyday practice. And know that this will end. It might be hard to grasp and trust right now, but this will end.
38 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ JULY 2020