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Special Report: You’ve Got a Friend
HELP CONTINUED FROM PAGE 35
can go to take advantage of resources,” Dr. Sobo says. “Anybody who has ever experienced any kind of therapy or counseling knows that lift. It’s not guaranteed, but it’s pretty reliable.”
Every little bit helps
Catanzara advocates that the field rep directing resources for members be Mette.
‘I don’t know anybody who lives, breathes and cries these things on a personal level more than Mike,” he praises.
Mette’s personal experiences might be more than any other member has ever endured. Or any 10 members. Nearly 20 years ago, he spent a year in prison over an incident in which he was wrongfully convicted. When he was released and reinstated, he was in a shooting in 2011. Then another shooting in 2015. In 2016, he had a police board case that put him in no-pay status for nine months.
“I had a panic attack in January of 2018,” he describes. “I thought I was dying. I thought I was having a heart attack. I end- ed up in the ER. They ran all the tests. Everything was good. Af- ter a couple of hours of being there, the doctor says to me, ‘Can I ask you something? What’s your stress like in your life?’ I kind of laughed and said, ‘You got a few hours?’”
The doctor was the first one to suggest that Mette get some help. He didn’t for about eight months. Then the pressure on his chest got to be so great that he started talking to people.
And the more Mette talked to people – peers – about his prob- lems, the more they talked to him. Talk about the power of get- ting shit off your chest.
“I think officers want more options, because what leads to suicide is hopelessness,” Dr. Steiner warns. “They need to re- alize that there are so many evidence-based treatments and that it’s not just one-style-fits-all. Officers are very resilient and resourceful, but sometimes the amount of stressors gets to be too much. And I find when they do come for help, they are very motivated. And once they do, they feel much better.”
36 CHICAGO LODGE 7 ■ APRIL 2021