It may be surprising to learn that firefighting makes the top ten list of jobs that provides a good life/work balance. According to Glassdoor, a jobs and recruiting site, their 2014 report shows that firefighting ranks just under occupations like a group fitness instructor, user experience designer, and corporate communications as one of the jobs that provides the best work/life balance. By contrast, just one year later, firefighting doesn’t even make the top 25 Glassdoor occupations for work/life balance in 2015. The discrepancy from one year to the next may have something to do with the fact that firefighting does ...
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Have you ever eaten at a restaurant with anyone in law enforcement? Chances are you may have noticed they will always sit in a position that offers an unhindered view and put their back to a wall. After extensive training and years of experience, this practice becomes habit. Being on constant alert to the surrounding environment becomes second nature. This awareness provides a continual sense of control as they most likely will not be surprised if a situation occurs. But does this sustained vigilance come with any negative affects? The answer is yes. Health concerns, relationship struggles, and job performance ...
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People serving in the Public Safety sector are used to acronyms. Codes for various situations, responses, and treatments exist in every department. If you transfer from one department to another, it can almost feel like you have landed in a foreign country. One acronym that everyone is familiar with these days is PTSD-Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. While many people have heard the term, there is a misconception about what PTSD represents. PTSD is the result of a single or chronic exposure to a traumatic event. This event(s) can range from car accidents, shootings, abuse, rape, or any situation where you ...
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Feelings and Emotions We all have issues at work that we have difficulty leaving in the ‘office.’ Businessmen and women in charge of large financial accounts feel the stress of a plunge in the stock market. Lawyers walk around with the weight that they were unable to convince a jury of someone’s wrongdoing, and now that person was free and back in society. A paramedic will go home wondering if they had done anything different or faster, would that patient still be alive? Law enforcement officers are no different. Faced day after day with witnessing the lowest points in people’s ...
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Dear Loved One, I know you are exhausted. The worry, stress, lies, manipulation and overwhelming fear has taken a toll on you. The negative emotions; guilt, shame, depression and anxiety are consuming you. Your life isn’t the same. How you long for peace and a sense of normalcy. I know this because I too love an addict. No matter how strong or independent a loved one is, addiction forces us into co-dependency and enabling behavior. It is part of our nature to care for our loved ones. How many times have we thought to ourselves “Of course I can fix this; he ...
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I have been a police officer, detective, member of a regional drug task force, member of a DEA narcotics task force, and Chief of Police. I am also a heroin addict. This story is neither a historical justification nor a self-indictment, but rather a cautionary tale. If in 2004 someone had told me that I was to become an addict, I would have laughed in their face. If only my loved ones and I received education in addiction, maybe things would have gone differently. Maybe my huge house and three car garage would still be mine. Maybe my professional reputation ...
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Addiction Doesn’t Discriminate The words ‘law enforcement officer’ and ‘addict’ seem opposed. Part of the tasks officers face is to stop the distribution and use of drugs. Many of the people they come to know daily are in the middle of one addiction or another. Just like the myth that addiction only strikes the down-and-out, it is a misconception that law enforcement officials are immune to becoming addicts. Moreover, while it is true that some choose to engage in illegal behavior, the majority come because of a work-related injury. With the physical nature of the job and risks of injury, ...
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We all have had rough shifts. Maybe it was only one call. Alternatively, perhaps you have had months of nothing but the worst. Maybe you are looking back over a career full of bad calls. As a firefighter, it is your job to step in and help people in situations that might be the worst moment in their life. However, what happens when the call is over, and your shift is done? You can’t just drop the images alongside your boots and walk away. Deciding how to process those tough calls can make or break you. Not all Kitty Cats ...
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I sat in a jail cell for three days in July of 2016. I had received yet another DUI as well as several other criminal charges. My alcoholism and drug use have caused me significant pain and suffering for my entire adult life. However, the prior year to this arrest things has completely spiraled out of control. Within the span of 12 months, my addiction had caused me to lose or harm everything important in my life; my marriage, my career, my relationship with my child and numerous health issues. As I sat in that jail cell, all I was ...
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Do you remember your first job? I am willing to say you probably encountered situations and people that made you say, “If I ever am the boss one day, I will be sure NOT to do that!”. We all have experienced positive and negative work environments. One of the most common complaints is that once a person gets promoted, they forget what it is like to be on the lower rung. In any business, stress can become the everyday norm when the overall tone of an organization is dysfunctional. Of course, this leads to additional stress and discontent across all ...
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