Practicing Emotional Wellness

It’s important to recognize the early warning signs of reactions to stress and trauma. For more on early warning signs, click here.

Stress management is central to emotional wellness. Managing stress effectively is particularly important for people in public safety careers. It’s equally important for public safety leaders to support stress management and emotional wellness for the wellbeing of their employees, the agency as a whole, families, and communities.

Stress management techniques can be learned and are a critical component of navigating the challenges of daily life and the stressors of a public safety occupation. The techniques can include:

• Mindfulness
• Breathing exercises
• Social activities
• Spiritual practices
• Relaxing
• Counseling services
• Focusing on purpose
• Practicing gratitude
• Learning strategies to build resiliency

Mindfulness:

The term “mindfulness” is often used when discussing stress management and self-care. Mindfulness is a non-judgmental, receptive mind state in which you bring your attention to your thoughts and feelings without trying to suppress or deny them. Mindfulness requires that you do not over-identify with thoughts and feelings to avoid being consumed in negative reactivity. Through practicing mindfulness you learn to notice, acknowledge, accept, and proceed with what can be done to move towards positivity and self-compassion.

Practice mindfulness by taking short breaks to reset and recognize what you need to do to cope with your emotions.

Mindfulness activities can include:

• Deep breathing exercises
• Yoga
• Exercising
• Listening to music
• Meditating
• Journaling

For more on mindfulness, click here.

Breathing Exercises:

Deep breathing exercises activate the parasympathetic nervous system, known as the “rest and digest” part of the nervous system. Taking several breaths with an extended exhale can help relax the fight, flight, freeze part of your nervous system. To achieve this, take at least three full deep breaths, and extend your exhale to be longer than your inhale. Some find it helpful to breathe in for four seconds, hold the breathe for seven seconds, and breathe out for eight seconds.

Social Activities:

Reconnect or maintain contact and connection with family and primary social supports. Set aside time to communicate with friends and family to keep your support system informed and strong.

Cultivate personal connections and fulfilling hobbies that will provide positive outlets from the pressures of public safety work, while avoiding isolation. Focus on activities and relationships with family and friends outside of the job.

Draw upon your spirituality and personal beliefs.

Re-Charge and Relaxation Activities:

Remember to take regular breaks after each work shift and especially after experiencing critical incidents. Make sure to use time off to decompress and recharge.

Decompressing and recharging could be:

• Eating a good meal
• Watching a favorite TV show
• Exercising
• Reading a novel
• Listening to music
• Taking a bath
• Talking to friends and family
• Gentle stretching
• Acupuncture
• Massage therapy

Counseling or Proactive Wellness Sessions:

Take advantage of workplace wellness options, such as EAP, chaplains, psychologists, and peer support for additional support. Consider talking about emotions and reactions with coworkers during appropriate times.

Remember that you are not alone.

Remember Your Purpose:

Refocus on your purpose to help avoid burnout. This can be accomplished by assessing the impact of your daily routines on your energy. Questions to consider include:

• Why did I join the policing profession
• How does my work make life better for other people?
• How can I add more meaning to what I do every day?

Resiliency Strategies and Self-Awareness:

Acknowledge that the job is demanding and practice self-compassion. Set aside time each day for yourself, even just for a few minutes, to decompress and refocus.

Identify common triggers to understand when you fall into negative thinking traps. Recognize when your thoughts are becoming negative and try to shift your thinking to focus on what you can control.

Practice Gratitude:

Notice and reflect on everyday positive experiences in your role as a public safety employee. Consider not only how you have helped others, but also how others have helped you.

Prioritize taking note of good in the world and reflecting on the things you are grateful for. Deliberate recognition of even the smallest things you are thankful for and feel positive about can cultivate gratitude. This can lead to many benefits including improved mental and emotional health and higher productivity.

Build positive thinking patterns, such as reminding yourself of a time you felt proud of something you did or a time when a colleague or community member provided positive feedback about your work.

As you train your brain, it will develop new habits. Refocusing on positive situations and events can help combat feelings of being unappreciated and negative.

What Not to Do:

Avoid using alcohol, tobacco, or drugs to cope with stress.

Avoid overexposure to negative information and what you find to be unhealthy stimuli. While staying informed is important, too much negative information can become overwhelming and impact overall wellness. Try to refrain from turning on the news at home or setting a time frame where you will disconnect.

Avoid avoiding. Events or information that you find unsettling or troubling needs to be processed. Avoiding and trying to bottle up this information, imagery, and emotion may seem like a good solution, but it is a short-term solution that will only lead to long-term unhealthy consequences.

Take Away Message

Everyone reacts differently to stressful situations and critical events. How an individual might respond depends on their background and personality, as well as the community in which they live. Public safety professionals may react more strongly to difficult experiences on the job due to the responsibility of maintaining public safety, the cumulative exposure to traumatic events, and the concern for loved ones at home.

It’s essential to pay attention to your mental and emotional health. Intentionally practicing emotional wellness can help you react to urgent needs in a timely manner, both at work and at home. It can also help prepare you for times when situations may seem overwhelming and out of control.

By implementing some of the strategies noted on this page in your personal and professional lives, you will learn how to navigate adversity, thrive in the face of challenges, and maintain positive mental health.