Life of a Corrections Officer in Recovery

By Safe Call Now Peer Advocate Tammy Norton

The public watches many new TV episodes these days of “Orange is the New Black” or “Prison Break” and they wonder, what is it really like to work in a prison setting? Sean prompted me to write a piece for the blog and intimidated I was, not because I didn’t have plenty to say, I have worked in prison settings for the past 21 years-I just didn’t know how to say it.

When you hire on as that new Correctional Officer you never know until you walk through those gates that lock you in-and THEM out-how you are going to feel about this new career choice you have made. I have seen many new recruits turn around and head straight back out the gate once they heard the sounds of the locking mechanisms that are prevalent in my work environment-slam shut. T.V. can’t describe that feeling you get when you are outnumbered 200 to 1 and all you carry is a set of keys, a radio, and if you are lucky, a small canister of pepper spray.

In our profession, we manage the worst personalities that society has deemed unacceptable to maintain in a free environment and we place them all together. We are expected to act in a professional and non-judgmental demeanor to deal with individuals who have committed atrocities against children, other law enforcement officers or members of their communities and maintain safe and secure yet humane environments for them to reside-protecting them and us from each other when necessary.

Organizational Stress & the #1stresponder

By Safe Call Now's Dr. Laura Brodie

Something that is not recognized by many in the civilian world is that our First Responders as a whole are more psychologically healthy than the general population at the time of hiring. How can I say this?  Well, very few careers require the psychological screening and assessment that First Responders have to pass in order to obtain their job.  In doing such a screening, the hope is to protect the public from someone who is unsafe, but the hidden benefit is to hopefully protect the individual doing the job from many of the psychological disorders that can develop from this type of work.  So, if we use the premise that First Responders are more psychologically healthy than their civilian counterpart, why are we seeing the psychological problems we are seeing within First Responders?   Problems like substance abuse, high divorce rates and suicide?  Theoretically, this should not be happening, but it is rampant. Why?

Mental health professionals are very familiar with issues such as depression and have many tools in their therapeutic toolbox to help. What they are not nearly as educated in understanding is the environment of the First Responder and the issue of burnout.  Research has shown that the leading cause of stress in First Responders is not the day to day rescues and arrests they perform.  Those chores are why the individual signed up to do the job and there is clear understanding of those tasks through the academies and ongoing training.  What is not spoken of is the organizational stress that is killing First Responders. Yes, it’s the slow, ongoing, and constant organizational stress that is doing more damage to our First Responders than any other factor within the job.  As a professor, I have chaired several dissertations that have shown this stress and the gradual breakdown of the individual does not depend on the age, sex or rank of the individual. It appears that the seven-year mark is where the stress can eventually become the most significant issue for the individual and coping breaks down. 

Partnering Up to Save a Life!!!

By Safe Call Now®

This is an email (with permission to use) that our partners at Code 3 Spices received after they put up a post on Facebook about Safe Call Now.  I like these kind of emails!!!

"My name is -------------. I am a 19 year police veteran from the state of _______. I wanted to thank you guys for doing what you do. You see, I have been through a lot of ups and downs and have seen a lot of horrible shit over the years of being a cop. Within the last year I got divorced, lost my house, Lost my mother and father, became depressed and I felt like everything was spinning out of control from there. 

Work was non-stop stress. I was involved in a situation that involved a horrible incident where 2 children were brutally murdered. I was the first one on scene. I went home that night, started drinking and thinking about all the horrible incidents I have been involved in and sat down at the kitchen table with my lap top, a pen and paper and my service weapon. 

As I was writing my last letter to my loved ones a co-worker sent me a message of one of the posts you had put up on Facebook about Safe Call Now® and their call service. I am a spiritual type of man. I took it immediately as a sign to call this number. I broke down crying, emptied my service weapon and put it in my lock box and called my ex-wife to come over. She obviously knew something was wrong. 

I made a call to Safe Call Now® and they were able to place me into treatment within 36 hours. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for being a company that supports organizations like Safe Call Now®. The timing of your Facebook post saved my life, my career and my future. I am 100% healthy now and I owe it to the people of Safe Call Now®. 

Thank you again for everything your company does in supporting first responders and military. I will be a supporter of Code 3 Spices for life. 

Sincerely, 

_________________ "

The #1stresponder & Trauma...

By Safe Call Now®'s Dr. Laura Brodie

As I work in treatment with individuals who have a reaction to trauma that is debilitating, I have found that there is a core issue that appears to be evident in many of these individuals.  That is the issue of a poor or absent support system prior to the trauma.  Many who I see afflicted with trauma worked as the strong support system for others prior to their emotional damage. They report to me that they received little comfort for leaning on others for support. They were seen as strong and capable so others assumed they could handle anything. Giving guidance, support and help to others comes so naturally to these people, but being the person in need is many times the greatest fear. Why?

People who are caretakers in the world do not take kindly to being taken care of. This comes from a sense of identity that formed quite early in life where giving was much more comfortable than receiving. Being the low maintenance child was the role in the family and wanting to make parents proud, because little problems and keeping anxieties secret were the M.O.  Many times these people are high achievers who are the ones others turn to for support. What is not realized is caretaking becomes a great skill for caring for the other, but caretaking of the self is a very foreign concept. Not wanting to be an emotional burden is a feeling that developed early in life and as an adult it becomes the attitude of “I’m fine” even when he or she knows things are not fine at all.

Handling trauma when you have previously been used to a life of self-sufficiency is like asking to be the patient when you have always been the therapist. It does not work well. The isolation of being “fine” at all times does not work as memories and thoughts attack. Now trapped in his or her own mind, all the advice and counseling given to others is forgotten and the person is left vulnerable. Again I ask why?

Recognizing the Signs of PTSD

If you need help or just need to talk... Reach out to Safe Call Now®

By The Canyon

When tough situations arise, it’s not uncommon to feel stress, anxiety or depression. Likewise, it’s common to feel disrupted in your ability to cope with the feelings triggered by the event or in your ability to continue functioning normally in everyday life. However, when a traumatic event causes intrusive symptoms that last for more than three months and impact your ability to maintain functional relationships at home and work, then you may be living with the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and treatment may be able to help you get your life back on track.

According to the US Department of Veteran Affairs, there are four different types of PTSD symptoms:

• Reliving the trauma
• Avoidance of anything reminiscent of the traumatic event
• Negative changes in perspective
• Heightened levels of awareness

Any of these conditions can benefit from comprehensive treatment and psychotherapeutic care. Contact us today at The Canyon for more information about how we can help.

Reliving the Trauma

This type of PTSD is defined by vivid memories of the traumatic experience that come unbidden, evoking the same gripping, often terrifying, emotions as the original event. For many, these memories are so real that it is like they are reliving the trauma every time they occur. Symptoms include:

• Intense nightmares
• Flashbacks
• Experiencing triggers (e.g., sights, sounds or smells that cause the memories to occur)

What is the Addicted First Responder Thinking???

By Safe Call Now® President & Founder - Sean Riley

A dear friend of mine always says and he’s right, “We treat our cars better than we treat our first responders in addiction who are going to die”.   When the red light comes on in our vehicles we immediately take the vehicle into the mechanic and have it assessed, evaluated and fixed.  When we’re dealing with the alcoholic or addicted first responder, the red lights come on and as a profession we will enable them to protect our partners (blind loyalty), try to fix the problems ourselves (which only a professional can do) or cast them aside and throw them away as if it is someone else’s problem (the easy way out).   

The diseases of addiction and mental health when combined are two of the deadliest diseases known to mankind, yet they are the only two diseases that we allow the first responder who’s brain is incapable of making logical decisions dictate the terms of treatment.  Maybe for fear of not offending them, ending their career, who knows there are many other reasons usually associated with “The Thin Blue, Red, Green Line”.  Ultimately I have determined that the main cause is that “It’s always been done this way in the past”.  This is why Safe Call Now® exists, an organization that is willing to change the culture and thinking of an entire profession that experiences these diseases at twice the rate of the general population according to some studies and some say even higher.  Who knows?  I just know first responders are dying from it.

I want to speak with all of you about the alcoholic and addict mind and what the first responder may be thinking and doing when they are in this situation.  I am familiar with this because I was “That guy”.  The guy who would lie to your face, smile, tell you everything is alright, convince you that everyone else is crazy, function within the work environment, control the situations, create drama within others to direct the attention away from me and convince you that I was right.  Fortunately or unfortunately I do not think like you.  

Alcoholics and addicts usually have above average intelligence (I would like to think so) and are very creative because we’ve had to be to get what we want and manipulate situations to obtain our main objective… to get the alcohol or drugs at any costs.  I remember when my supervisors were impressed with my ability to “Think outside the box” to solve complex cases.  The reason for this is I felt I had to perform at such a high level that it would divert attention away from me and my drug use.  On the outside I was “That guy” people were coming to for advice on creative ways to solve cases which fed my ego all the while I was falling apart on the inside and in my private life.  It’s kind of ironic that my thinking was so delusional in nature, my brain was hijacked by the disease of addiction and there was no logic to my decision making and I was able to convince others that I was this brilliant “Guy” (or at least I thought so).  Yet somehow I was able to make it work for over 23 years and as I progressed through my disease I really felt I was superior to others.  I’m not proud of any of this and it is actually very embarrassing when I look back upon it all.

Training that Changes & Saves the Lives of #1stresponders

Safe Call Now®'s Training Series

Today Safe Call Now® is in Henderson, Nevada providing life changing training to the first responders of the greater Las Vegas area.  Emotional Body Armor and the Bulletproof Administrator are courses designed for all first responders and their family members if they choose and to provide them with the tools to help individuals being held back both personally and professionally by the bonds of addictive behaviors, co-dependency, family systems or trauma in any form. 

Participants will examine those barriers and experiences that influence the capacity for a happy, healthy life and career. The intensive training experience will reveal how painful life and job experiences are and that they can hamper the growth of individuals and block the ability to be authentic in relationships with self and others.

We are very blessed to be able to provide these workshops nationwide so that first responders may reach their potential life, family and career goals.

For more information contact: Captain Brian Nanavaty at bn@safecallnow.org 

Organizational Stress... Burnout or Depression???

By Safe Call Now®'s Dr. Laura Brodie

Something that is not recognized by many in the civilian world is that our First Responders are as a whole have are more psychologically healthy than the general population at the time of hiring. How can I say this?  Well, very few careers require the psychological screening and assessment that First Responders have to pass in order to obtain their job.  In doing such a screening, the hope is to protect the public from someone who is unsafe, but the hidden benefit is to hopefully protect the individual doing the job from many of the psychological disorders that can develop from this type of work.  

So, if we use the premise that First Responders are more psychologically healthy than their civilian counterpart, why are we seeing the psychological problems we are seeing within First Responders?   Problems like substance abuse, high divorce rates and suicide?  Theoretically, this should not be happening, but it is rampant. Why?

Mental health professionals are very familiar with issues such as depression and have many tools in their therapeutic toolbox to help. What they are not nearly as educated in understanding is the environment of the First Responder and the issue of burnout.  Research has shown that the leading cause of stress in First Responders is not the day to day rescues and arrests they perform.  Those chores are why the individual signed up to do the job and there is clear understanding of those tasks through the academies and ongoing training.  What is not spoken of is the organizational stress that is killing First Responders. 

Yes, it’s the slow, ongoing, and constant organizational stress that is doing more damage to our First Responders than any other factor within the job.  As a professor, I have chaired several dissertations that have shown this stress and the gradual breakdown of the individual does not depend on the age, sex or rank of the individual. It appears that the seven-year mark is where the stress can eventually become the most significant issue for the individual and coping breaks down.

Organizational stress is from the departments and the fall out from the public. It is the gradual wearing down of the individual in all the tasks that have to be done to cover one’s posterior through paperwork, to handle the misconceptions and accusations of the media and public and the management of troops when management classes and courses are not offered as a way to help the individual learn how to manage.