Bibliotherapy: Emotional Survival for Law Enforcement by Kevin M. Gilmartin
The last few years have been challenging for law enforcement agencies and officers (LEOs) across our country. In his book, Emotional Survival for Law Enforcement: A Guide for Officers and Their Families, police psychologist, Kevin M. Gilmartin states we need to “stop breaking cops.” LEOs have high stress, high stakes jobs. They are trained and prepared for survival on the streets, but are given little training on emotional survival. The current national rates of suicide for LEOs are 2x that of the general population. His book encourages LEOs and their families to make self-directed decisions on how life can function and strategy implementation to insure emotional survival.
He states that most LEOs are drawn to this field with a desire to serve and protect. The qualities that make a good officer, integrity, professionalism, and caring, are the same qualities that can lead to emotional overinvestment in the job, and produce burnt out, angry, and victim mentality LEOs.
“If the job becomes your life, and you don’t control your job, then you don’t control your life.” -Dr. Kevin M. Gilmartin
Gilmartin writes that law enforcement is a demanding career that can come with personal costs to the LEOs and their families: shift work, sleep deprivation (80% of officers don’t get enough sleep), worldview changes (negativity, anger, violence, trauma), high job demands with low organizational control, riding The Hypervigilance Biological Rollercoaster which stimulates the adrenal-cortical stress reaction that leads to increased rates of the silent killers (depression, obesity, substance abuse, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes).
The Hypervigilance Biological Rollercoaster
On Duty, LEOs need to be “alive, alert, energetic” and retain a sense of hypervigilance, scanning for threats, and weighing possibilities in all situations. This triggers the sympathetic (fight/flight) autonomic nervous system and adrenal-cortical stress reaction. The adrenals release cortisol which causes the liver to release glucose, the increased glucose in the bloodstream is meant to fuel a fight/flight response which does not necessarily happen, so the pancreas increases insulin production to convert the extra glucose into fat cells for storage which can lead to weight gain, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, depression, and exhaustion.
Since every action requires an opposite reaction, Off Duty LEOs are prone to being exhausted, detached, withdrawn, apathetic, and having decision fatigue. Signs that an LEO is stuck on The Hypervigilance Biological Rollercoaster include: social isolation at home, unwillingness to engage in non-police things, reduced interaction with nonpolice friends, procrastination on decision making that is not work related, infidelity, noninvolvement with kids, list of hobbies they used to do, avoiding coming home, weight gain, and sleep disorders.
Gilmartin suggests that for LEOs and their families to thrive, they should be educated around The Hypervigilance Biological Rollercoaster, emotional survival for LEOs, invest in non-police friendships and hobbies, use personal time management, create goals and plan activities, practice spontaneity, prioritize sleep hygiene, engage in 20+ minutes of fitness daily, control their finances, avoid stress-related consumerism, and focus on what they can control at work and home.
I would add that other supportive practices for LEOs would include mindfulness, consuming a healthy diet and supplementation, participating in a spiritual/religious group, limiting technology access while off duty, spending time in nature, using their vacation time, and seeking out professional counseling/psychotherapy support especially interventions such as EMDR, Brainspotting, or Somatic Experiencing to process traumatic responses.
