Deerfield Beach, where I stayed and spoke to the Broward County Sheriff’s office. Very honored to have taught there.
Police officers with PTSD is a problem impacting departments all over the country. Sadly, it is a problem that seems to always hit a wall. The blue wall. Twice in the last few days I was reminded of the police “Blue wall of PTSD.” The first was at a workshop I gave for the Broward County Sheriff’s Office at Deerfield Beach (the largest Sheriff’s Department in the United States), the second a message from an officer who has been struggling with PTSD for some time.
I won’t go too deep into the details, but the first officer moved from the New York City Police Department to escape the stigma of PTSD he suffered as a result of a broken back and 9/11, the second officer from a violent confrontation that left her almost dead. Both received the same kind of feedback from their department and fellow officers, suck it up. Unfortunately, the darkness of PTSD doesn’t always obey, suck it up. In fact, it usually never does.
Thank God for department’s like the Broward County Sheriff’s Office. The fact they went to the expense to have me come and teach at what was a well attended training says a lot about them. They understand that police officers with PTSD is a real problem. I spoke on responding to returning veterans and also on the impact of service to their police officers. What many don’t understand, and they do, is that you can’t be so tough that the traumas of service will never effect you. Any of us can be broken. Healthier officers are those who have outlets to talk about their own trauma and get help before it impacts their lives and careers. This is what makes them stronger, this is what makes for healthier, more effective police departments. This is what allows them to understand and better respond to our veterans.
And it isn’t just the police. It is our military, it is us. We can all be afflicted by a similar “blue wall” of stigma, shame, and ignorance. We can be broken in so many ways. Instead of reaching out to each other, we lock it away and let the memories become monsters. But they don’t have to.
You may need to talk to a professional counselor( I recommend you do), but getting better doesn’t have to begin that way. It can be a loved one, a colleague, anyone you know will listen. They needn’t have walked in your shoes, they need only to care about you and be willing to listen. And it needn’t be the monsters you tell them about, it can just be your current life and how you are having trouble living. Any step forward can begin to open the door we fear. The door that keeps us from living.
Reaching out to another is the first step toward killing the monster. Take that step. There are police officers with PTSD, veterans with PTSD, fireman with PTSD, moms, dads, sons, daughters and everyone imaginable with PTSD. We all can get broken. The first step to healing is understanding this and reaching out to each other.
We have one life, live free!
