Mindfulness versus panic
How to cope with stress and mentally survive your job
It is your first day on the force. You are as green as a blade of grass. Like most rookies, you may want nothing more than to impress your training […] Read More
News
A thing called hope
One cop's journey with PTSD
Several years into my career as a police officer, I began experiencing depression, nightmares and mood swings. My level of awareness swung between irrationally heightened and frighteningly numb. My work […] Read More
What I should have said to my friend
If you had the chance to convince a fellow officer not to commit suicide, what would you say?
He was the old bull on graveyard shift. He worked west beat and I was the eager young gun on the adjoining river beat, and I loved him. He occasionally […] Read More
Straight talk on police and suicide
The myths, the warning signs and how to help
These are uniquely stressful and difficult times for police officers and their families. In my 25-year law enforcement counseling career, I have never seen anything like it. The effects of […] Read More
CopLine: An officer’s lifeline
You are never alone
“CopLine, what’s going on?” Those are the first words a caller hears when those 10 numbers are dialed, (800) 267-5463 — 10 numbers that will connect you directly to a […] Read More
How I found light in my darkest hour
Five years ago, American Police Beat published the story of how I was terminated from my small-town police department due to work-related post-traumatic stress disorder. When I learned APB was […] Read More
