BJOC 1.3 - Health and Wellness

Terminal Performance Objective (TPO):

BJOC 1.3 - Health and Wellness

Enabling Objectives (Eo’s)

As a result of this instruction, the student will be able to:                                                         

1.3.1        Identify common job-related and non job-related stressors.

1.3.2        Identify the early warning signs of burn-out or stress.

1.3.3        Identify positive and negative methods of coping with stress.

1.3.4        Identify techniques to reduce and manage stress.

Stress was first coined by Hans Seyle in 1975 as “the non-specific response of the body to any demand made upon it.”   A positive stressor is one that causes a person to become attentive and alert, and is short lived.  An example would be watching a ball game or taking an exam.  A negative stressor occurs in those situations that combine the body’s physical stress reaction with a sense of fear or anxiety because there is a potential threat to our own safety. 

What are the three stages of stress and describe each? 

a)     Alarm:  The stressor has just occurred and the body begins to react.  The body immediately prepares to respond by the “fight or flight” reaction. 

b)     Resistance or Adaptation State:  During this stage, the body continues the fight or flight response as long as the stressor is present.  As the stressful situation continues, the body tries to adapt and cope with the stress.

c)     Exhaustion: The body will give out if it can no longer resist the stressor. This is when people become vulnerable to illnesses like heart disease or high blood pressure, or to behavior problems like depression or uncontrollable anger. 

·        Non job-related stressors that affect many include family, neighbors, household duties, finances, pets, and even hobbies. 

Name some examples of job related stress. 

·        Job related pressures: promotions, safety, irregular shifts, and differing personalities.

List and describe six common major stressors that jail officers’ experience.

(There are 10 in the manual)

·        General stress:  the demands of work, home, personal life, health, lack of time.

·        Role definition:  understanding the job as a jail officer and what is expected in that role.  Often, shift supervisors vary in their expectations of jail officers, making it difficult for the officer to understand what is expected of him/her.

·        Need for structure: the need for jail operations to operate consistently, ensuring inmates follow the same routine and rules from shift to shift.  Failure to have structure allows inmates to rule the jail.

·        Personal safety:  being safe in a potentially volatile environment is a top priority, however, depending on others to help maintain a safe environment is somewhat stressful.

·        Personal isolation:  being a member of the law enforcement family creates an environment of being different. 

·        Job related pressures: promotions, safety, irregular shifts, and differing personalities.

·        Workload:  often shifts are short manpower, increasing the responsibility of current employees.

·        Interaction with inmates:  dealing with inmates becomes a skill the jail officer must develop.

·        Job status:  Am I appreciated?  Does the supervisor listen to your suggestions?  Do you offer solutions instead of just whining? What must I do to get promoted?

·        Escapes:  responsibility of maintaining the safety, security and order of the jail to prevent injuries or escapes is foremost on the mind of a good jail officer.  However, successful deterrence of escapes depends on team work.

When someone is burnt out or experiencing burnout, that person is physically and mentally exhausted. 

What are the five stages of burnout?

1.      Honeymoon:  Workers at this stage enjoy the job and put forth a significant amount of energy in the job.

2.      Fuel Shortage:  Job dissatisfaction begins to show. Some of the causes include:  begin passed over for a promotion, lack of acknowledgement or praise for a job well done, constantly being given difficult assignments, and being assigned additional responsibilities. The officer feels that no matter how well they perform he/she is never going to get promoted.  He/she constantly feels tired and has trouble sleeping and will use escape mechanisms such as smoking, drinking alcohol and overeating. 

3.      Chronic Symptoms:  Workers in this stage experience physical illness, chronic exhaustion, acute anger and depression.  The escape mechanisms continue.

4.      Crisis Stage:  The worker is deeply pessimistic at this point.  He/she feels that there is nothing positive about the job or perhaps about his/her life.  Physical illnesses are apparent and may incapacitate the officer.

5.      Hitting the Wall:  All aspects of the worker’s life are in jeopardy.  Personal relationships are suffering as well as work relationships.  He/she cannot handle the stress any longer.

Negative and Positive coping methods.

What were identified as negative coping methods?

·        Caffeine consumption:  Jail officers are usually heavy coffee drinkers or consume a large amount of caffeine.  If you are under stress, your body is already stimulated. Consuming caffeine does not relieve stress, it accentuates it.  Caffeine has been found to have health risks with long term use such as heart palpitations, headaches, trembling, insomnia and other health problems.

·        Overeating:  Some people react to stress by nibbling or snacking.  Eating constantly can lead to weight gain.  Excessive weight gain adds additional stress to your body. The more you eat, the more you weigh, the less fit you are to handle stress.

·        Smoking:  Smokers state that smoking helps them to unwind, when actually the nicotine acts as a stimulant like caffeine.  Smoking has been proven to cause cancer, heart disease, and lung disease.  The effects from smoking add another stressor to your body.

·        Alcohol:  Having the occasional drink after work is a relaxing experience for many people. Remember, everything in moderation.  However, if you start to become dependent on having a drink everyday after work and then the one becomes two, then three, and so on, drinking is now becoming a significant problem and is another stressor on your body.

·        Drugs:  Unfortunately, law enforcement officers are turning to legal and illegal drugs to relieve stress.  Some officers believe that they will not get caught misusing drugs to cope with the stress in their life.  Over or misuse of drugs, whether legal or illegal, can have significant health risks.  Using these substances may also be a violation of the law.

Physical and Mental coping techniques.

What were identified as physical techniques for reducing or managing stress?

·        Nutrition:  When one talks about managing stress through physical remedies most immediately think of exercise.  Taking care of ourselves physically is more than just exercise.  You must make sure that you are fueling your body, which means good nutritional habits.  Jail officers, as with other law enforcement officers, tend to eat in hurried situations and eat whatever is available, which usually means “fast food”. 

·        Sleep:  Sleep helps us thrive by contributing to a healthy immune system.  It can also balance the appetite by regulating levels of the hormones ghrelin (hunger) and leptin (fullness).

·        Exercise:  Regular exercise has many benefits.  It strengthens the heart and lungs, relieves tension and anxiety, and helps build and keep a more positive self-image.  Regular exercise can also prevent heart attacks, strokes, blood pressure, and weight gain, and provide us a mental boost.

What were identified as mental techniques for reducing or managing stress?

·        Visual Imagery:  This involves focusing the mind on a peaceful place or relaxing image.  By imagining yourself in the peaceful place or focusing on a relaxing image you can calm your mind and body which relieves the stress that is being felt.  This exercise takes about 20 minutes of sitting quietly and using the imagination.

·        Progressive Relaxation:  This benefits the mind and body.  Progressive relaxation requires you to sit or lay in a comfortable position and quiet place free from distractions.  Start by taking in a deep breath and think:  relax.  You progressively move from head to your toes, tightening and relaxing the different muscles in your body as you go, spending about 5 seconds for each group.  There are audio tapes developed to assist with the technique.  This can be used in combination with the visual imagery to get the full benefit of relaxing.

·        Triggers of Relaxation:  The benefit to having a trigger is to calm you down before a “stressor” makes you lose control.  A trigger can be as simple as taking a deep breath and counting to 10 while thinking relax.  Another example is to rub your ear lobes while thinking relax.  The trigger that you develop should be one that will be easy to remember and put you in a relaxing frame of mind. The trigger is designed to give you the time to calm down and not react too quickly to the stressor.

·        Education:  Education is the key in mentally managing stress.  First, learn and accept that stress happens in everyone’s life. No one is immune from stress. Second, learn what the stressors are in your own life.  Third, learn how you can best process the stress in your life - physically, mentally or a combination.  Fourth, educate you and your family by reading books, listening to audio files, attending seminars, or talking to a mental health counselor.