Any situation beyond the realm of a persons usual experience that overwhelms his or her sense of vulnerability and or lack of control over the situation. Any Situation faced by emergency service personnel that causes them to …show more content…
"Real men can handle it!"; "If you can't deal, find a new line of work!"; "Keep it to yourself," Don't be a baby!" The reality is that police officers, as all human beings, will experience deep emotional reactions to a critical incident. Attempts to deny this fact often cause officers to suffer in silence, not seek help, and in some instances, truly disrupt their lives and the lives of their families.
Police officers and rescue workers in general, share personality traits that can feed into the stress of a critical incident. Personality factors of Law Enforcement Personnel include: * A need to be in control * Obsessive/perfectionistic tendencies * Compulsive/traditional values -- wanting things to remain unchanged * High levels of internal motivation *