Good and Bad Stress
Page 1 of 4 Good and Bad Stress
Good and Bad Stress Ginger F. Kelly
CJ201
14 January 2013
Page 2 of 4 Good and Bad Stress
Good and Bad Stress As is the case with most people, a stigma is carried with the perception that asking for help is a sign of weakness. So much so is this fact that people have taken their own lives, before doing so. This is a universal problem that, to date has no solution. The prevalence of this problem is so severe education has been enforced almost to a mandatory level. Organizations have made suicide prevention training as much a part of the job now that it almost seems routine. As with soldiers that are expected to operate in high stress environments, so are officers and the risk of the pressure becoming too much is always there. An Organization known as SAVE (Suicide Awareness Voices of Education) has dedicated its mission to prevention and education, as we now know that one of the biggest defenses we have to this horrible problem is an educational offense. Knowledge is power. We need stress. Our bodies endure stress everyday and a certain amount of stress is healthy. It is once we endure more than we can perceptively handle that the risk of suicide becomes prevalent. Most individuals in high stress professions excel under certain stressful situations, yet another reason that it takes a certain type of person to be able to handle the demands of police work, but every person is different and their body’s reaction to stress may be more severe. It is here that we see a stigma arise, in that an individual sees a counterpart that handles certain situations differently and perceptively better than they themselves creating a feeling of inadequacy. It is
Good and Bad Stress Ginger F. Kelly
CJ201
14 January 2013
Page 2 of 4 Good and Bad Stress
Good and Bad Stress As is the case with most people, a stigma is carried with the perception that asking for help is a sign of weakness. So much so is this fact that people have taken their own lives, before doing so. This is a universal problem that, to date has no solution. The prevalence of this problem is so severe education has been enforced almost to a mandatory level. Organizations have made suicide prevention training as much a part of the job now that it almost seems routine. As with soldiers that are expected to operate in high stress environments, so are officers and the risk of the pressure becoming too much is always there. An Organization known as SAVE (Suicide Awareness Voices of Education) has dedicated its mission to prevention and education, as we now know that one of the biggest defenses we have to this horrible problem is an educational offense. Knowledge is power. We need stress. Our bodies endure stress everyday and a certain amount of stress is healthy. It is once we endure more than we can perceptively handle that the risk of suicide becomes prevalent. Most individuals in high stress professions excel under certain stressful situations, yet another reason that it takes a certain type of person to be able to handle the demands of police work, but every person is different and their body’s reaction to stress may be more severe. It is here that we see a stigma arise, in that an individual sees a counterpart that handles certain situations differently and perceptively better than they themselves creating a feeling of inadequacy. It is
References: Stevens, Dennis J An Introduction to American Policing; 2009 http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-02-08-police-suicides_x.htm?csp=34 http://www.save.org/ http://www.sixwise.com/newsletters/2010/february/10/good-stress-vs-bad-stress.htm