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July 2020 Edition Fraternal Order of Police Wellness Services www fop net 2019 National Fraternal Order of Police
COVID 19 SURVEY The National Fraternal Order of Police is committed to listening to the voices of our members In recent months the COVID 19 pandemic has affected the working conditions of law enforcement officers across this country and the world Because we recognize this impact we ask that members share their experiences in the following survey of Police Officer Experiences During the COVID 19 Pandemic We hope that this brief survey will help us further understand your experiences during the pandemic and will enable us to find avenues for providing support to our members https www surveymonkey com r FOPCOVID 19
July 2020 Edition 701 Marriott Dr Nashville TN 37214 615 399 0900 or 800 451 2711 Fax 615 399 0400 Sherri Martin Director of Wellness Services SherriRowan hotmail com National Executive Board Patrick Yoes President Joe Gamaldi Vice President Jimmy Holderfield Secretary Tom Penoza Treasurer Les Neri 2nd Vice President Keith Turney Sgt at Arms Rob Pride Chairman of Trustees 701 Marriott Dr Wellness Committee Nashville TN Sherri37214 Martin Chair Bourret 615 Darrin 399 0900 or Michael Haley 800 451 2711 Sean Harper Fax 615 399 0400 Brian Nanavaty Corey Nooner Mike Violette Religious practice substantially contributes to physical and mental health Regular religious practice lessens depression promotes self esteem and builds familial and marital happiness www fop net
July 2020 Edition Spirituality as a Key to Greater Wellness Spirituality can be defined broadly as a sense of connection to something higher than ourselves Many people search for meaning in their lives and while the understanding of spirituality differs across religions and belief systems it can be described as seeking or finding meaning and purpose in life Further religion and spirituality are not understood in the same way though they often overlap Building spirituality into a practice takes intention and effort but the benefits are far reaching Seeking a meaningful connection with something bigger than yourself can result in increased positive emotions Several studies have shown an increase in job satisfaction with an increase in spirituality in the workplace How people explain their work matters in building a sense of honesty and connection to their jobs By building interconnective experience into a workplace people will be more productive and have greater satisfaction in their work Most human beings are looking for meaning in their lives Forming connections in troubling times eases stress depressive symptoms and increases immune response If you are looking for ways to increase your spiritual practice here are some tips for getting started 1 Start small and make new habits easy and achievable There is no need to fully adopt a set of beliefs overnight Becoming more spiritual can be as simple as staying silent for 5 10 minutes a day in a quiet soothing environment www fop net Continued
July 2020 Edition Spirituality as a Key to Greater Wellness Continued 1 2 Commit to daily practice Love yourself enough to attempt to find moments of transcendent emotions daily Through increasing hope kindness self compassion gratitude and awe anyone can start being more spiritual right away All it takes is one decision to change perspective Practice mindful attention to thoughts emotions and behavior to find experiences in spirituality 3 Study Explore others experiences of spirituality whether through religion or personal journeys Find something that you find relatable Ask questions and get curious about people who have cultivated this beautiful way of being in the world 4 Develop an optimistic explanatory style While getting curious and beginning to ask more questions slowing down how you speak and exploring personally held strong beliefs can open your minds to more possibilities Instead of thinking first of negative seek the positive in all things 5 Choose love and respect With every interaction lead with a loving and kind way of being Even when dealing with tense interactions staying calm and in a caring mindset can de escalate the situation Can you imagine the Dalai Lama yelling at someone He interacts with skeptics and highly intelligent people who might seek to threaten his way of being in the world yet he shows up every single time with love He respects his interactions as opportunities to learn from alternative perspectives Source Miller K 2020 The Science of Spirituality 16 Tips to Build Your Spiritual Practice Found at www positivepsychology com www fop net
July 2020 Edition Spiritual Message Health and Wellness By Phil Wiggins FOP National Chaplain One morning while sitting in my study I listen to the rain as it hit the roof and watching out the window as the droplets were sparkling on the leaves I thought how peaceful and calm all was right in our world Then my mind would shift to just a few nights ago at my local police department where many officers had been called back to work because of threats of violence and protest This came with long hours at work over several days for many of them This was playing out all over the country Officers having to gear up to go out to try to prevent damage to property sitting and waiting in addition to being away from their family The sound of protesters screaming and chanting could be heard inside the building I knew all was not all right in our city or around the world If we are to keep our emotional health intact we need to learn to control what we can control and trust God for the rest Reading the Bible is a great source in guiding us in making good choices and decisions because God is active in our mental spiritual and emotional health The Bible tells us in Philippians 4 6ff to pray about everything tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done Then you will experience God s peace His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus When you encounter something out of your control you can turn it over to God and trust him to work it out for good www fop net Continued
July 2020 Edition Spiritual Message Health and Wellness By Phil Wiggins FOP National Chaplain Pastor Rick Warren stated in one of his sermons It s easy to go to extremes with this For instance you can say it s all up to God an become passive to the point where you do nothing On the other hand you can act like God doesn t play a part in your life and assume everything depends on you We need to be careful to find the proper balance so we can find that good physical emotional and spiritual health that works for us There are some things in this world that we have no control over so we need to recognize what is in our control We find that through wise counsel bible study and prayer Over the past several months we certainly have discovered what we don t have control of and that is the Coronavirus pandemic government and how other people will respond You may not be able to control many things in your lives but you can choose how you will respond You have that choice to choose what is right and just That is your call God is always there to help you make those decisions www fop net
July 2020 Edition Responding with Resilience Navigating the Stressors of Police Work During the COVID 19 Pandemic Dr Tom Coghlan retired NYPD Detective police psychologist and FOP member recently provided a free webinar titled Responding with Resilience Navigating the Stressors of Police Work During the COVID 19 Pandemic The event was recorded and can be accessed at any time In partnership with the National Organization for Victim Assistance NOVA the FOP recently hosted a webinar titled COVID 19 s Impact on Grief Loss and Death Notification Maintaining Meaning in Stressful Times Stay tuned Dr Coghlan will provide another free educational webinar in the coming weeks The date will be announced soon for Maintaining Meaning in Stressful Times www fop net
July 2020 Edition www fop net
July 2020 Edition www fop net
July 2020 Edition Steps to Reduce Police Fatigue Given the current circumstances in our profession the workload of officers is not apt to soon decrease However there are things that officers can do Officers can control how they choose to react to stressful incidents acknowledge that fatigue plays a direct role on personal stress levels Officers will react as they have been trained when they are properly rested and alert In addition law enforcement officers can 1 Plan meals and make healthy eating choices and stop eating high calorie fast food 2 Plan vacation and downtime Write it down and stick to it 3 See your doctor regularly for checkups 4 Share the workload and reduce the amount of overtime 5 Live within your means so that moonlighting that second job is not necessary 6 Create a realistic exercise program and form healthy habits 7 Create a Patrol Buddy program and make time to check on each other 8 Keep your civilian friends and get away from the job no shop talk on downtime www fop net
July 2020 Edition Chateau Recovery First Responder Resiliency Program Midway UT www chateau com firstresponders FHE Health Inc Shatterproof Program Deerfield Beach FL https fherehab com services first responders Transformations Treatment Center Help For Our Heroes Program Delray Beach FL https helpforourheroes com Warrior s Heart Bandera TX www warriorsheart com www fop net
July 2020 Edition Travis Howze United States Marine Former Police Officer and Firefighter was a featured speaker at the inaugural FOP Wellness Summit in 2019 His newly released heartfelt and hard hitting memoir is about staying in the fight and never giving up on yourself By sharing his own journey through trauma to finding purpose Travis shows how the power of perspective and acceptance can keep us on our feet in the most trying of times www fop net
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July 2020 Edition There is ALWAYS another option www fop net