By Bryan Avila, Backgate Contributing Author
For those of us that are in this line of work know that we
have a perverted sense of humor. With the things that we have to deal with on a
daily basis, how else can we cope if not with some type of humor. But do we
really know how this job really affects us? Have we ever really thought about
the possibility that PTSD may be an issue?
I am going to ask you to put in order from lowest to highest
who is more likely to suffer from PTSD and compare your results after. No
cheating and let’s see how you do.
1. Corrections
2. NYPD Officers (post 9-11)
3. Fire Fighters (post 9-11)
4. Civilian Population
5. Emergency Management Personnel
6. EMT
7. War Time Military Personnel
Now if I was a betting man, I’d bet that you put down
civilian population with the lowest and wartime military as the highest. You
would be correct with the lowest. The civilian population currently has a PTSD
rate of 3.5%. Wartime military has a PSTD of 12-20% (that’s up to 1 out of
every 5 members of our military!) NYPD officers have a rate of 7.2%,
firefighters are 14.3%, EMTs are 14.1%, Emergency Management personnel are
13.2%.
But for corrections in the US is 27%... Let that sink in for
a minute. 27%. Want to see it from a
different perspective? Let’s try this one then. One (1) out of every 3.7 people
working in corrections is suffering from PTSD.
The Desert Waters Correctional Outreach conducted a first of
its kind (in the US) research study regarding PTSD in US Correctional
Professionals (uniformed and non-uniformed).
Their results showed that the most common symptoms were
anger (82%), numbness (60.4%), fear (57.9%), helplessness (51%) and
indifference (50%). How about how it
affects other parts of our lives? Depression (53.8%), sleep difficulty (40.9%),
digestive problems (35.3%) and obesity (36%). And folks, these numbers are
representative of if you experienced the symptoms within the last 30 days.
Would it surprise you to find out that the average number of
missed days from work within a year for these staff members was 15.21 days? How
about 7.24 doctor’s visits within a year? Or 2.44 medical conditions that they
have?
Those numbers are just staggering. Did we ever think that it
would be this high? Yes, we knew that we go through some of these but most of
us blow it off as just part of the job.
It is not a matter of being too proud to ask for help.
Stress, relationship problems, anxiety and satisfaction with life are all
affected as well as a result of what we go through.
The Employees Assistance Program is there for a reason. Many
of us have heard about it but really don’t know what it is all about. If you
are not sure, let me give you the cliff notes version of the cliff notes
version: 24/7/365 days someone will answer the phone. Available to you and your
immediate family. Have teens? Teen helpline just for them. Confidentiality
concerns? The only people that will find out you called are the ones that YOU
tell. The agency will never find out unless you say something. Marital
problems, depression, whatever…they can help. And the best part: FREE
If you work for the State of Texas, their number is
866-862-5972. If you work in another state, find their number, program it into
your phone and make sure you know it is there. You may have a friend that needs
it later on.
If you want to read the research report, here you go:
Editor's note: Corrections.com and Backgate Website
Contributing author, Bryan Avila started working as a Police Officer
in 1994 while attending Norwich University in Northfield, VT. In
1999 he began working for the Vermont Dept of Corrections while still
working as a Part-Time Police Officer. In 2007 he left public
service until 2009 when he began working for the Texas Department of
Criminal Justice. - Note; the views expressed within this article are
opinion and do not reflect those of the TDCJ (Texas Dept. of
Criminal Justice) in any way.
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