MAY 2022. Blues Vol 38 No. 5

A BADGE OF HONOR heal

A BADGE OF HONOR heal ing our heroes MY JOURNEY By John Salerno Retired NYPD Detective and Co-Host Mad Radio Post-Traumatic Stress impacts us all. It is one of the leading causes of Law Enforcement deaths throughout our nation. (43 suicides nationwide at the time of this article) The problem is preventable. We’ve all traveled that dark path at one time or another, some darker than others. We all know if we stay on this path, it can lead to very destructive endings. So why do we continue down a road, we know will just end up causing us to lose the things we love the most. Well, much of it begins very early on, when we are children. Learning how to cope with difficult situations and issues. We have learned to develop different coping mechanisms to handle stress, not always in a healthy way. Sometimes leading us into alcohol or drug abuse or sex addictions be it porn or promiscuity. These are just a few of the many behaviors we encounter when we don’t learn how to cope. Learning at an early age to cope is vital in how we deal with the stress of our jobs and homelife. It’s a balance that not only takes time but takes practice as well. As Law Enforcement officers our coping skills are horrible. We are trained from the beginning to suck it up, rub dirt on it, move on and if it affects you, you are weak. There is no time to decompress, running from one call to another. Your mind is absorbing everything you encounter on every tour. If you think about what we see in just one week on patrol, it is mind numbing. We not only get hit with the traumas head on, but we also soak in the traumas of others. It does not take long for your bucket to fill up. If OSHA placed a recommended dose on the amount of trauma someone can endure, 99.9 % of us would exceed that level before our next paycheck. That’s why it is up to us, up to our commanders and chiefs, to be able to recognize and provide resources and opportunities to release the traumas well in advance. Being open and honest with yourself and letting yourself become vulnerable is one of the key components. Childhood traumas are a root cause of self-destruction later in life. If not handled properly, we will not cope with other traumas in a healthy way. Once again, we are taught as children to “Just let it Go, walk it off” This causes a pattern of how we deal with pain and suffering. Here is my true-life experience, my own battle which almost cost me my life. I can share this with you now because I have learned that holding the traumas of the past in, will only compromise the present and future traumas we will face. As a child I was sexually assaulted for over 2 years by a family member. I held this in and never told a sole. I hid it, locked it down and as time passed and I grew older, I thought I was over it. I couldn’t have been more wrong. What I was doing over the years was stacking more trauma on top of it. Hiding it and just filling my “Bucket” more and more. You see, by not releasing the sexual assault trauma, my coping skills I developed were to just pack more trauma on top and this will cover up the rest of the traumas, just like I did as a child. I found, my way of dealing with things was either to get angry, frustrated, and very destructive which in turn pushed the things I Love away. This slowly destroys your Mental Health. I share this with you, because in late 2020 certain things began CONTINUED ON PAGE 96 “THE STIGMA OF HELP” This very powerful short film (ONLY 9 MINUTES), could absolutely help save a life…….. please take just a few minutes to watch and more importantly to share this life saving film. Our First Responders, Active Military and Veterans are suffering in silence every single day……… The fact is they ALL are much more likely to die by their OWN HANDS than the hands of others on the streets or in combat. 94 The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE The BLUES POLICE MAGAZINE 95