is the lead-off paragraph on the front page of the Orlando Sentinel."Each year, so many cops kill themselves across America that the number of suicides sometimes exceeds those who die in the line of duty."
"But the true numbers may never be known, because no agency tracks police suicides nationwide and few speak openly about the deaths."
and unfortunately, many of these suicides involve the killing of others first."Some law-enforcement leaders view the suicides as an epidemic . . "
"Individuals who perceive themselves as problem solvers often have great difficulty admitting that they have problems of their own.", said Tom Gillan of the Central Florida Police Stress Unit., "As a result, some officers who feel that they can no longer tolerate psychological pain choose to solve the problem themselves through suicide rather than by asking others for help."
"Perception of weakness" was noted in the article as a major reason these officers shunned treatment! They see themselves as tough . . . which doesn't leave room for the weakness associated with their job.
"Attacking the stigma" "Untreated depression, post traumatic stress and a culture that ridicules seeking help as weakness - major causes of police suicide - strike every age, gender, race, rank and religion."
An here is why I'm posting excerpts of the article here:
"Another issue is failing to train officers how to leave the skills needed on the job at work."
"To be successful as a police officer, he or she must function as a warrior in combat. Without that mind-set, not only are officers likely to fail, they may not survive on the street," said Douglas, a former police officer. "The problem is that officers frequently do not separate the street from home."
I've posted quite a few threads pertaining to this subject and the heavily emphasized "Warrior Mindset" many of us appear to be pushing on these forums, as being a potentially dangerous obsession for average citizens.
Its bad enough that our military and LEO must be subjected to this job-related stress. I felt that we, as martial art teachers, should be careful not to be introducing this unnecessary stress on our students without the benefit of professional counseling to offset this "Warrior mindset" some are preaching must be part of our lives.
Not a subject many of us will want to address. However, anyone who thinks this problem is not a serious issue for some dojo who run their programs like they are training Navy Seals for a homeland invasion, should spend a little time researching the subject.
