Psychological
Fitness
A guide for members of the
Queensland Police Union
Contents
Foreword1
Introduction 3
Being a member of the Queensland Police Service
3
What is stress?
7
On-the-job stress for QPS employees
11
After trauma
11
Burning out 11
Exposure to critical incidents
13
Recognising the signs and symptoms 16
Coping with stress
18
Maintaining psychological fitness
18
Wellness strategies
20
Useful references
23
November 2014
Published by
Queensland Police Union
217 North Quay Brisbane QLD 4000
Phone 3259 1900
Fax
3259 1950
E-mail [email protected]
Website www.qpu.asn.au
Acknowledgement to Police Association of NSW for source material.
Foreword
Psychological fitness is at least as important as
physical fitness in being able to fulfil our roles as
police officers and QPS employees, and also enjoy a
good quality of life outside the job.
As police employees, we are likely to face more
stressors, dangers, and potential precursors to psychological difficulties
than other members of society. We are constantly working in a political
environment, and we see the very worst and the very best of people. We
regularly deal with difficult people, and sometimes dangerous people. We
attend the scenes of horrific crimes and accidents. We are often obliged
to retain confidentiality, and cannot easily discuss some of the situations
we have to deal with. And on top of all this, at times we feel as though
we face a policing culture that does not accept any sign of ‘weakness’,
or any admission that we may have been affected by something we’ve
experienced on the job. We may deny that a problem exists, even to
ourselves. We bottle things up, put on a brave face, and try to carry on.
Tragically, some of us have witnessed what can happen if long term
emotional issues are not identified, and officers are not supported. Suicide,
depression, post traumatic stress, and burnout are all possible outcomes
of psychological difficulty. In many cases, if an officer or one of their
colleagues had recognised and acknowledged the situation, they could
have sought help, and could have been supported through a difficult
period in their life.
This booklet is a reminder to QPS employees to look out for their own
psychological wellbeing and that of their colleagues. If you recognise some
of the signs and symptoms of stress or burnout in yourself, consider some
of the strategies you may employ. If you have a mate you haven’t spoken to
in a while, give them a call. Check in with how they’re going, and let them
know you’re there for them if they need you.
If you feel you require further assistance, we have supplied a list of
organisations and resources at the back of this booklet. Alternatively, if
you would prefer to contact the Union, we can offer a confidential chat and
support to seek the best assistance for your situation.
We acknowledge and thank the Police Association of NSW President Scott
Weber for the source material provided for this booklet.
Stay safe, and stay well.
Ian Leavers
General President & CEO, Queensland Police Union
Psychological Fitness
1
Introduction
Being a member of the Queensland Police Service
Many of the things you enjoy about being an employee of the Queensland
Police Service – stepping out of your comfort zone and rising to challenges
– will make you motivated, excited, and energised about your job. This is
a manageable level of stress that allows you to perform well, maintain a
healthy level of functioning, and be alert to external risks that may pose a
threat to you or others.
Too much stress, however, can have a negative impact on your health,
and can lead to burnout or more severe mental health concerns, such as
depressive or anxiety-related mood states.
These are very common reactions to pressures which tend to be more
reported by police employees than any other profession, and are a direct
result of the demands of policing. It is important that you be aware of
these reactions and make a personal effort to alter your response when it
becomes intense and harmful. Recognising and treating these reactions
before they become serious is vital to maintaining your emotional fitness.
Police employees may react to pressure differently or find different ways to
vent their frustrations. Some of the common reactions to the demands of
your job with the QPS are outlined below.
Reduced tolerance
Police officers regularly have to tolerate bad behaviour and negative
attitudes from the general public. Remaining calm and in control while
being exposed to poor behaviour and verbal abuse can result in an officer
suppressing their emotions. Without having a strategy or outlet to let go of
emotion, officers can experience pent-up feelings that will affect them and
their loved ones.
Suppressing your emotions can result in a build-up of anger which might
mean you blow things out of proportion and overreact to situations. The
trigger for an outburst may not be the original cause of your anger.
Anger can have a big impact on your personal relationships, and can leave
your friends and family fearful of how you will react to certain situations.
It is important to deal with the negative emotions that will occur during
the course of your career, for the sake of healthy relationships and overall
good physical and mental health. Find activities which help you relieve
some pressure. Exercise, participate in leisure activities, and socialise with
your friends and loved ones. This will help ease some of the negativity you
face on the job, and keep things in perspective.
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3
Increased negativity
Your job in the QPS requires you to be risk-averse and to avoid dangerous
situations. Understandably, police employees are trained to recognise
and be wary of negatives in people as a safety and survival tactic. It is not
unreasonable for employees to have some negativity, but this can become
a belief that the majority of people pose a threat.
This is easy to understand given that police employees deal repeatedly
with members of society who are deceitful or whose actions have caused
harm to others. As a consequence, officers are prone to developing high
levels of cynicism and distrust.
The need to maintain control of situations encountered at work can affect
how you handle situations in other aspects of your life. Some officers can
develop a negative view and anticipate worst-case scenarios.
This heightened sense of caution may cause you to overreact, draw
inaccurate conclusions, or begin to place restrictions on who family
members socialise with and where they may go. This becomes isolating,
because cynical thoughts and actions force you to assert control over every
situation and others may find it difficult to cope with.
When speaking with friends and loved ones, conversations should be
relaxed and not an interrogation. It is natural for people to ask you
questions about yourself in social situations. You should allow them to ask
you questions without being defensive, and you can reciprocate with your
own non-intrusive questions. Without revealing too much information, you
may find that discussing your job and your interests helps relieve stress
and reduce your feelings of over-protection and cynicism.
Hypervigilance
Having a heightened sense of awareness of your situation and
surroundings is a natural response to the day-to-day job of a police
employee. If you find it difficult to switch out of this mode, however, you
could be allowing the vigilance of your job to creep into your personal
life. This can lead to facts being misread or distorted, and the wrong
conclusions being drawn. It can also leave an officer feeling hesitant to try
new things.
Some signs to look for:
• Scanning a room
• Ensuring you can see the exit and have a clear view of the entire room
• Wondering if you are in harm’s way
• Suspicion you could be a target
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Psychological Fitness
Hypervigilance can lead to exhausting highs and lows in demeanour.
You may find it difficult to socialise, preferring to remain detached and
standoffish.
While not everyone will experience all the symptoms related to
hypervigilance, it’s a common condition for police employees. How you
separate your role as an officer and your personal life is paramount to your
wellbeing.
Checking your phone often when you’re not on the job or finding it difficult
to talk about anything but policing outside of work may mean you’re living
the job. It is important that you do not allow work to take too much out
of your personal time. Get involved in things which do not require you to
think about or discuss your job as a police employee, such as joining a
sports team.
Denying emotions
You may often find it difficult to discuss your emotions or the struggles
you are facing. Some events may be difficult to discuss if there are feelings
of sadness associated with them, such as the loss of a colleague or family
member, or a fellow officer’s suicide.
While some police employees may choose to cope by stifling an emotional
response, this may do more harm than good. It is important that emotions
are discussed. This can be in a manner as casual as a regular chat with a
mate, and not just when you experience a build-up of emotion.
Don’t accept that suppression and silence are natural reactions to these
emotions in your role as a police employee.
Some more things you can do to maintain your psychological
fitness:
• Exercise to relieve frustration
• Ensure you get plenty of sleep
• Spend a little time alone if you’re finding it difficult to control what
you say to others
• Value trusted opinions on how you react to situations outside of work
if you’re unable to assess your own behaviour
• Use the ‘Rule of Three’ – if more than three things make you frustrated
in a day, it could mean that your mood is to blame, not the situation
• Keep things in perspective by focusing on an issue rather than a
person; see a problem as a concern and not a disaster
• Remind yourself of who you could hurt with your comments and how
they may affect your relationships with people
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5
• Recognise that anger makes a situation worse and cements a negative
mood
• Understand that some things are the result of human error and not
malicious intent
• Don’t attempt to control what your friends and family do and don’t
feel as though things will go wrong if you can’t control every aspect of
life
• Apologise when you react angrily with people, and explain why you
responded the way you did to avoid feeling remorseful and leaving
people resentful
• Find alternative ways to relieve emotion, for example write it down,
participate in physical activity, or talk to trusted friends
• Avoid consuming alcohol while dealing with emotional issues
• Learn to have a laugh! It relieves tension and releases endorphins
• Organise social outings with your team to relieve some of the
seriousness of the job
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Psychological Fitness
What is stress?
Stress is simply the human body’s physiological and psychological
response to a demanding environment.
The events and factors which initiate this reaction are known as stressors,
and as well as often being present in a person’s personal life – tragic
events, relationship breakdowns, health or financial troubles – stressors
also invariably occur in the workplace. For police, stressors are evident in
workloads and deadlines, investigations, attending incidents of domestic
violence, witnessing death or suicide, attending road accidents or being
in conflict with other officers. Balancing work and home demands can also
prove to be stressful for an officer.
A person’s reaction to stressors in their life and environment will vary.
Everyone experiences stress differently and will have a different tolerance
or healthy stress level. An event might affect one officer more than another,
and the type and number of demands an officer may be facing will also
affect their stress levels. The nature and severity of an officer’s reaction will
be dictated by how they analyse and respond to a stressful situation.
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It is important to be able to recognise the signs, and to seek early
intervention to deal with stressors. There are many helpful techniques
which can assist in the safe and effective management of stress, and
professional support is a valuable resource to be sought out.
Severe and extended stress is destructive to a police employee’s wellbeing,
irrespective of how capable they may be. It can cause long term impacts on
an employee’s career and personal relationships, as well as contributing to
a decline in their health.
Excessive or uncontrolled stress can alter an officer’s personality and cause
depressive and occasionally suicidal thoughts. Officers may feel as though
they have lost control and are unable to return to a healthy state of mind. It
is important to remember there is plenty of assistance available to officers
to address the imbalances and set them on a path to recovery.
It’s important to recognise the need to ask for support from colleagues,
friends and loved ones, or professionals, and to continue to ask until the
right level of assistance is provided. Assistance with recovery is available
and will continue until long after the extreme stress and trauma has been
felt.
Strategies for maintaining healthy stress levels
The good news is that the human body is made to adapt to a healthy level
of stress, and can act quickly to respond to pressures on internal stress
levels. This will allow an officer to respond positively and grow from an
experience when their stress is at a helpful level. Manageable levels of
stress allow officers to function effectively, achieve goals, complete tasks,
and respond well to challenges in their police work.
Some medical conditions and drug use can affect a person’s personality
and problem-solving capacity.
Physiological health can be maintained through awareness of negative and
pessimistic thoughts, and by substituting them with useful and positive
thoughts. This will assist in reducing overwhelming emotions.
Just as a police employee works hard to maintain their physical fitness,
they should also train to maintain their mental fitness. Undertaking mind
exercises and nurturing inner health to maintain emotional fitness is an
effective way of reducing the likelihood of having a heightened response
to situations in the workplace.
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Psychological Fitness
• Be aware of pessimistic and negative thoughts and make an effort to
replace these with positive thoughts
• Train for your mental health just as you would with your physical
fitness
• Understand how you function and identify techniques that work for
you
• Don’t be afraid to seek out support from people in your life
• Recognise that stress is a normal and healthy human reaction
• Intervene early to treat persistent, unwanted symptoms
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Psychological Fitness
On-the-job stress for QPS employees
After trauma
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the name given to the reactions
which can occur in an employee after they have witnessed or experienced
a traumatic event. This can be an event which threatens the lives or safety
of you, your fellow employees, or a member of the general public, such as
a serious accident, an assault, or a natural disaster (for example bushfire or
flood), and can leave you feeling hopeless, angry, or fearful . While these
reactions are normal and in most cases will pass, they can sometimes
continue for an extended period or leave you more distressed than usual.
This could signal PTSD, and it is important for an officer to seek help from a
doctor or health professional.
PTSD can present itself with any combination of the following symptoms:
• Difficulties remembering the traumatic experience
• Having flashbacks to the event in the form of ongoing intrusive
thoughts and nightmares, as well as profuse sweating and a rapid
heart rate when faced with situations which remind an officer of the
trauma
• Feeling emotionally numb, avoiding routines associated with the
traumatic event, losing interest in daily activities, and becoming
disconnected from friends and family
• Experiencing hyperawareness or heightened vigilance e.g. scanning
the environment for danger or being overly cautious. This might
present as increased jumpiness and irritability, insomnia, and
paranoia
If you recognise any or all of these symptoms in yourself or a colleague, it
is important to refer the situation to a doctor or specialist practitioner.
Burning out
Burnout, also known as uncorrected job stress, can hit police employees
harder than other stress-related conditions, such as PTSD. Burnout is
a build-up of stress related to pressures in an officer’s role, and it’s a
common experience which is easy to correct.
Burnout is an erosive stress condition which is developed over a longer
period than other types of stress discussed in this booklet. It gradually
wears down natural defences until negative thoughts set in. Rather than
just a temporary frustration with the job of an officer, burnout causes an
ongoing negative outlook and feelings of worthlessness.
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11
Stressors which contribute to burnout may include sleep deprivation
due to night shift, committing yourself to too much overtime, ongoing
workplace conflicts, or over-exposure to violence on the job.
Erosive stress left for too long could develop into serious mental
conditions. However, if the issue is treated early, police employees
suffering from burnout are expected to make a healthy recovery and return
to their usual functioning.
There are common signs and symptoms to look out for including:
• Responding to excessive stress or dissatisfaction by withdrawing from
work
• Losing enthusiasm or sense of duty
• Changing attitude from compassion and understanding to
indifference
• Suffering from emotional and physical reactions including irritability,
social seclusion, insomnia, and headaches
• Experiencing a loss of self esteem
• Developing a cynical attitude and negative language
• Presenting as physically exhausted
Physical exhaustion
• Higher incidence of colds and flus
• Increased instances of gastro-intestinal concerns
• Feelings of tiredness and exhaustion which cannot be attributed to
shift work or sleep deprivation
• Lack of motivation or energy
• A decline in job performance
• Experiencing physical weakness
Emotional exhaustion
The cycle of emotional exhaustion begins with frustration, leading to anger,
which then weakens a person through a cycle of fear, depression, anxiety,
and finally despair. Emotional exhaustion left untreated could develop into
a major depressive episode, so look for the following signs:
• Withdrawing from others and suffering moodiness
• Complaining of emotional fatigue
• Overreacting to situations and having public emotional outbursts
• Experiencing a greater level of job frustration than satisfaction
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Mental exhaustion
• Being more cynical than usual
• Losing interest in work and other people
• Having more negative thoughts and attitudes towards yourself or
others, e.g. “I’m useless, I can never do things right”
• Perceiving work as meaningless and disengaging from the team,
e.g. “Why should I bother?”
• Failing to respond to the feelings of others or giving up on tasks
If you recognise yourself or a colleague as having five or more of the
above symptoms, you should seek to intervene.
Deal with burnout
• Seek professional assistance early on to reduce the symptoms and
correct the imbalance.
• Modify your work environment and job demands in order to allow for
a greater recovery.
• Find interests in areas outside of work which provide relief from
negative feelings.
• Recognise and focus on personal successes rather than any negatives.
• Adjust your expectations on job satisfaction to allow for recovery. If
work is causing you momentary dissatisfaction, set personal goals
which will allow for an overall feeling of wellbeing.
• Consciously allow for relaxation in your routine to correct imbalances.
• Seek extra support and connections from leaders. Let them know
your thoughts and feelings about work, and allow them to make
suggestions to support you.
Seek professional assistance early to reduce the symptoms and find ways
to correct the imbalance.
Exposure to critical incidents
The nature of police work means you will attend scenes of traumatic
events and witness things most people will not see in their lifetime. The
following will help you understand when a police employee should seek
professional assistance. A level of self-care will go a long way in managing
symptoms.
Having a reaction to a traumatic event does not immediately mean an
officer is suffering from PTSD. Trauma symptoms will generally occur within
seven to ten days of the event, with the first four weeks being the most
vulnerable time period for an officer. The severity of symptoms should
Psychological Fitness
13
decrease in intensity during this time, and any continuing symptoms
could be a predictor of a more severe response. While the number of
police employees who will develop PTSD is relatively small, professional
assistance should be sought so a sufferer may receive treatment early,
which is important for a good recovery.
Reactions to traumatic events are completely natural, and can occur for
days or weeks following the incident. How an officer reacts to a traumatic
event will vary based on the individual – some will have little or no
reaction, while others can feel very affected by what they witnessed.
Police employees are not immune to experiencing emotional responses
to events they face on the job, such as child protection issues, disaster
recovery, and road accidents, and neither are they immune to the
investigations associated with these events.
Allow yourself time to understand and make sense of the events you’ve
witnessed. Your mind will be working hard to process the trauma, and with
time and support, a level of normality can be achieved. You have to give
yourself time to adjust. Time is a fundamental factor in the treatment of
symptoms.
The following are some of the reactions to trauma an officer may face
which should decrease in intensity in the weeks following an incident. If
you experience any of these reactions for more than 30 days, seek advice
and assessment from a professional.
Emotional
• Overreacting to minor events
• Having a reduced tolerance towards others or insignificant things
• Underreacting to challenging events
• Fixating on events and the role you played in them
• Increased irritability or aggression as retribution
• Feeling guilty for experiencing moments of happiness or for not doing
more in the situation
• Feeling great sadness and loss
• Fearing a repeat situation
• Worrying excessively and feeling anxious
• Losing faith and spiritual belief
Thought based
• Suffering poor concentration and an inability to make decisions
• Experiencing short term memory loss
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Psychological Fitness
• Having difficulty understanding details or completing small tasks
• Perceiving more danger; hypervigilance
• Wanting to spend a greater amount of time with friends and family
and doing things that are important to you
• Having suicidal thoughts
Physical
• Gastro-intestinal issues such as indigestion, diarrhoea, or constipation
• Headaches
• Heart palpitations, difficulty breathing, or chest pains
• High blood pressure
• Jumpiness and being easily startled
• Dizziness
• Trembling spells
• Profuse sweating
• Dry mouth
• Restlessness or edginess
• Fatigue
• Decreased sex drive
• Medical issues with no diagnosable cause
Behavioural
• Making impulsive decisions
• Taking excessive risks
• Becoming silent and withdrawn
• Having problems sleeping or experiencing nightmares
• Changing personal or work habits
• Losing or gaining weight
• Increasing caffeine or nicotine intakes
• Misusing alcohol or drugs
• Lashing out at others
If the above symptoms do not decrease or disappear within 30 days after
the event, seek professional help.
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15
Recognising the signs and symptoms
When stress levels exceed the body’s ability to cope, the response is
flooded emotions and panic. The body’s sympathetic nervous system –
the one responsible for preparing the body for action by increasing the
heart rate and increasing the release of sugar from the liver – takes over
its parasympathetic, or tranquil, nervous system. This results in chemicals
adrenaline and noradrenaline being released, and the body begins to
prepare for ‘fight’, ‘flight’, or ‘freeze’ responses.
‘Fight or flight’ is a common instinctive response in officers and can prompt
you to swiftly retreat from dangerous situations and remove yourself from
harm. In other instances, however, the flood of stress to the brain may
invoke a fear-based response to a dangerous situation, such as freezing.
A stress reaction to a situation will present itself in the following forms:
• Physical reaction
• Increased breathing rate
• Faster and stronger heartbeat that an officer is more aware of
• Increase in blood pressure
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Psychological Fitness
• Tensed muscles which are ready for action
• Increase in sweating in order to cool the body
• Diversion of blood to the body’s emergency functions
• Shut-down of the body’s non-emergency functions; digestive, sexual
etc.
Once the threat has gone, your breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure
should return to normal, your muscles should relax, and your thoughts and
feelings should be less extreme.
Some of the physical responses of the sympathetic nervous system may
remain dominant in the following forms:
• Insomnia
• Restlessness
• Digestive upsets
• Palpitations
• Increased blood pressure
• Muscle aches
• Immune system break down and increased incidences of sickness
• Headaches
• Decreased interest in usual activities
Psychologically, it could show in the following forms:
• Inability to concentrate
• Distraction
• Short-term memory loss and impaired ability to retain new
information
• Heightened awareness
• Increased irritability
• Social withdrawal
• Lack of attention to presentation and hygiene
The majority of stress-related symptoms should resolve within a week.
If you experience symptoms which continue for as long as ten days and
impair your ability to function, intervention should be sought to identify
the issue and find ways to cope. Stress reactions left untreated result
in exhaustion and fatigue which impairs a police employee’s ability to
perform the job effectively.
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Coping with stress
Maintaining psychological fitness
When facing challenges to your psychological wellbeing, it’s important to
have effective mechanisms to help you achieve wellness.
Maintain a healthy mind
It’s widely accepted that police employees should maintain a good level
of physical fitness in order to perform optimally. However, the importance
of emotional health is less recognised and less prioritised. Making a
conscious effort to regularly take care of your psychological fitness will go
a long way in making you emotionally fit for duty. Different approaches
will work for individual officers, so it’s important to understand what works
for you to assist in planning for and applying beneficial strategies. A well
balanced routine is integral for long-term physical and emotional health.
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Psychological Fitness
Know your limitations
Being aware of the impact certain stressors will have on you is useful in
understanding how you manage stress. Identify the situations which affect
you the most and develop a plan to manage them. Adjust the way you view
difficult situations and use positive reinforcement to remind yourself that
you have overcome difficult situations before.
Remember one size does not fit all
You may find that certain strategies for helping you deal with stress are not
always the best approach to a given situation. Reassess and adjust your
strategies for managing your emotional health, particularly in high-stress
times.
Don’t ever give up
Police employees in their very nature are known for their commitment
and resolve in ensuring matters are pursued and investigations are seen
through, regardless of the time it takes. This tenacity is a strong trait which
can be used to your advantage when facing a particularly difficult time.
Holding on to hope and the knowledge that there is light at the end of the
tunnel will assist you in getting through these times.
Stay connected to resources
The nature of the job of a police employee may make it difficult to
maintain personal relationships. Secrecy, paranoia, and mistrust are
common responses, and some officers withdraw from friends and family
and lock down their feelings. You may be feeling as though you’re worrying
them with your feelings, however your friends and family are there to
help and support you through tough times. Withdrawal is harmful during
difficult situations, so if you’re feeling isolated it is important to reach out
and ensure you maintain social connections, even when you no longer feel
like it.
Access the vast technological resources available to you. There are
numerous online resources available from reputable medical sources to
help you identify some of the emotional responses you’re having. While
useful, online resources should be used as a first line of awareness of an
issue, after which professional assistance should be sought to progress
your treatment and recovery process.
Instil the ‘mate’ principle in the workforce
The daily job of an officer requires you to serve and protect the public and
to provide the community with valuable assistance in times of need. This is
also true of your role as a colleague in the QPS.
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Be aware of how your fellow officers are coping with the demands of the
job, and do not underestimate the impact you can have on them.
Police employees who are facing difficult times can show the physical
signs of stress, e.g. anger, irritability and excessive paranoia, which can
make them difficult to deal with at work. Be bold and compassionate when
dealing with mates at work, and remember not to take it personally or
allow it to shape your opinion of the officer. If you notice a change in a
fellow employee’s attitude or behaviour, you could be important to their
recovery. Offer your support to them, or seek assistance from a senior
supervisor to address the issue. Supporting a fellow employee through a
difficult time could assist them in gaining control of their situation.
Strategies for coping:
• Resources – the more you have, the better you will cope
• Training and education – to assist officers in building personal
resilience and increasing professionalism. Police training for adverse
events assists in an officer’s mental preparation, which is important
for reducing vulnerability to psychological injury
• Physical fitness – being physically fit encourages psychological
strength
• Emotional fitness – be conscious of setting a plan to look after your
emotional health and don’t assume it will take care of itself. Address
the stressors in your life, and ensure balance in your life outside of
work to reduce pressure and stress
• Personal strengths – identify and focus on your positive attributes
• Work and life balance – take time outside of work to switch off from
policing
• Stay connected with support networks – make a conscious effort to
maintain social networks. This is vital to your overall wellbeing
Wellness strategies
Building optimism can be achieved through targeted strategies for
improving psychological wellness; even pessimists can achieve a greater
level of optimism with training. Remaining optimistic that a situation is
temporary has been shown to greatly improve general wellbeing.
Psychological fitness training teaches you to be aware of the thoughts that
drive emotions. Working on becoming aware of negative thoughts and
replacing them with solutions allows you to regain control of the thoughts
which are driving your negative mood and replace them with positive
thinking.
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Learn new ways to promote positive thoughts, and by practicing them
regularly, it will soon become automatic. If negative thoughts begin to
emerge, think about how you want to respond in the moment.
In a police employee’s job it’s important to analyse certain instances to
determine how the situation was handled and conduct risk assessments.
However, too much time given to analysing events and focusing on
negativity can leave officers with a greater risk of developing anxiety and
depression.
To change negative habits, switch your thinking to consider a situation that
has gone well for you. Take time at the end of the day to reflect on positive
situations and what contributed to them going well. It could be something
uneventful yet important to you, such as sitting down to do homework with
your kids, or assisting a workmate with an issue.
You may continue to experience negative responses to bad situations, and
some workmates may not offer any positive reinforcement. In this instance
you should learn to recognise your own achievements, and to offer positive
feedback to others. Positivity is infectious and you will see it spreading.
While it is important to find things you enjoy doing to maintain emotional
balance, habits of pleasure can have diminishing returns. It’s important to
seek out a variety of activities to keep you stimulated and engaged.
Learning to let go of anger and resentment is a big step towards wellness.
Reflect on the situation and let go of resentment towards those who have
wronged you. Being unable to forgive and move on may cause you to
continue to revisit the situation, which increases your risk of depression
and even cardiovascular disease.
A good diet will go a long way in helping you to feel healthy and happy,
and will allow you to have a good night’s sleep. Avoid caffeine and
chocolate during the six hours before bed. Caffeine causes the brain to
retain melatonin, which is required for the body’s sleep/wake cycle.
The benefits of exercise on your mood are instant and scientifically proven.
Panic attacks and anxiety-based disorders are two to three times higher
for people who are physically inactive. Exercise boosts your mood and
reduces anger and negativity.
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You are your own coach:
• Practice makes habit
• Practice sloppy and that becomes a body habit
• Practice with focus and precision and that will become your habit
• Strength – both physical and mental – is a skill
• If you think you can, you are right; If you think you can’t, you are also
right
If you are experiencing any symptoms outlined in this booklet, you are
strongly encouraged to contact your GP for a referral to a mental health
practitioner.
Stay safe, and stay well.
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Useful references
Queensland Police Union
We are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year for
our members.
If you wish to contact us for a confidential conversation, please phone us
and we will support you to seek the best assistance for your situation.
Phone 3259 1900
Fax
3259 1950
E-mail [email protected]
Website www.qpu.asn.au
Psychological and Counselling Assistance
Professional counselling can be sought and coordinated through your
treating GP.
To make treatment more affordable, some psychologists are registered
under Medicare arrangements under the federal Government’s ‘Better
Access to Mental Health Care’ initiative.
To be eligible for a rebate, certain conditions need to be met. If eligible,
you may qualify for up to six individual sessions in a calendar year.
Fees vary: some psychologists may bulk bill or you may have to pay a small
difference between the rebate and the psychological fees. Your GP will be
able to assist you with this information. Information is also available on:
• The Department of Health website –
www.health.gov.au/mentalhealth-betteraccess
• The Australian Psychological Society website –
www.psychology.org.au
Psychological wellbeing assistance for QPS employees
Professional counselling can be sought and coordinated through your local
Peer Support Officers (PSOs) or Human Services Officers (HSOs).
Peer Support Officers volunteer their time and services to assisting their
work mates, and are often the first point of contact for members. PSOs
receive ongoing training and support from HSOs in every Region and
Command. They adhere to the PSO Code of Ethics, which is predominantly
focused on protecting confidential information. To locate a PSO, contact
the HSO in your Region or Command, or search ‘PSO’ on the QPS Bulletin
Board.
Human Services Officers are experienced psychologists or social workers
who provide services to enhance individual and organisational wellbeing.
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As internal service providers they are able to tailor treatment approaches
to an individual’s needs, and provide specialised guidance on the
operational and organisational demands specific to policing.
Their services include:
• a short term clinical counselling service for a wide range of personal
and work-related matters
• referral to an external psychologist or psychiatrist via the Early
Intervention Treatment Program (EITP)
• stress management
• fatigue management
• an emergency after-hours service
• Psychological First Aid (PFA)
• Psychological screening and assessments
• Improving workplace dynamics and staff morale
• Resilience training and promotion of employee wellbeing
HSOs are able to facilitate clinical treatment or counselling for up to three
free sessions with external psychologists or psychiatrists. The external
service can be requested through your local HSO or injury management
coordinator.
Local Human Services Officer contacts
ETC, CMC, ESC
0418 720 114
HRD, LSBR, FBSD, ICTD
0418 198 544
SCC, ICMC, RPC, G20
0459 837 711
CCC, OSC
0418 789 862
BR NORTH BRISBANE
0438 184 258
BR SOUTH BRISBANE
0437 187 456
SER LOGAN
0419 706 820
SER SURFERS PARADISE
0418 980 077
SR TOOWOOMBA
0427 752 158
SR IPSWICH
0409 054 971
CR SCoast, WBB
0400 703 475
CR CAPRICORNIA
0409 877 161
CR MACKAY
0438 683 539
NR TOWNSVILLE
0419 705 539
NR MOUNT ISA
0427 174 352
NR CAIRNS
0407 676 367
NR FAR NORTH/CAPE
0407 765 006
QPS Human Services Officer (HSO)
For crisis telephone counselling – 0400 778 482
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Police Chaplains are also available to provide support to QPS members
for work-related or personal issues. Services are provided to employees in
every Region and Command. The Chaplaincy Service is available 24 hours
a day to all QPS employees. Police Chaplains are not employees of the QPS
and are therefore not subject to the Police Service Administration Act 1990.
To find your local Police Chaplain, search ‘chaplaincy’ on the QPS Bulletin
Board.
Sciaccas Lawyers
Lawyers for the Queensland Police Union
Sciaccas Lawyers are experts when it comes to dealing with psychological
injury, and are the Union’s trusted lawyers for WorkCover claims,
common law actions, and total and permanent disability claims. They are
experienced in dealing with complex issues and recommend that you
contact them if you are experiencing symptoms and considering treatment.
Whether you are suffering from a psychological injury caused at work, or
suffering from stress due to marital or family issues, Sciaccas are able to
provide you with efficient, timely, and cost affective advice to get you back
on the right path. Should you have any queries with regards to the above
matters, or think Sciaccas can be of assistance, please call for your first free
consultation.
Phone 1800 658 525
E-mail [email protected]
Website www.sciaccas.com.au
Police Health
Police Health is a private health insurer excusive to the policing
community.
Psychology Benefits
Medicare can pay some benefits toward the cost of accessing psychology
consultations. Please ask your doctor about how you can access these
services. Doctor’s referral required.
Additionally, Police Health can provide attractive benefits for members
with extras cover. No referral required.
Psychiatry Benefits
Medicare provides benefits towards the cost of psychiatry for services
provided at specialist rooms as an outpatient or within a hospital setting.
Police Health can provide benefits for specialist psychiatric services
provided to hospital inpatients and for the cost of hospital treatment for
members covered with hospital cover.
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To discuss your specific private health insurance coverage, phone Police
Health on 1800 603 603
Find out more at www.policehealth.com.au
Lifeline
Lifeline offers a 24 hour telephone crisis line as well as an online crisis
support chat forum, and many other support services
Lifeline also provides local services through centres across Australia to
meet the needs of local communities. These services include:
• Suicide prevention and bereavement services
• Face-to-face counselling
• Financial counselling
• Gambling counselling
• Rural outreach
• Family and mediation services
• Indigenous support services
Phone 13 11 14
For online crisis chat go to –
www.lifeline.org.au/Get-Help/Online-Services/crisis-chat
To find services in your area go to –
www.lifeline.org.au/About-Lifeline/Lifeline-Locations
Beyond Blue
Call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Select from the voice menu or
simply hold on the line to talk one-on-one with a trained mental health
professional. All calls and chats are completely confidential.
Beyond Blue’s team of mental health professionals are there to listen,
offer support and point you in the right direction for the cost of a local call
(could be higher from mobiles).
Phone 1300 22 4636
Or chat at – www.beyondblue.org.au/get-support/get-immediate-support
Salvation Army Hope for Life
Hope for Life Suicide Prevention & Bereavement Support provides
information, resources, and training for those who support people who are
at risk of suicide or who have lost a loved one to suicide.
Salvation Army Officers, counsellors, and chaplains provide words of
comfort, support, and encouragement to people whose lives have been
devastated by the loss of a loved one. They encounter people from all
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walks of life who experience emotional pain and loneliness, and who find
it difficult to go on living.
Find out more at – www.suicideprevention.salvos.org.au
MensLine
MensLine Australia is a professional 24 hour telephone and online support
and information service for Australian men.
With MensLine Australia’s online (text) and video counselling, you can
access free professional support, no matter where you are in Australia.
Online counselling is a focussed session usually lasting for up to 30
minutes.
Qualified counsellors specialise in family and relationship issues, including
relationship breakdown, separation and divorce, parenting, family violence,
and emotional wellbeing.
Phone 1300 78 99 78
For online counselling go to – www.mensline.org.au
Mindspot
The MindSpot Clinic is a free service for Australian adults with stress, worry,
anxiety, low mood, or depression. They provide mental health Screening
Assessments, Treatment Courses, or help people find local services that can
help.
Find out more at – www.mindspot.org.au
MindHealthConnect
The road to mental wellbeing starts with mindhealthconnect, whether for
you or for someone you care about. mindhealthconnect brings Australia’s
leading mental health providers together in one place, allowing you to find
mental health information you can trust.
To use the guided search tool to find mental health programs and
information relevant to you, go to – www.mindhealthconnect.org.au
headspace
headspace is the National Youth Mental Health Foundation. They assist
people up to 25 years old to get health advice, support, and information
on mental health, counselling, and general health concerns. headspace was
established and is funded by the Commonwealth Government. Its primary
focus is the mental health and wellbeing of all Australians.
If you are feeling stressed, sick, or worried about your health, want to
discuss sexuality or relationships, are being bullied or harassed, or are
worried about work or money troubles, contact headspace.
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headspace recognises that getting help early is the key to resolving
problems quickly, and is making a difference to young people by offering a
place to go to talk to someone about any of these issues.
There are many locations in Queensland; to find one near you, go to –
www.headspace.org.au/headspace-centres
Support After Suicide
Support After Suicide is a program of Jesuit Social Services and is funded
by the Department of Health and Ageing under the National Suicide
Prevention Strategy.
They have information and resources and provide counselling and group
support directly to those bereaved by suicide.
Find out more at – www.supportaftersuicide.org.au
Relationships Australia
Relationships Australia is a leading provider of relationship support
services for individuals, families, and communities. They aim to support all
people in Australia to achieve positive and respectful relationships.
Relationships Australia is a community-based, not-for-profit Australian
organisation with no religious affiliations. Their services are for all
members of the community, regardless of religious belief, age, gender,
sexual orientation, lifestyle choice, cultural background, or economic
circumstances.
They offer services around the country that include counselling, family
dispute resolution (mediation), and a range of family and community
support.
Phone 1300 364 277
Find out more at – www.relationships.org.au or
Sane
The SANE Helpline provides information about symptoms, treatments,
medications, where to go for support, and help for carers. Easy to read
pamphlets and other information are also sent out on request. They offer
information and advice Monday to Friday, 9am – 5pm (EST/EDST)
Phone 1800 18 SANE (7263)
SANE also provides a Helpline Online service. You can use this to ask
questions about mental illness and related topics. Enquiries are usually
answered within three working days.
Find out more at – www.sane.org
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