It hurts my soul that another exemplary correctional worker killed himself yesterday. His suicide blind-sighted & knocked the wind out of all who knew him. It hurts that he was all alone in his pain to the end, tormented by what proved for him to be unbearable heartache & hopelessness, yet he didn’t feel safe to confide in any of his corrections “comrades in arms.”
What do you think drove him to pretend everything was manageable & that he was OK? Read more…
ctudor Staff Suicide corrections officers, self-care, stress, suicide
Thinking ahead, being proactive instead of reactive, can often save our sanity. Here are some ways to do that.
The other day my friend Paul, a corrections professional, told me that he once was a tender-hearted, warm person. “Now,” he mused, “after 16 years in corrections, I feel shut down. If somebody really hassled me I might feel some anger. Otherwise I’m a flat line. I can’t feel much inside, either good or bad. In a way it’s easier not to be getting worked up over things, but I know something’s not right!” He added, “Linda keeps complaining that I’m too distant with her and the kids.”
“What do you think happened?” I asked.
Paul’s answer came after a long pause. “I think I just got too used to keeping myself under control in order to remain professional.” Read more…
ctudor Smart Living corrections officers, happiness, self-care
“A clown is like an aspirin, only he works twice as fast.” Groucho Marx
“A cheerful heart is good medicine.” King Solomon (Proverbs 17:22)
Most adults laugh 0 to 50 times a day. Researchers recommend 100 to 400 laughs a day. (Four-year-olds’ level). Read more…
ctudor Sanity Tips happiness, self-care
Years ago I was told that the only way I was going to get though life sane was to do one day at a time. Being someone who likes to plan ahead and cover the bases for all kinds of possibilities (including worst-case scenarios), I found the statement ONE DAY AT A TIME at first to be naïve, overly simplistic. Yet looking back on my life now I see how putting this principle to practice was the only way I made it when faced with undertakings that intimidated me and made me shake in my boots. Read more…
ctudor Sanity Tips attitude, happiness, self-care
Recently two correctional workers and I were discussing what helps staff stay “sane.” Without hesitation both said, “Correctional workers must be able to switch their mindset from work to home.” One added, “I learned how to live in two very different worlds and still not lose ‘me’.”
Indeed, corrections personnel live in two worlds. These worlds are like two sheets of music. Daily staff is asked to switch from one tune to the other. These two worlds involve very different assumptions about what is expected, how people must behave, and what constitutes a “good day.”
Read more…
ctudor Smart Living corrections officers, happiness, self-care
During the course of his 15-year career in corrections, Marv has watched a multitude of videos of riots, and incidents of inmate-on-inmate and inmate-on-staff violence. He has also witnessed many such incidents first-hand. He’s had to cut several inmates down who had attempted or completed suicide by hanging. Years later, Marv vouches that nothing that he sees at work upsets him. He has learned to live in a cocoon of detachment, insulated from outside events and from his emotions. His loved ones at home tell him that he’s distant, uncaring, “cold.” Once in awhile though, horrific images visit him in his sleep, and cause him to awaken startled, his heart racing. Read more…
ctudor PTSD morale, secondary trauma, self-care, traumatic stress
Whenever I come across well-functioning correctional staff, I ask them about the “secret of their success.” Here is some of what I’ve heard over the years. It is divided in three categories which correspond to the three areas DWCO targets in its mission—the occupational, personal and family well-being of corrections staff. Read more…
ctudor Smart Living family, integrity, professionalism, self-care
by Caterina Spinaris Tudor, Ph.D.
Imagine being ambushed by a mountain lion while hiking through the Colorado Rockies. As soon as the big cat knocks you to the ground, you automatically go into fighting mode. Your heart rate and blood pressure shoot up, sending extra blood to your limbs so you can have the strength to fight. Glycogen in your liver and muscles becomes converted to glucose to give you extra energy. Digestion stops. Cholesterol is released in your bloodstream to be an additional source of energy. Blood clotting factors kick into action, so you won’t bleed to death. Endorphins flood your brain to enable you to ignore the pain of bites and broken bones, so you can continue to fight. The adrenaline that floods your system increases your aggression, helping you maintain your fierce determination to survive. This simplified description of physiological changes that occur during a life-threatening attack constitutes “the stress response.”
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admin Smart Living corrections officers, self-care, stress
