As I recently read somewhere, if you're breathing, you've got stress. I don't claim to be an expert in fighting the blasted demon, but I'm under its elephant feet more than I want to be. So what I'll do is tell you what has worked for some of our people, then refer you over to some expert web resources
The Stress-Slaying Suggestions by: Jack Hillyer - retired CO3
Laugh..
Have one good friend you can say anything to, and know it's not going anywhere else.
Exercise. Bet you were hoping I was going to forget that ... but it's very important. My favourites are walking, swimming, low-impact aerobics and karate. Got to admit, that Tae-Bo stuff looks like a lot of fun!
Self-hypnosis. It won't make you act like a chicken or anything silly like that. It will make you more relaxed. My personal favorite is the tape that comes with "The Stress Management Kit" by Alex Needham.
Read a book. Reading is a great escape. It improves your concentration, imparts knowledge and takes your mind to places you can't afford to go on vacation. Books don't have to cost a lot or take up a lot of room - that's what library cards are for! If you're in law enforcement, a must-have book is "I Love a Cop" by Ellen Kirschman, Ph.D., published by The Guilford Press, (paperback). It addresses the stress a cop's family goes through, and a lot of it applies to dispatching as well.
Smile. Not one of those fake, I-will-but-I-really-don't-feel-like-it smiles, but a real, genuine smile. It will make you feel better, and it's worth the mental effort to search for a reason to do it.
Get a hobby. Something that isn't illegal, immoral or fattening, and will get your mind off whatever's bugging you. Some of mine are hiking, playing pool, website building, scrapbooking and vegging in front of the TV. Participate in your hobby regularly, without feeling like you have to compete (very difficult for aggressive achiever types like me).
Throw darts. Set up a dart board in your garage or family room. If your aim is bad, invest in an electronic dart board. I prefer the regular English-tip darts because I like to throw darts at a picture of whatever it is that's ticking me off. The electronic darts have plastic tips and no matter how hard you try they just don't go through the artwork. :-)
Sit by the water. There is a lot of water in Ontario so I can do this with relative ease. But it's always been a hobby of mine. There's something calming about watching the water ripple and wave, and realizing its power to give life. Listen and sing. I don't mean in your car while you're fighting traffic or doing karaoke in a bar somewhere. I'm talking about doing nothing else but listening to the music and appreciating the fruits of someone else's creative process. Sing along if you can; skip the audience if it won't bring critical acclaim. Eat well. This is one I am far from mastering, one I need to learn real quick. If you're a dispatcher, try not to eat at the console. If you're on the road, no fast food in the car or truck. Your digestive process works much better when you are relaxed. (My ulcer has told me this the hard way.) Think quality and quantity; don't overdo, and make good choices.
Take care of your hands and feet. If your feet hurt, the rest of you will too. Soaking in Epsom salts helps get rid of soreness. Some study of reflexology will introduce you to pressure points in your hands and feet that can relieve all sorts of aches and pains throughout your body.
Get a massage. Go to a pro if you can. Those little knots you get in your muscles are lactic acid buildup, and a good massage will break up the deposits and have you feeling great in no time. Drink lots of water afterward to flush out all the toxins; add some fresh lemon to speed the process along.
Pet your pets. Studies have proven that having a pet can raise life expectancy and lower blood pressure. Dogs are great, but if you've never had a pet or you're not home much you may want a cat. They require less direct care than dogs and are generally less dependent. Fish and birds are also wonderful pets.
by Hal Brown
(Hal Brown is a psychotherapist who was a reserve police officer for over twenty years. He worked with the Mason, Michigan P.D. for fourteen years and the Middleboro, Mass. P.D. for eight years until "retiring" as an auxiliary. He graduated from the Plymouth (MA) Reserve-Intermittent Police Academy. He received his MSW degree from Michigan State University in 1971 and he is a licensed independent clinical social worker (LICSW) in Massachusetts.)
In approaching the topic of police dispatcher stress the first thing that struck me was how many different kinds of settings police dispatchers work in, and how their work environment can make a big difference in the stress of the job. Like police work on the streets, those who choose this career know what they're getting into. So dealing with the stress of emergencies is considered "part of the job". Critical incidents and the police stress they often cause are sometimes difficult to handle and require some post-incident counselling or debriefing. Just like other members of the emergency response team, a dispatcher can handle a hundred situations before one gets to him or her. It shouldn't matter that the dispatcher is helping co-ordinate the police, fire and EMS personnel from an electronic console miles away. Like air traffic controllers, it takes a special kind of person to be a dispatcher. The essence of the job is being the human being on one end of the electronic lifeline to the people who are actually in harms way. It is no less vital than risking bullets or drunk drivers, even though it seems less glamorous. (At least some of the television reality shows give credit where credit is due to police dispatchers.) The stress is different because you aren't there in person, but if this really bothers you and you just have to be there in body as well as mind, if you are physically able, you should seriously consider changing jobs because you'll never be satisfied. If you're a dispatcher because of a physical limitation that precludes your being on the streets, I suggest you do some ride-alongs and do some heavy thinking about being fortunate enough to have a job that enables you to make a vital contribution. Never forget that a dispatcher Protects and Serves as much as any other public safety professional.
Police dispatchers work alone or in groups. At least in the United States, they work with state-of the-art electronics in more and more departments, even the smaller ones now that Federal grants have brought enhanced 911 and in-car computers to the hinterlands. If they have outdated equipment, at least they can look forward to modernization. However, they may feel isolated in both settings, depending on whether they have good leadership and if they have good working relationships with those on the streets. That feeling of isolation, which also goes with feeling unappreciated, can lead to ongoing stress. Fortunately I have found this to be the rare exception rather than the rule.
In some small to middle size departments police officers sometimes fill in for dispatchers. This can have a salutary effect when they see how hard the job can sometimes be, and if they make a mistake they may be more understanding of your mistakes, hopefully few and far between. In over twenty years as a reserve officer I have seen only one or two problems between police officers and dispatchers. The stress problems I do hear about from dispatchers generally come from those working in either poorly managed communication centres which have numerous dispatchers, from those who work in police departments where everyone's morale is poor, or dispatchers in com/centres that have less than ideal policies and procedures for handling the major incidents.
It is an unfortunate fact of bureaucratic life that the old Peter Principle still applies. Ambitious people can advance to the highest level their incompetence will permit and then languish there making life miserable for their subordinates. Sad to say, intense desire for status does not equate with leadership ability. A barely adequate dispatcher sometimes becomes a dispatch supervisor because their boss naively thinks they can promote them to a position where they think they can do less harm. That doesn't mean a mediocre dispatcher who ends up as a supervisor can't do a good job, but this only happens if they have excellent managerial and human relations skill.
In Massachusetts, towns are historically very independent and loathe to move towards centralized county dispatching. It is typical for small to medium size departments to have their own dispatch centers. While this is a plus in that the dispatchers actually know the police officers they work with and vice versa, there are problems too. Police officers don't always scan the frequencies of adjacent towns so they aren't don't know when the action may be moving their way until notified by their dispatcher. Well managed and designed centralized communications centres do work, and I believe are superior to home-based dispatch. It seems to me ridiculous that I have to carry a list of the police phone numbers of all the towns I am likely to drive through so if I have to call in an emergency on my cell phone I have the appropriate number and don't have to waste precious time having the state police contact the local police to relay my message. Police dispatchers who work in centralized communications centres may actually have less police stress because they are part of a finely tuned team. They always have back-up and have the capacity to have other dispatchers handle ancillary jobs like calling poison control, the ER for instructions on medical emergencies, family members or others on hostage situations, etc.
All communication centres, whether lonely one-person operations or huge communication centers handling several departments or precincts, should have procedures for debriefing those involved in critical incidents, and should have counsellors available. The notion of "don't ask, don't tell" when it comes to having a post-incident stress reaction still exists here and there. The idea that just because you weren't present at the scene of the incident, you shouldn't have a stress reaction is, excuse my bluntness, plain stupid. Dispatchers should be asked, and feel free to discuss their feelings when they've been involved in any incident where there was a loss of life, or an extended tense situation even if the outcome was successful.
