Dealing and Overcoming Fear/Stress

[NYPD4ME]

Hey guys!
Just wanted to ask you something. Ok, when a normal person gets into trouble/situation he feels stress/shock and nervousness inside(sometimes they go blank and dont know what to do at all, sometimes their hands start shaking and so on.) often happens during robberies and unexpected confrontation (gangs), i was just wondering if you are a cop right, do you learn to get rid of those stupid feelings with time and experience or is it alwayes there?

[Lfpdlieu302]

the feelings are always there. sometimes i know what i'm fixing to get into and i get those same feelings. in time, you learn how to handle them and use them to your advantage so to speak. its the fight or flight syndrome.

[Recondo]

Lfpdlieu302,
Every has fears & concerns,"everyone".. something we as humans all share..what seperates some from others, is both the ability to overcome that fear & drive on with the task ahead dispite it & the level of fear that each of us feels.
What scares one person to death,(like girls & spiders for example) may not scare another at all (like you & me), but certain things, like facing a clearly deadly situation (such as combat, ambush, drowning/sufficating, dangerous armed criminal closing fast) effects everyone to some degree..its all mental, ..getting past those fears in your mind & focusing on what must be done &/or what needs to be performed at that moment..(ie:training) and of course, like most things, the more you do it/encounter it, the less stressful it can become in a physical reaction sense. I personally havent gotten the "shakes" in many years, even when encountering dangerous multiple persons at once who have no problem inflicting serious harm or worse to me..doesnt mean my mind isnt computing the danger, just that my mind is my best weapon & I need to keep it clear & thinking on my feet on what needs to happen, not what might happen to me..
Recondo

[Lfpdlieu302]

Lfpdlieu302,
Every has fears & concerns,"everyone".. something we as humans all share..what seperates some from others, is both the ability to overcome that fear & drive on with the task ahead dispite it & the level of fear that each of us feels.
What scares one person to death,(like girls & spiders for example) may not scare another at all (like you & me), but certain things, like facing a clearly deadly situation (such as combat, ambush, drowning/sufficating, dangerous armed criminal closing fast) effects everyone to some degree..its all mental, ..getting past those fears in your mind & focusing on what must be done &/or what needs to be performed at that moment..(ie:training) and of course, like most things, the more you do it/encounter it, the less stressful it can become in a physical reaction sense. I personally havent gotten the "shakes" in many years, even when encountering dangerous multiple persons at once who have no problem inflicting serious harm or worse to me..doesnt mean my mind isnt computing the danger, just that my mind is my best weapon & I need to keep it clear & thinking on my feet on what needs to happen, not what might happen to me..
Recondo

um, thats what i said in less words pretty much. ;)

[oscarmitre]

1. Training
2. Experience

Really cops are just ordinary people (oh no the terrible secret is out!). The difference is that we are ordinary people who undergo training to do the job. This means that we are mentally and physically prepared for certain situations that many other people may not have to deal with. That's it. No big deal. In other words, we work in expectation of having to confront things that would probably cause an untrained person confusion. I didn't say "fear". You lose your fear as a cop you lose your sense of survival. Fear is good, it stops you being a dead hero.

Experience. As the old saying goes, "the problem with learning from experience is that you get the test first, the lesson later". But is is powerful. We all learn from our own experiences but we learn from others experiences as well. That's why cops are such great bull artists (kidding). Our "war stories" are important lessons we pass on to each other. It's just that as cops we have to maintain our macho image - you need to work on that swagger :D - and "storytelling for learning" sounds like crap - actually it's the latest management fad - but telling "warries" sounds better. It works. Listen hard to the warries your mates tell you (and believe exactly 50%)

Final point. We all experience the flight or fight syndrome, except we don't have the luxury of flight so the adrenaline and other hormones that course through the system are used in dealing with whatever it is that we face. Just as well too. If we didn't have them we might be victim to the kangaroo/deer/polar bear/badger (I have to cover several countries' wildlife) - in-the-headlights condition - that is, frozen into inaction.

And afterwards we get the shakes. Well I did/do. Terribly. But those hormones have to go somewhere and if you don't get rid of them the accumulation over the years may be a problem. So don't worry about it, don't feel that you have to be Robocop with your mates around, they will be going through exactly what you're going through.

[Retired Trooper]

Yeah there is alot of Truth to training kicking in. It just automatically kicks in and you respond.

[Recondo]

Lfpdlieu302, did not mean to address my reply to you, should have been to NYPD4ME, my bad...it is pretty much what you said, sorry to have agreed with you in an expanded capacity!
Recondo

[dep214]

you never lose the fear.if you do it is time to find another job.all the training in the world is meant to help you control those emotions but it is up to you in the end.i still was scared and still very nervous/i felt at that time my mind go to work.i started thinking about what i needed to do and how to do it.it seemed like i was thinking forever but it was just in a flash.that part is the training.in my career i am happy to say i never had to fire my weapon.i was very fortunate and lucky.i always wondered how i would react at the moment of truth.i am very lucky to never have to see that time.
we as officers never stop being humans and will still have human emotions.some people do a great job until that first confrontation.they find out they can not handle it.this does not make them less of a person but again only human.where someone untrained may react physically we as officers learn to use our minds more.no two incidents are the same so we hope our training works.we have to use emotion from the extreme to the warmest.it is not easy and never will be. that is why some are cops and some are not.

[mcsap]

Cops are people too, theyt just have to be able to put up with/deal with all kinds of garbage in all kinds of conditions. Besides the training aspect, you get used to it.

[Joeyd6]

Yeah there is alot of Truth to training kicking in. It just automatically kicks in and you respond.

I agree 100%. The training just is like a natural act. It is five minutes latter you look at your partner and say "Holy @#$%, do you realize what just happened?" But then the jokes kick in with the laughs and the war stories and everyone forgets it for a little while longer. It hits me when I drive home after work.....I stopped playing the "What if game" a long time ago. The fear is there....but by the time you relize it it is often well after the incident is over and you can "rationalize" it a lot more.

[Menace]

Cops are people too? Damn it why did you tell him *tucks back in his cape*

[oscarmitre]

LOL Menace - I think I might be one of the miscreants. As Orleander says, it's blabberfingers!

*adjusts underpants*

[greg6099]

Oh My God!

Change of name from 'Real Police Forum' to 'Real Police Girls Forum'!

Bunch of scaredy cat wooses!

Although I can recall the one time in my life that I was scared...

I disagreed with my wife......

[acreature]

Oh My God!
........I disagreed with my wife......

Every day I fear the wife! :D

I reckon the uneasyness and nerves go away after being in similar situations over and over. They are there, but over a time, the confidence in your abilities (not cockyness) grows, and outweighs any fear or nervousness that may have once been there.

[oscarmitre]

Oh My God!

Change of name from 'Real Police Forum' to 'Real Police Girls Forum'!

Bunch of scaredy cat wooses!

Although I can recall the one time in my life that I was scared...

I disagreed with my wife......

Reckless bloody stupidity is not the topic here Greg - you flirt deliberately with danger I have absolutely no sympathy for you - see - an excellent example of tombstone courage :D