Creating a Buoyant Nervous Sytem for Police & Frontline Workers
If you work shift work, save lives and do work that puts your life at risk, this article is for you. First off, THANK YOU! Where would our communities be without your work and I certainly recognize how it’s only gotten harder since the pandemic. THANK YOU! Now let’s look at your Nervous System so that we can keep your good work, working well in our communities that need YOU.
While the mental health system has focused on trauma resolution with these professions, I think there are specific things to consider for this to be possible and many officers/frontline workers are not ready for this option. The realistic alternative to trauma resolution may be to create a buoyant nervous system that can recover better from the incredible demands of your daily work. We forget that Police and frontline workers like paramedics & healthcare witness repeated trauma(s) daily and for the duration of their careers. This has a lasting impact on their nervous system and how it functions over time. Everyone will process these incidents differently based on their personal histories and experiences AND the beautiful piece of it all is that YOUR nervous system can be reshaped and recalibrated by YOU. This is work that only YOU can do but IT is possible.
Dr. Kevin Gilmartin writes about the importance of exercise done in a specific energy zone and connecting to healthy parts of the community. Gilmartin’s training is as a behavioral scientist that centres his learning on applications for law enforcement and public service. He came across this first as a police officer for over 25 years then in his post graduate psychology work, which has later been reviewed and built upon in neuroscience work. When we look at the nervous system of police officers, frontline public service work, paramedics & emergency healthcare, we notice that these careers need the nervous system to look a certain way in order to perform well in their daily duties and careers over time. The NS needs to be able to switch on quickly, and recover relatively quickly and to do this pattern repeatedly within a shift and one shift after another. When we view this through a trauma trained lens, it’s nearly impossible for the NS to remain healthy in these careers just based on their demands. So how do we restore the health of the NS to police and frontline workers? We use techniques and skills within somatic work and sports science.
Titrating in and out of the parasympathetic nervous system is what’s going to help open up the NS, metabolize stress (adrenaline, cortisol) & expand capacity for their life & relationships. This looks like developing daily routines that engage the PNS daily. Overtime, this will help the nervous system to experience ease without falling into FREEZE. This looks like:
Changing how you workout. This might be a good time to lift heavy with longer rest periods or do hypertrophy work in that mid range 8-12 reps with adequate rest in between sets. Choosing this type of training over HIIT/Crossfit will improve physical and mental performance because it’s less demanding to the sympathetic nervous system. IT’s still a stimulus to the NS that will promote muscle growth, increase strength but it won’t exhaust an already tired NS. This means less cortisol release, improved sleep & shifts in body composition.
Connect with your loved ones. Connect with your kids/ your partner when you come home. Find ways to connect and be of service in your community in healthy ways like coaching sport(s). These are all ways of engaging your PNS- the other part of your NS- and it nourishes a bigger picture for you. You have a set of skills that are developed & honed within your career that others notice but you may take for granted. Community sport needs them.
Take time to walk or stretch throughout your shift/post shift. This is easy to talk about but it’s the first thing we cut out when demands are high. Stretching and walking help to connect the PNS, as well as connect you to your body. This is important because it can interrupt your SNS from entering FREEZE- where you continue to override your body’s cues to stress. FREEZE is a state where the muscles become lax and you might notice the stiffness in joints and muscles or you may continue to override the discomfort. Just walking and light stretching can help lubricate your vertebrae, flush out lactic acid and restore digestion. It becomes more of a stress recovery tool than yet ONE more task to complete. Reframe how you think about it.
Incorporate Nasal IN Nasal OUT breathing daily. This is simple and real time. Whether you’re working out or in the washroom. Just focussing on Nasal IN, Nasal OUT breathing will help you to recalibrate. It will energize you and help you refocus. You don’t have to get fancy. Just practice it in real time for moments at a time. This simple breathing pattern will allow the sympathetic response to slow down, and bring you into a more stable state & expand your window of tolerance. This is a good place to be, given the demands of your work. You can gear up quickly from this state.
Give these tools a shot or build a new routine around them and take notice. You should notice a shift in your state within 2 weeks.
Thank you for your WORK! Be good to yourself!
