When should an officer seek counseling and what should they look for

Job Stress (or burnout by any other name...)

Law enforcement work is stressful. But you already knew that. There are signs and symptoms. I'll address that soon. But what I'd like to talk about is Shit City Syndrome. What continued police/corrections work can do to an officer. The core of police stress.

Day after day, after week after month after year….. Law enforcement officers deal with the dregs. They see the worst in people. They see the worst in society. They see cruelty. They see relationships gone sour. Love lost. They see children discarded. Life cheapened. Careers in ruin. Lives wasted. They see greed, corruption, hatred and apathy. In other words:

They see SHIT.

Lots of it. All the time. There is not balance, only shit. All around. No break. No letup. No sunshine. No breather. The entire world starts to become shit. Not just the world that makes up their beat, but the world in which they live. They bring it home. It starts to eat at their guts. It starts to erode their lives. They start to drown in it.

All cops get some of this. It is part of the risk the job entails. But unchecked it can go too far. It can sneak up on you. It can ruin you job, your health, your family, and your happiness. Stress, burnout, cynicism. It goes by different names. But whatever name you want to call it, catch it before it catches you.

Have you noticed:

Your call in sick to work more. Even when your not - just to take a "mental health" day.
When you are working, you just don't care. Productivity seems like a waste .. almost stupid. You can't get motivated no matter what the consequences. You seem to spend more and more time avoiding calls and doing nothing. You are starting to get negative comments on you work performance.
You are starting to become accident prone. You find yourself doing reckless things. You don't care and you tell yourself "what does it matter?"
You can't concentrate. The paperwork is overwhelming. You never seem to have enough time. You are leaving things undone.
You often feel confused. It is hard to recall instructions, details, or directions. You not only start to make mistakes, but can't remember making them!
You don't look good. The "attitude" has actually affected your appearance! You don't care about your cloths. Your grooming is not up to you normal standards. Your hygiene may even be suffering.
You not getting along well with other people. You find yourself arguing a lot. You don't feel understood. You are not longer part of the group and in fact are angry most of the time at people you used to call friends.
You are drinking to much.
The job just isn't fun anymore. In fact you can't remember the last time you had fun!

If the above profile is starting to sound like your life then maybe it is time. Maybe it has been time for a while.