Correctional Officer Working with Fear - Earning Respect

When we engage in a profession such as law enforcement or public safety we agreed to work with fear. Seeing how fear impacts our practical ability to work day in and out in such a vulturine setting we must see or manage to find ways to control or fear around us so we can focus on those this that we are tasked to do. Fundamentally speaking we can’t let fear run or ruin our lives or how we do our jobs. We must be motivated to overcome the feeling of fear and minimize its effects of anxiety, stress, worry or distrust. Fear is real in many cases. It is built-in in the job we signed onto do. What we need to do as correctional officers is identify its debilitating effects and keep them from inhibiting us. We have to approach fear directly and at least stun those influences it creates so we can deal with what it is we fear while on or off duty.

Our job as penal practitioners is to meet the challenges what are in front of us inside large jails or prisons without complications. We have to learn how to react according to our training and experience and set aside or minimize the fear of harm, failure or even guilt for doing a most difficult job under difficult conditions. The more we accept fear as being a natural part of our job the stronger we get. However, in doing so, we must make sure we have the right mindset, tools and approach to do this safely and effectively.

Certainly I am not proposing you meet fear directly in a reckless manner especially when it may be dangerous to do so or too overwhelming to conquer. What we need to do is fight the fear with calmness and understanding that it can be controlled through the mind if you allow the mind to engage with each deep breath you take conditioning your calmness along the way. The calmer you are, the less fear you have. Remaining calm will keep you from becoming controlled by the grips of fear. The calmer you are the more fear loses it power over you. It should not be your intention to get rid of your fear but rather to subdue it to a point of self-control and explore it and understand it better. Seeking such resolution creates a practice that brings confidence to the forefront and lessens the emotions associated with fear such as anger, embarrassment, dissuasion or guilt.  Hence we reduce the dominance of fear within ourselves that allows us to function near normal in getting things done.

The symptoms of fear are common. There may be butterflies or twisted pain in the stomach feelings, sweating or rapid breathing along with a sense of vulnerability to pain or other emotional sensations. The main thing is to focus on your ability to remain calm and breathe deep while undergoing the discomfort fear brings to you and your body. Much of the tension, tightness and constriction will begin to unravel as you control your self-awareness through self-control.

Certain kinds of wisdom arise only through seeing something happen repeatedly. Commonly referred to as lessons learned we often have to become very familiar with something in order to be free of fear. I found this to be the case with worrying as I seem to worry more about something or someone when I saw others around me worry validating my own fear through the eyes and thoughts of others. Had I questioned their fear I would have taken some power away from my own fear as I realized that it may have been worrisome at one point but not all the time.

Go back and investigate the fear when things are passive around you and reflect what has happened or occurred and validate its origin or significance. Trust develops, not from willing ourselves to trust, but from discovering for ourselves that we can learn our experience and not over- whelmed by it. If you investigate fear you will reduce it.

Source: https://www.myptsd.com/c/threads/working-with-fear.13790/