Forum Newbie - Trying To Learn

[Due North Gallery]

Greetings, All..... just found this forum and am looking to learn more about how to deal with my "demons".

I'm a middle-aged male, veteran 9-1-1 dispatcher in Murder Capitol, USA (Detroit). Am convinced I have some form of PTSD, and am trying to learn to deal with it.

Look forward to reading lots of posts and learning much more. Would be interested in hearing from any others in the law enforcement community as well.

JB

[sisu]

Welcome JB. There are lots of great things to read on here and learn from others in your same situation. I encourage you to read lots. Take care of yourself.

Sisu

[She Cat]

Welcome to the forum...I have a nephew that was a 9 1 1 operator, and now a cop. Tough job you guys have.

[nie]

Welcome to the forum JB.

[Due North Gallery]

Welcome to the forum...I have a nephew that was a 9 1 1 operator, and now a cop. Tough job you guys have.

Yes, She Cat - it is tougher than many realize...... apparently, even tougher than I had imagined. I've got 15 years of "stuff" welled up inside of me, and it's time to make changes.

Fortunately, I know when it's time to ask for help, so I've got an appointment to see a counselor nearby me that specializes in PTSD.

I've got a lot to learn, including how to open up to my wife. Baby steps....

Thanks for all the kind words - they are appreciated.

JB

[cec]

Welcome JB

Middle aged male here too--welcome!

[Riggs413]

Welcome to the forum JB. LEO here in Canada.

Just a thought, I still have trouble opening up to my spouse as well at times. I mentioned this site to her and she reviews the posts from time to time. She has said that it has helped her understand me and has given her added patience when trying to deal with me during the bad times. Food for thought.

Good luck.

[Rivergirl]

Hi there. It's interesting--I worked in the justice system and before that at a couple of crisis lines on overnights (the highest crisis times). A co-worker who became a good friend and I often observed to each other that after doing crisis work for a number of years we got a pretty skewed view of the world. In our world pretty much everyone had a history of childhood abuse and/or had present day serious mental health or behavioural issues, or were carrying a weapon looking for someone to injure!

I think that seeing so much of that side of life eventually worms its way into your soul, if only due to the fact that you're a caring person. You can never really see the world the same as other people, you know? At least that's how it affected me. The content of those jobs were not really part of my trauma (although the shiftwork certainly was---I am now a terrible insomniac), but there are a few people's stories I heard that I'll never forget.

Sometimes I wonder what it's like to look at the world like other people do.

Rivergirl

[FightingLily]

Welcome to the forum.