Stress and Fitness for Duty (Benchmark 1)

Question 1

1. Discuss how mental preparation can affect an officer’s ability to deal with a critical incident?

Answer 1

If the officer does not manage the stress they will regress to a less thought-filled, automatic response.

Question 2

2. List some ways to deal with the after effects of a critical incident?

Answer 2

Defusing intervention: Before sleeping the day of the incident tell the person their feelings are normal, symptoms to watch for and who to telephone for more guidance.
Debrief intervention: Done within 72 hours. Gives an opportunity to talk about experience, how it affects them, brainstorm coping mechanisms, identify individuals at risk, and inform the individual about services.
Follow up: Within a week. Get a debrief to check in.

Question 3

3. How does physical fitness effect an officer’s over all mental wellness?

Answer 3

Counters any physiological changes to the body in law enforcement.

Question 4

What is Critical Incident Stress?

Answer 4

Critical incident stress refers to the range of physical and psychological symptoms that
might be experienced by someone as a result of being involved in a traumatic critical incident.
Critical incident stress is simply the body’s normal reaction to an abnormal event.

Question 5

What is Critical incident Stress Management?

Answer 5

Critical incident stress management is an adaptive, short-term psychological helping
process that focuses solely on an immediate and identifiable problem. It can include pre-incident
preparedness to acute crisis management to post-crisis follow-up. Its purpose is to enable
people to return to their daily routine more quickly and with less likelihood of experiencing
post-traumatic stress (PTS).

Question 6

What initiates the stress response?

Answer 6

Fear
Excitement
Pressure/anxiety
Lack of experience in a situation
Lack of confidence in skills
Previous bad experience
Too many choices