If we’re talking codes, we may as well talk about those we picked up long ago. They say learning a second language, or a musical instrument, is easier in childhood. So is the language we learn from our parents. We may believe time and again that we’re different from our parents only to hear ourselves sound like them as we grow older.

It doesn’t matter if your parents were teachers, small business owners, government contractors or even if you came from a police family.

And it just so happens I grew up in a police family.

Yes, we altered holiday schedules, but so do doctors and paramedics.

Yes, my Dad worked nights and rotating shifts, just like firefighters.

And he left and returned home with a uniform on, just like a USPS worker, electrician or any other uniformed professional. Yes, my friends and I just saw it as the norm.

So really there were only a couple of unique things about the situation. Outside of the excess police shows and detective games, the calls/response codes were easy to pick up: 10-4, 10-20, etc.

Like most other families, my dad was (and is!) my hero.

As I grew older and became more interested in health, I realized that all families, all workers, experience and deal with stress. I also realized, however, that chronic physical strain in other professions often leads to injuries and wear and tear that employers help manage.

That got me to thinking:

•  Do professionals in high stress jobs, like law enforcement, air traffic controllers, and first responders, effectively manage stress?
•  If chronic and repetitive issues (let’s say traumatic, emotional situations) cause wear and tear in non-physical forms, when will we have the ability to quantify and prevent it?

Because as we all know, there is no code for unspoken, chronic stress. No one in any profession will call out a code that they are experiencing PTSD. It’s not a detective drama that we enjoy weekly, taking in the mix of law, order and romance and then switching to late night comedy. It’s a real life mix of boring paperwork and immediate crises, and it is continuous.

I took a look at some articles and found interesting information on why some first responders and law enforcement experience PTSD and others don’t. Perhaps predictive analysis can assist in prevention of PTSD in law enforcement/first responders for the future. If regional cohorts would connect with academic medicine partners, assessments could be completed at start of hire and then at the annual physical.

By managing stress effectively, we could see physical complaints decrease. We’d also most likely see better community engagement, partnership and trust. I can’t think of a better time to consider initiatives like these, when pension plans are consistently being redrawn and society’s trust in law enforcement mirrors the unfortunate outcomes of selective bad decisions highlighted in media.

There are quite a number of published studies out there, particularly around law enforcement, first responders and stress. I thought it would be great to read the most current data around these tax-funded positions, employed to protect me, and studied most likely with tax-funded grant money. It was disappointing that I couldn’t analyze the data thoroughly unless I’d being willing to pay a ridiculous amount of cash.

All things considered, a great literature review of first responder/law enforcement and psychological wellbeing would cost me as much as a new bulletproof vest for an officer working in a town that won’t pay for one….

Anyway, it’s frustrating that the role between stress, cortisol and blood pressure in police officers isn’t data I can be privy to, especially because these professionals are employed by government to protect tax payers. And, because some in high stress professions seem to experience more PTSD symptoms than others, it sure is frustrating not to be able to access information on familial history or anxiety predispositions.

Sure, law enforcement administration can help in advocating for change agents and better analyses , if they have access to the information and recommendations. Knowing that tax-funded, high stress professionals will seek tertiary care sooner or later, why wouldn’t we want to help with prevention programs? Insurance carriers, medicine and these professional groups could even focus on the published work around preferred techniques reported by the responders themselves.

Ideally, both the 20,000+ first responder analysis and study on protective factors and PTSD would be available to the public, as it is the public who pays for and is protected by these professions.

Workplace injury compensation is best awarded when proven. Physical injuries are easier to prove, much easier to estimate in terms of cost and much more likely for the employer to build prevention strategies around. It does not make the case against managing emotional wellbeing, especially for high stress jobs. It only argues for better shaping and understanding of the data around psychological and emotional wellbeing.

I think about growing up, when my dad came home for dinner or would come in late at night and chat with my mom after we were “asleep”. I often wondered, on the days when he was sleeping (after working midnights), if it affected him. And then I think about the hundreds of thousands of others in high stress professions and situations just like him.

Is research doing the best it can on chronic conditions, both physically and psychologically, that result from these professions? Why should employees be protected when physically hurt, with OSHA and federal regulations supporting the system….but not one effective protection or safeguard for emotional wellbeing?

Identifying psychologically at-risk individuals throughout their career is as important as the annual physical, and it should be treated as such.

If I have to 10-9 this again and again, I will.

Not every police officer, firefighter or doctor is going to experience PTSD. Arguably, what happened in their previous life and their family genetics may be a great start in workplace wellness assessments. Without a better system to manage this, however, both the professions themselves and the professionals’ physical wellbeing continue to be in jeopardy.

The NIOSH and OSHA provisions, laws and regulations to protect workers from all kinds of hazards are obvious. The absent equality in psychological and emotional hazard protection is also very real and very unfortunate.

It’s as if law enforcement administration has called for help, and all workplace regulators and medical professionals have responded “10-22”.

No, it is not enough to have an EAP available. In professions like these, where culture and tradition have strongholds as deep as any roots can grow, programs need to be in place that provide assessments as to what is not being said. It is difficult to speak up and come forward when the stigma is in place regarding behavioral and mental health. It is even more difficult when your workplace culture expects you to be “tough”. There is no secret code to call for backup on mental health issues first responders experience themselves.

We are left to read between the lines.

At what point are we going to realize that comprehensive, structured and consistent stress prevention and management programs must be available in all first responder and law enforcement communities, not to mention all high-stress professions? When will we demand better protections and better medical attention to this issue?

Or will we wait until it’s a 10-42 for the officer’s career, having virtually ignored all preventive methods?

Finally, when will we prioritize the health of these professions, especially the ones we pay for to protect us, over the publisher’s right to the data?

To the healthcare professionals, government administration and journal/medicine publishers, I have one question for you in regards to acknowledging this issue:

10-4?