Blog - Overwatch

Anger Makes Sense

Anger is a secondary emotion that blunts others, like fear or sadness. It can mobilize critical thinking and motivate action. However, as a default, the disproportionate intensity of anger can quickly become more problematic than protective.

Sane in Insane Places

As First Responders, keen instincts and application of skillsets learned from training and experience allow you to enter danger while others run from it. However, when does protective learning becomes problematic? Whatever kit you carry, training you have done, how effective your team, and capable the leadership, no one is immune to the stresses and strains of service.

Sane in Insane Places, Anxiety & Depression in First Responders and Veterans

Misalignments & Moral Injuries

Our identity of service involves beliefs and values about why we serve. The rising number of Police deaths on duty is not “just part of the job.” Losses on duty can result in moral injuries that damage morale. Where does accountability lie in the system of laws Officers serve, their leadership, and every citizen of the communities they protect?

Moral Injuries

Moral Injuries – Culture, Community, & Crisis of Consciousness

Moral misalignments are often part of invisible injuries suffered in service. We may develop distorted or destructive beliefs about ourselves, others, and how we see the world because of these moral injuries.

Moral Injuries

Irretrievable Losses

Grief is a normal experience. Although it occurs in waves and its intensity normally lessens over time, it is never gone because loss is permanent. However, when does bereavement becomes neglect or rejection of protective relationships with the living?

Grief in First Responders & Veterans

The Honourable Purposes of Grief & Guilt

Grief involves a variety of thoughts and emotions, and guilt is certainly not uncommon. As a First Responders or Veterans, you may have experienced what others considered excessive guilt. However, these thoughts and emotions are not random. There is a rationality of guilt when we grieve. Is it an expression of loyalty that may also damage other relationships? Does it create and illusion of control?