FITCHBURG — It’s not always the major incidents that take a toll on police officers’ mental health, Berlin Police Chief Thomas Galvin said. Sometimes, it’s the daily cases: a car accident, a domestic dispute, a drug overdose. Over and over again.
“We see people on their worst day,” Galvin said. Day after day.
When Galvin was a Wayland police officer, some coworkers would invite him to “have a beer” after a tough day. “There was a certain level of machismo,” in some police departments back then, he said. Some officers felt pressured to conceal their emotions.
Now, as a Fitchburg State Police Academy instructor, Galvin seeks to change that perception.
“Just because you’re not fine, doesn’t mean you’re weak,” he said. “You deal with it by talking about it.”
Over the course of the summer-long police academy, Galvin and other instructors stressed the importance of mental well-being to the nine recruits, all of whom graduated in May from Fitchburg State University. This Friday, they will be sworn in as certified police officers.
But just because they wear the badge, doesn’t mean they should bottle emotions, Galvin said.
A 2010 study by the Minnesota-based Butler Center for Research showed that 11% of male officers and 16% of female officers consumed alcohol at levels considered “at-risk” by the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
According to Blue H.E.L.P., an Auburn-based nonprofit organization, there were 25 confirmed law enforcement suicides from January 2016 to June 2019 in Massachusetts. More police officers die from suicide than are killed in the line of duty, according to a study by the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
Fitchburg State Police Academy instructors encourage future police officers to recognize the warning signs of post-traumatic stress disorder, support coworkers, and seek counseling or other therapies when needed.
“When they (police officers) aren’t able to process and talk about these things (traumatic events), they hold onto them,” said Eugene Lawrence, a substance use disorder specialist with a private practice in Lowell. “A lot of the time, they’ll blame themselves,” if something goes wrong while on duty, he said.
Oftentimes, police officers experience PTSD symptoms without even realizing it, both Lawrence and Galvin stressed.
Galvin tells recruits to watch for changes in behavior. These can include symptoms of depression, more frequent use of alcohol or drugs, or new eating habits, Lawrence said. Those with PTSD may seem agitated, jumpy, or even violent in some cases, he explained.
“The really disturbing part about PTSD is the silence. They withdraw. They become isolated,” Lawrence said.
Alanna Duquette sees many officers struggle with these symptoms at On-Site Academy, a nonprofit in-patient treatment center for first responders in Westminster. There, officers, firefighters, veterans and more discuss and learn to cope with PTSD and substance abuse issues — together.
On-Site Academy was founded in Gardner in 1992, and moved to Westminster in 2007. Around 7,000 patients have gone through the programs, and 90% of them returned to duty, according to Duquette, business manager and peer.
“Still there is that stigma out there,” that prevents first responders from opening up, Duquette said. During their stay on the nearly 30-acre farmland, patients learn about the effects of critical incidents on the brain, relax with yoga and acupuncture, hike wooded trails, and most importantly, connect with others in the same situation and certified mental health counselors.
“It’s like we carry a backpack, and over the years we keep throwing rocks in that backpack,” said Duquette who once worked in the back of an ambulance.
“I wish that every single person… is made to go through a program of health and wellness before they are made to put on that uniform,” she said.
Galvin advises new recruits to look out for each other. “We have to do a better job at teaching (that) at this (beginning) level,” he said. “Keep that line of communication open,” especially with family members who are more likely to notice changes in personality, he said.
It has to be “a team effort,” Galvin stressed. Day after day. One day at a time.
