Bulletproof Spirit Revised Edition

Suicide, depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance abuse, and many more emotional and stress-related problems plague the first-responder community. Hundreds of thousands of these brave public servants have unwittingly become victims of the professions they once loved. However, the suffering that results from a professional life of sacrifice and service can be prevented and mitigated. As a thirty-year law-enforcement veteran, retired police captain, and police academy instructor, Dan Willis has witnessed the damage of emotional trauma and has made it his personal mission to safeguard and enhance the wellness and wholeness of police officers, firefighters, EMTs, emergency-room personnel, and soldiers. Bulletproof Spirit offers field-tested expertise designed to be used by all first responders — and their families — to heal themselves and continue serving with compassion and strength.

Suicide, depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance abuse, and many more emotional and stress-related problems plague the first-responder community. Hundreds of thousands of these brave public servants have unwittingly become victims of the professions they once loved. However, the suffering that results from a professional life of sacrifice and service can be prevented and mitigated. As a thirty-year law-enforcement veteran, retired police captain, and police academy instructor, Dan Willis has witnessed the damage of emotional trauma and has made it his personal mission to safeguard and enhance the wellness and wholeness of police officers, firefighters, EMTs, emergency-room personnel, and soldiers. Bulletproof Spirit offers field-tested expertise designed to be used by all first responders — and their families — to heal themselves and continue serving with compassion and strength.

If you are a police officer, firefighter, EMT, ER nurse, or soldier, or you love one . . . This book can save your life Suicide, depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), substance abuse, and many more emotional and stress-related problems plague the first-responder community. Hundreds of thousands of these brave public servants have unwittingly become victims of the professions they once loved. However, the suffering that results from a professional life of sacrifice and service can be prevented and mitigated. As a law-enforcement veteran, police captain Dan Willis has witnessed the damage of emotional trauma and has made it his personal mission to safeguard and enhance the wellness and wholeness of police officers, firefighters, EMTs, emergency-room personnel, and soldiers. Bulletproof Spirit offers field-tested expertise designed to be used by all first responders — and their families — to heal themselves and continue serving with compassion and strength.

This book is designed to provide spiritual fortification for officers who are faced with a barrage of experiences in the course of their careers which challenge their most deeply held personal beliefs. It comes with exercises, tools, and insights to restore inner peace and clarity.

When life deals you a particularly difficult blow or a staggering loss, how do you handle it? If you’re like most, you might think Why me?, struggle to find your way, or lash out at those around you. But there are a select few who seem emotionally hardier, who are able to face life’s physical, emotional, and financial hits undeterred and perhaps even forge ahead, empowered in the face of adversity. These people aren’t more deserving or luckier than the rest of us; they simply think differently–they are connected with their steady inner self and find strength where others might see meaninglessness; they make life-affirming choices instead of defeatist ones. In short, they are spiritually bulletproof. They face as many of life’s slings and arrows as the rest of us, but they don’t succumb to hardship or misfortune. And you can be one of them. In The Secrets of the Bulletproof Spirit, renowned peace activist Azim Khamisa and inspirational speaker Jillian Quinn reveal the thirty essential keys to emotional and spiritual resiliency. Based upon their own experiences with heart-wrenching loss, the strategies they present may seem simple, but their advice can open up a whole new way of thinking. Khamisa and Quinn will help you discover • that your thoughts help to create your reality, and that you can use them to take control of your life • the potentially damaging mental routines you’re running on autopilot • the vital connections between your upbringing and your “resiliency quotient” • spiritually affirming thoughts that may help you make more spiritually empowering choices “What lies within you really is more powerful than any hit you may take physically, emotionally, or materially,” the authors write. With their help, readers will find themselves more confident and secure in a volatile and uncertain world. When you learn to identify most strongly with that invincible core–your bulletproof spirit–you tap into the truest source of security available to you. And while there’s no foolproof way to stay out of the proverbial line of fire, the information, inspiration, and tools in this book will provide you with an emotional bulletproof vest, a way to take hits and come out on top. From the Hardcover edition.

The author of the gold-standard essential reading for many law-enforcement agencies and for first responders of every kind now speaks specifically to new recruits called to “protect and serve” in ever more challenging times If you’re a peace officer (whether in policing, corrections, probation, border patrol, or another public safety field) this book could save your life. Inspired by the author’s award-winning wellness text Bulletproof Spirit (required reading at the FBI National Academy), Police Resilience is a comprehensive and effective guide to protecting yourself and healing from trauma. Written specifically for training academies, students, and new peace officers, it provides evidence-based, field-tested resilience and wellness strategies as well as firsthand accounts from experienced officers. Includes QR codes to access informative videos featuring veteran officers’ solutions to the real-world challenges of policing

#1 New Release in Military Families ─ Coping with the Stress of First Responder Life A traumatic way of life: First responders have the incredibly difficult job of running toward danger while the rest of us run away. No training can prepare them for what they will see and endure. Kim Colegrove understands what it’s like to watch someone go through that. After 30 years in law enforcement, her husband took his own life. This agonizing experience opened Kim’s eyes to the desperate need for an effective form of stress-relief and support for first responders. The power of meditation: No matter our profession, taking care of our mental health needs to be a priority. For first responders like cops and EMTs, ensuring that their heads are in a healthy place is crucial because each day can bring them face-to-face with another trauma. With 40 years of experience, Kim Colegrove is here to share with readers that there is a viable and practical resource for first responders found in meditation. A source of hope: In 2017, Kim founded The PauseFirst Project, Mindfulness for First Responders. Kim offers the PauseFirst block of training to organizations across the country. She teaches techniques that help reduce stress, regulate emotion, and improve overall health and well-being. Colegrove’s work to bring awareness is a tribute to both her husband and the countless other first responders who struggle with the realities of their jobs. Readers of Kim Colegrove’s Mindfulness for Warriors will find… • Evidence-based practices to help first responders and their families deal with stress • Interviews with first responders who share their stories of overcoming, surviving, and thriving • Colegrove’s own raw and intimate story of her husband’s troubles and how she continues each day fighting in his memory Readers who have looked for encouragement messages and aid in books like Bulletproof Spirit, Bullets in the Washing Machine, and I Love a Cop (Third Edition) will find a further source of healing in Mindfulness for Warriors.

Power: Police Officer Wellness, Ethics, and Resilience collectively presents the numerous psychic wounds experienced by peace officers in the line of duty, including compassion fatigue, moral injury, PTSD, operational stress injury, organizational and operational stress, and loss. Authors describe the negative repercussions of these psychic wounds in law enforcement decision-making, job performance, job satisfaction, and families. The book encompasses evidence-based strategies to assist law enforcement agencies in developing policy programs to promote wellness for their personnel. The evidence-based techniques presented allow officers to get a more tangible and better understanding of the techniques so that they apply those techniques when on and off-duty. With forewords authored by Dr. John Violanti (Distinguished Police Research Professor) and Dr. Tracie Keesee, Vice President of the Center of Policing Equity, this book is an excellent resource for police professionals, police wellness coordinators, early career researchers, mental health professionals who provide services to law enforcement officers and their families, and graduate students in psychology, forensic psychology, and criminal justice. Platinum Award Winner 2019, Homeland Security Awards - American Security Today Provides reader with evidence-based strategies to promote officer wellness Covers compassion fatigue, moral injury, PTSD, operational stress, and more Written by established scholars and professionals from a law enforcement context