Poetic Justice

February 4, 2009

I have recently read several poems written by a few retired police officers. To be honest, I was quite surprised at the level of realism and meaning being reflected in the poems. After reading several more police-related poems, I finally realized how these poems can be so beautifully written.

Law enforcement officers and police officers are constantly rated as being one of the highest stress-level professions and this representation applies on an international level. When you consider the dangers, responsibilities, critisms, stereotypes and personal conflicts invovled in being a police officer, it is hard to imagine policing as a stress-free career.

Whether you’re already a police officer or are preparing to become one, it is important to learn about stress management. Having mentioned the above stress-related consequences of becoming a police officer, we have to understand that stress is inevitable for police officers. It is simply part of the package, so it is better to just accept it rather than ignore it. Instead, it is much more important to learn how to cope with it. When you cannot escape stress, then the best thing to do is to minimize its burden on yourself.

Everyone has a different approach to dealing with stress; it is only a matter of how healthy your approach is. There are positive (healthy) and negative (unhealthy) ways of dealing with stress and poetry is definitely a healthy approach. Just like the authors of the poems I have read, you could vent out your anger through poetry or other means of creative writing. If that is not something suitable to your style, then choose another outlet to relieve your stress. Not only is it beneficial towards your emotional state, but frequent stress management exercises is a great way of turning a negative vibe into something positive – even into a form of art that can be used to inspire others just like yourself.

How do YOU cope with stress?