Police officers help people every day. But the job can take a toll.
Some calls are hard to forget. Some stay with you long after your shift ends.
Stress can build over time. Sleep can suffer. You may feel angry, tired, sad, or on edge. You may even feel different at home.
Behind the Badge was created to help.
The book and the LCH-Behind the Badge app give police officers tools for stress, trauma, recovery, and daily mental wellness.
You protect others.
You deserve support too.
Behind the Badge Book
Behind the Badge: A Police Officer’s Guide to Trauma, Stress, Resilience, and Life Beyond the Uniform focuses on the person behind the badge.
Police officers see things that most people never see.
One hard call can leave a mark. Years of hard calls can also add up.
You may have trouble sleeping. You may replay a call in your mind. You may feel angry or numb. You may pull away from people you love.
These reactions matter.
The book helps officers understand what may happen after stress or trauma. It also gives them ways to cope and heal.
The book covers police stress, trauma, grief, sleep, anger, family life, peer support, and more.
It also looks at hard parts of the job. These include shootings, child deaths, suicide calls, violence, and the loss of a fellow officer.
There are also sections about life away from work.
The goal is not to tell officers how to feel.
The goal is to help them understand what they feel and what they can do next.
LCH-Behind the Badge App
Sometimes you need help right now.
You may have just finished a hard call. You may be sitting in your patrol car. You may be home but still thinking about work.
That is where the LCH-Behind the Badge app can help.
The app gives officers simple tools they can use when they need them.
You can use the app to learn about stress and trauma. You can also find ways to calm your body and clear your mind.
The app can help you:
- Deal with stress after a hard call
- Use calming and grounding tools
- Learn healthy ways to cope
- Watch for signs of burnout
- Better understand trauma
- Build mental strength
- Take care of your relationships
- Know when it may be time to ask for help
- Find support and crisis resources
The app does not replace a doctor, therapist, peer support team, or emergency care.
It is another tool you can carry with you.
Mental Wellness Is Part of the Job
Police culture often teaches officers to push through.
That can help during a crisis.
But it can become a problem when you never stop.
You do not have to ignore stress to be strong.
You do not have to hide pain.
You do not have to handle every hard call alone.
Talking to someone can help. So can rest, exercise, sleep, time with family, peer support, and mental health care.
Asking for help is not giving up.
It is one more way to take care of yourself.
There Is a Person Behind the Badge
The badge stands for service and duty.
But the person wearing it matters too.
You are more than your job.
You are a parent, spouse, partner, friend, sibling, or child.
You have a life outside of work.
Taking care of your mental health can help you at work. It can also help you at home.
Your life matters beyond the badge.
One Book. One App. One Support System.
The book and app work together.
The Behind the Badge book helps you understand the impact of police work.
The LCH-Behind the Badge app gives you tools you can use in daily life.
For example, you may read about trauma in the book. Then, you can use a calming tool in the app after a hard call.
You may read about burnout. Then, you can start watching for the signs in yourself.
You may read about family stress. Then, you can work on ways to reconnect at home.
The book helps you understand.
The app helps you act.
Together, they create a larger support system.
Support for the Whole Police Community
Behind the Badge can help more than individual officers.
It can also support police families and departments.
These resources may be useful for:
- Police officers
- Police departments
- Peer support teams
- Command staff
- Police chaplains
- Wellness programs
- Police families
- Retired officers
- Mental health providers
- Training programs
Better support can help build stronger officers, stronger families, and stronger teams.
Life Beyond the Uniform
Being a police officer can become a large part of who you are.
But you are more than the uniform.
That matters during your career. It also matters when you retire, change jobs, get hurt, or leave the profession.
Life beyond the badge can still have meaning.
There can still be purpose.
There can still be connection.
There can still be hope.
Understand the impact. Build strength. Protect your mental health. Support your relationships. Live beyond the badge.
