LEO hiring; PTSD/Depression; Getting over it and getting hired.

[Donald Johnson]

Several years ago my best friend showed me the human face of law enforcement officers-the good and the warts. Before that I had a nominal interest in going into law enforcement but like so many people "LEO's were better kept out of sight and out of mind" not to mention criminals and the court system.
He's been a good influence on me and I highly respect him and his family.
My wife and son had gone through some ugly stuff and it was a challenge to keep our family afloat over the entire time spanning years. For myself despite it all I remained clean, sober, and law-abiding abeit with a case of Depression and PTSD from it all.
Through this experience I developed an interest in Law Enforcement as a career path and as a way to channel my energy in a positive manner in response to what happened. Like someone who has a relative or good friend die from cancer and decides to become a doctor or nurse because of that experience.
My therapist cleared me for duty but since then I've been turned down twice. One at Federal level and one at State level, admittedly it hurts to be turned down and I'm mature enough to accept their decision. However it raises my curiousity as to whether PTSD and Depression can truly be reversed and kept managed to be considered for hiring and retained professionally.
Moderators if this an out of bounds area, go ahead and delete this thread, no problem I respect your decision and abide by that decision.

[dmclark]

Good question and good post.

First, I'm really not clear on your post. Did you have a critical incident as a LEO, or are you seeking LEO employment (civilian to LEO) with this in your background?

There are various avenues for the scenario, so if you'd like, try to be a little more specific on where you stand at the moment. DM

[Donald Johnson]

I am a civilian seeking employment as LEO with this in my background. Frankly it sucks but that's life.

[Virgilthetiger]

I might be wrong but...

I think DJ is asking about a career in LEO with a treatable mental illness in his background.


VTTT

[Donald Johnson]

Virgilthetiger, that is correct.

[MrJim911]

If your therapist has cleared you to attain a job in this profession then I say keep going for it. I'm assuming that you've been told that your history of dealing with PTSD is what has resulted in your being turned down? I understand you may not feel comfortable talking about the speficic incident that resulted in the PTSD and I don't expect you to, but it would be hard to comment on why they may be doing this. Since a person that is diagnosed with PTSD usually deals with that and it's effects for the rest of their lives that may be a contributing factor. They may be worried aout your reaction to certain stimuli. For example, tens of thousands Vietnam vets had problems re-adjusting into society upon their return from battle...as we all know. And this was because they were all suffering some form of PTSD. They suffered from symtoms like estrangement and desensitization, emotional emeshment, hypervigilance, etc... They simply could not function. This effected their family life as well as their professional life. Also it has been proven that intense and/or continuos trauma or stress can cause permanent physical damage to the brain. Anyway, any of these could be a problem when your put into a high stress situation depending on what history you have.

[ATF SAC]

The issue is not so much that you have gone therapy for PTSD so much as how you portray yourself and what you show that overcomes the accessible concern that you may have a problem with stress while seeking one of the most stressful occupations on the planet.

I recommend you focus on those areas that you can describe as stressful where you have perfomed well. This may mean simply that you held a job where you can describe the abilty to handle stress again (almost any gainful employment). You may want to spend a year or so in an agency that is personnel starved to show your stuff.

I understand PTSD, and have said that I avoided PTSD by serving in ATF where I never got to the PTS part. Point being that I could show the ability post- Vietnam to function in stress rich environments. You are going to have to do the same thing.