Your wellbeing

When experiencing any transition, such as a life event, career change or retirement, people can experience a sense of grief and loss. The Elisabeth Kübler-Ross ‘five stages of grief’ process was originally developed to explain the grieving process of losing a loved one, but has been more widely applied to the retirement process, including for professional athletes.

It is particularly applicable in policing when retirement happens within a set timeframe and that may be beyond the individual’s control. There are also those who have to retire early on medical grounds and this model can help explain the range of emotions that you might be experiencing during and after the transition. 

The five stages include: 

1. Denial: Avoidance, confusion, elation, shock, fear.
2. Anger: Frustration, irritation, anxiety.
3. Bargaining: Struggling to find meaning, reaching out to others, telling one’s story.
4. Depression: Overwhelmed, helplessness, hostility, flight.
5. Acceptance: Exploring options, new plan in place, moving on.

The process is non-linear, meaning that you may go back and forth between the stages before you reach the final stage of acceptance.

How might this look for you in your transition or retirement journey?

By understanding where you are in the grief process and the range of emotions you can experience, this can help normalise those feelings. It can also help you pinpoint the stage of the process you are currently at, knowing that it is a normal human reaction to any transition or loss and at some point in the not-so-distant future, you will reach a stage of acceptance where you will be able to move on to your new opportunity and next chapter.

What is resilience?

Resilience is the process of adapting well in the face of adversity and transitions, or workplace and financial stressors. It means bouncing back from difficult experiences and challenges and can help improve wellbeing after leaving the police.

Evidence suggests there are a range of factors that contribute to resilience. These are:

• Cognitive components – our core beliefs and patterns of thinking
• Behavioural components - our (usual) patterns of action
• Existential components – our sense of the value of our existence, purpose or meaning in the world.

Optimism

A key cognitive element is optimism. This can be described as maintaining positive expectancies for future outcomes. An individual’s degree of optimism can shift over time or across situations. 

This is good news as we can practice becoming more optimistic. Through positively re-framing things to ‘look on the bright side’ or ‘find the silver lining’ we can have a more positive outlook over time. 

Maintaining optimism for the future while dealing with challenges in the present can provide the stamina to endure difficult situations. Optimism has been associated with a range of wellbeing benefits, including better psychological adjustment during life transitions.

Cognitive flexibility

Cognitive flexibility is our ability to reappraise how we view and understand challenging circumstances. We do this through:

• acknowledging negative and painful consequences
• finding meaning and positive outcomes
• revaluating the value and meaning of the challenging or traumatic event

Reframing our thoughts about challenging or stressful events cements them into our memories and beliefs, allowing us to find a place of acceptance.

We can’t change our experiences or what has happened to us, but we can change the way we think and respond to these. We should remember these experiences have shaped who we are. Acceptance and assimilation of a traumatic or challenging experience into our own story helps acknowledge that experiences can provide opportunities for learning and growth. This allows us to find the value and meaning in this situation, the ‘lessons learned’.

Different coping strategies can be useful in different situations and can provide a protective mechanism for our psychological wellbeing. Maladaptive coping such as disengagement, emotional suppression and avoidance can make your mental health worse. 

Active coping is achieved by striving to create positive statements about yourself/situation and taking control. Employing proactive strategies by planning and managing tasks can help individuals feel more in control during significant life transitions such as retirement.

Often when we have a demanding career, our own physical health and wellbeing can take a back seat. Physical activity, and addressing physical wellbeing is a behavioural coping strategy that can help reduce the impact of stressful or challenging circumstances.

We know physical activity can:

• improve physical hardiness
• improve mood
• increase self-esteem
• improve cognition and brain function
• improve emotional regulation and make interpersonal relationships easier

It is helpful to establish a routine of physical exercise and/or activity. This doesn’t need to be a long gym session. Doing something you enjoy for a short time can generate positive benefits. Research has shown that a small amount of exercise, equivalent to 11 minutes a day or 75 minutes a week, can have a big impact on our health outcomes, reducing the risk of early death, heart disease and cancer. It can also be key if you want to maintain and improve wellbeing after leaving the police.

Seeking support from others can be another proactive coping mechanism. Many officers and police staff have long lengths of service, establishing strong bonds with colleagues throughout their working life. Engaging with family, friends and the wider community can be critical during work transitions. 

Let’s take a closer look at the importance of having a social support network.

Retirement or transitioning out of policing may provide an opportunity to experience a renewed sense of purpose. Often individuals choose careers that are aligned with their values and sense of purpose. Public sector roles can be seen as vocational and our identity can be closely aligned with our professional persona. Transitioning into retirement or outside of policing can create an opportunity to reflect on these values and purpose and create a sense of optimism and opportunity for the future.

This is a time to reflect on and develop a set of positive core beliefs about yourself and your purpose in the world. Take time to reflect on what a purposeful transition means to you. Maintaining positive core beliefs results in adaptive thinking that encourages resilience.

Altruism (or kindness to others) is another important behavioural component associated with resilience. Altruistic behaviour encourages connectedness with others and gives meaning and purpose in life. There may be things you do now that are altruistic and link with your values and sense of purpose. Perhaps you volunteer to help others in the community, support the local children’s football team or help in the local school. There may be other opportunities for volunteering or pro-bono work that you would like to do in the future.

Civic duty is something that may have given you a sense of purpose in policing. Now is the time to think about those opportunities to be altruistic and seek opportunities to do the things that you enjoy and foster a new sense of purpose. Make sure you are engaging in activities and goals that give meaning and purpose in your life.