Helping professions like law enforcement, dispatchers, EMTs, and firefighters are subjected to some of the most dreadful aspects of a community. All the horrors they’ve witnessed, listened to, or recounted creates trauma that if not expressed and processed correctly accumulates and is then manifested in different areas of their life.

This course’s instructor knows the damage these can bring having lost her husband to suicide after working in law enforcement for thirty years. Kim Colegrove is the author of Mindfulness for Warriors, creator of the Pause First: Mindfulness for First Responders, and founder of the Pause First Academy. She’s a 45-year veteran of meditation having started when she was just 10 years old and is now sharing her knowledge and expertise on mindfulness and resilience to overcome stress and trauma.

Specifics of her discussion include:

• A backgrounder on Kim’s journey from first learning about meditation, teaching mindfulness professionally, and how the death of her husband drove her to focus on working with helping professions.
• The concept of invisible wounds – emotional and mental challenges, stress, and trauma, that often goes left untreated.
• Revisiting the invisible wounds that Kim’s husband went through which he wasn’t able to address and fully heal from because of the lack of resources and understanding within the profession.
• The need for the same level of support for invisible wounds as would anyone get if they had a physical injury.
• How the stigma around mental and emotional health ultimately leads to silent suffering and unhealthy coping mechanisms.
• Why people think courage is the opposite of vulnerability and the reality that vulnerability entails the highest form of courage which results in healing by letting your guard down and letting people in.
• Nate’s story demonstrating how his experience in the Marines affected his relationships and life, and how allowing himself to be vulnerable enabled him to process his suppressed feelings and have a personal breakthrough.
• The three-step approach to making positive changes.
  • Taking an honest self-assessment to find out about your stress levels and where you are mentally and emotionally such as the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS).
  • Excavating mental and emotional stress/distress by using the tools of meditation and mindfulness and practicing self-awareness, self-reflection, and self-care.
  • Taking inspired action that will further assist with navigating the mental and emotional aspects of life healthily.
• The importance of unpacking our emotions to sort through what we need to get rid of and what must we assimilate into our life.
• The two ways that unattended stress, trauma, and other invisible wounds will inevitably manifest as.
• Understanding meditation and mindfulness and their evidence-based benefits.
• Getting started with meditation and mindfulness by settling in the present moment through the three Bs – breathing, body scan, and being.

Questions raised by the webinar participants are about:

• Accessing the PSS resource to take the self-assessment.
• Ways and resources for empaths to protect themselves from feeling too much and getting overwhelmed.
• How suppressing feelings can dull down our senses.
• Resources specific for victim advocates.
• Changing the stigma surrounding mental and emotional health.
• Applying self-compassion and self-care for mental and emotional health.
• How agencies and leaders can help professionals cope better and be more aware of their mental and emotional health.
• How the nature of and procedures within criminal justice is preventing its officers from getting the help they need in fear of it being used against them.

Other Webinars with this Speaker:

• Sept 9: Facing the Mental and Emotional Impact of this Work (this webinar)
• Feb 1: Demystifying Meditation and Mindfulness for Criminal Justice Professionals 

Resources and Handouts (Paid Links)

• Book: Mindfulness for Warriors by Kim Colegrove
• For More Free Resources, Visit: pausefirst.com/freeresources

Audience Questions

• “Everything I heard was very helpful. Invisible wounds and emotional and health benefits of practicing meditation and mindfulness. I appreciate Kim’s transparency and passion for her teachings and services. Her voice was southing and even compassionate in talking and teaching about this topic. Thank you.” — Suzanne
• “How easy meditation is and how much of a difference it can be. That repressed emotions can cause significant issues with different areas of your life. Really enjoyed this presentation!” — Tazman
• “The message and new terms were great to hear. Puts it in a different perspective and made me think more than other conferences on similar topics. This was the best one I have listened to on this topic.” — Jennifer
• “I learned that taking care of yourself, emotionally, spiritually and mentally is very important for your long-term survival at home and at work. This was a very good webinar and I am glad that I listened. The speaker was amazing and I wish it was more than 1 hour but it did remind me to stay focused on my wellness at all times.” — Traci
• “Loved her presentation style – she left room for some silence to ponder what she had just said. Sometimes these webinars have so much info to jam into an hour that the information is overwhelming.” — Julie
• “Excellent Webinar. Mental health is a major problem in LE.” — Robert