Let\u2019s talk about an often overlooked police psychology concept \u2013 shot-peening.<\/span><\/p>\n

$\"controlled-shot-peening\"$ <\/a>

The scientific ideas behind shot peening can be used to help explain mental health in stressful professions.<\/p><\/div>\n

Now, I know shot peening isn\u2019t a top 10 on anyone\u2019s choice of psychological technique, but before you click on that little \u201cx\u201d button, hear me out. We\u2019ve been discussing how scientific theories can extend to your head, and the practice of shot-peening is another example. Shot-peening is a process in which metal is hit with small bits of material, called \u201cshot,\u201d in order to prevent microcracks from turning into fissures. In the process, the metal becomes much stronger because the compressed fibers are now pushed tightly together. However, just like candy, ice cream, and the worm from a bottle of tequila, the benefits from shot-peening must be tempered by moderation. There is real truth to that favorite saying of dentists, doctors, and parents, \u201ctoo much of a good thing is a bad thing.\u201d If the welded metal is hit too many times, it can either bend or break\u2014and neither of those outcomes is a good idea. In fact, the last thing you want to hear when you are on an airplane is, \u201cIt appears we are suffering from some technical difficulties. It seems the wings of the plane are\u2026bending\u2026.\u201d \u00a0That\u2019s worse than, \u201cI\u2019m sorry sir, but we seem to be out of peanuts on this flight.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Emergency room physicians, nurses, cops, even business people in strenuous times, are shot-peened. The exposure to pain and human suffering can strengthen them in a way that nothing else can. You can swing a bat all you want, but until you actually step up to the plate, look the pitcher in the eye, and play in a real game, you are not ready to face a 97-mile an hour pitch coming at you. Sure, the training you do can help prepare you, but it is your participation in many actual baseball games that strengthens your skills and gives you the experience to be a ball player. With cops, training is necessary and important, but the actual work they do is what strengthens them, consolidates their abilities and makes them calm and cool under pressure, able to tune out negative voices<\/a> and trust in their own abilities<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

The results of too much stress<\/h2>\n
$\"ball_peen_hammer\"$ <\/a>
Don\u2019t let the stress in your life overwhelm you until you break.<\/p><\/div>\n
But, shot-peening has a flip side too. Too much exposure to suffering, threats, and high-risks can be detrimental to the head of a cop. Too much crisis in business makes a person unable to react effectively. We call this operational stress (as opposed to <\/em>institutional stress<\/strong>,<\/strong> <\/em>lifestyle stress<\/span> and traumatic stress)<\/em>. And just like with metal, there are two possible consequences for a man or woman \u2014 they can bend or they can break. If they break, they may experience a mental or emotional breakdown, or just decide to quit. If they bend, they can get too comfortable with suffering and problems, and develop an indifference to it. Neither of these possibilities seems good. As in metals, no two people are identical, and thus everyone can handle a different amount of stress before they break or bend.<\/span><\/p>\n
How to deal with Stress<\/h3>\n
Engineers have developed a formula to determine exactly how much strain a piece of metal can handle before it cracks. You don\u2019t hear engineers going around yelling, \u201cYou stupid piece of metal! Why can you handle less shot-peening than that other piece of metal?!\u201d Rather, they reinforce the metal with other pieces in order to give it back its formerly solid grounding.<\/span><\/p>\n
No one has a \u201cpeople\u201d formula. That\u2019s why psychologists exist. Be aware of the shot-peeing you have been under, then read a good blog or talk it out, evaluate how you want to manage your time<\/a>, and help create simplicity in life<\/a> before you feel like you\u2019ve been hit with a ball \u201cpeen\u201d hammer.\u00a0 Same principle, but the indentation it causes are bigger.<\/span><\/p>\n
If you enjoyed this stress tip, sign up to receive updates for more posts on the latest in police psychology and stress management.<\/p>\n
Gary S. Aumiller, Ph.D. ABPP<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n
Follow me on this blog click at left of page at the top of the sidebar
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For books by Dr. Gary S. Aumiller got to http:\/\/www.myherodad.com<\/a> or http:\/\/www.myheromom.com<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n
Join me on Facebook or Linkedin (see sidebar).<\/span><\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Psychological\u00a0 Shot-Peening Let\u2019s talk about an often overlooked police psychology concept \u2013 shot-peening. Now, I know shot peening isn\u2019t a top 10 on anyone\u2019s choice of psychological technique, but before you click on that little \u201cx\u201d button, hear me out. We\u2019ve been discussing how scientific theories can extend to your head, and the practice of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17168885],"tags":[17168800,17168797,17168820,17168817,17168816,17168821],"class_list":["post-229","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-stress","tag-mental-health","tag-police-psychology","tag-stress","tag-stress-management","tag-stress-tip","tag-trauma"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1276,"url":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?p=1276","url_meta":{"origin":229,"position":0},"title":"Police Psychology | Thinking Outside the Box","author":"Gary Aumiller","date":"March 1, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Police Psychology | Thinking Outside the Box \u00a0 Police psychology would tell us that sometimes you have to \u201cthink out of the box.\u201d I wanted meatballs the other day! I got it in my brain to make meatballs, and my 9-year old daughter loves meatballs, so I wanted to make\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Rank and Leadership"","block_context":{"text":"Rank and Leadership","link":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?cat=17168887"},"img":{"alt_text":"police psychology, pasta with meatballs","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/policepsychologyblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/pasta-with-meatballs-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":682,"url":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?p=682","url_meta":{"origin":229,"position":1},"title":"Police Psychology | Fit To Be A Cop? How Much Testing is Enough?","author":"Gary Aumiller","date":"September 14, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"POLICE PSYCHOLOGY | FIT TO BE A COP?\u00a0 HOW MUCH PSYCH TESTING IS ENOUGH? 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Aumiller, Ph.D.\u00a0 ABPP In police psychology, as well at other divisions within\u00a0psychology, we are always looking for innovative ways to make a point to our therapy clients that is not only memorable, but can be applied to their lives across numerous situations.\u00a0\u00a0\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Mastering Resilience"","block_context":{"text":"Mastering Resilience","link":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?cat=17168882"},"img":{"alt_text":"???????","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/policepsychologyblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/coin-toss-205x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3979,"url":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?p=3979","url_meta":{"origin":229,"position":4},"title":"Police Psychology | An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure","author":"Gary Aumiller","date":"August 30, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Police Psychology | An Ounce of Prevention is Worth a Pound of Cure Robert John Zagar PhD MPH and Brandon Northern Current ways of finding challenges like trauma and stress miss 61% of at-risk. Conventional approaches of interviews, background checks, and short paper and pencil tests are less than chance\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Police Stress"","block_context":{"text":"Police Stress","link":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?cat=17168885"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":961,"url":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?p=961","url_meta":{"origin":229,"position":5},"title":"Police Psychology| The Opposite of Chronic \u201cStress?\u201d","author":"Gary Aumiller","date":"January 12, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"What\u2019s the Seventh Grade Science Term for the Opposite of Chronic \u201cStress?\u201d (Hint: Two words, a total of nine syllables)\u00a0 by Doug Gentz , Ph.D- Psychological Services Along with intentions to abstain from junk food and resist general slothfulness, most of us try to avoid \u201cstress.\u201d Maybe as long as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Police Stress"","block_context":{"text":"Police Stress","link":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?cat=17168885"},"img":{"alt_text":"Police Psychology","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/policepsychologyblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/Gentz-stress1-300x220.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p60sbO-3H","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=229"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1226,"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229\/revisions\/1226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=229"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=229"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}