{"id":6517,"date":"2017-09-26T22:19:16","date_gmt":"2017-09-27T02:19:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?p=6517"},"modified":"2017-10-02T11:28:21","modified_gmt":"2017-10-02T15:28:21","slug":"police-psychology-the-folly-of-fear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?p=6517","title":{"rendered":"Police Psychology:  The Folly of Fear"},"content":{"rendered":"<body><p><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;\">This is a PTSD technique used by a colleague of mine from Detroit, Michigan using a work of art from Francisco Goya found in Museo del Prado in Spain.\u00a0 I have seen this work of art live a couple of times in Madrid and never would have made the connection LaMaurice did:<\/span><\/p>\n<h1 class=\"x_MsoNormal\" align=\"center\"><em><b>Police Psychology:\u00a0 The Folly of Fear<\/b><\/em><\/h1>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\" align=\"center\"><em><b>\u00a0<span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">LaMaurice H. Gardner, Psy.D.<\/span><\/b><\/em><\/p>\n<p align=\"center\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"6518\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?attachment_id=6518\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/policepsychologyblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Folly-of-Fear.jpg?fit=700%2C506&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"700,506\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Folly of Fear\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/policepsychologyblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Folly-of-Fear.jpg?fit=614%2C444&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-6518\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/policepsychologyblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Folly-of-Fear.jpg?resize=300%2C217\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"217\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/policepsychologyblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Folly-of-Fear.jpg?resize=300%2C217&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/policepsychologyblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/09\/Folly-of-Fear.jpg?w=700&amp;ssl=1 700w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><em>This is a picture called the Folly of Fear. Now in the background of the picture (in the past) you can see Spanish soldiers engaged in combat. They are beside the tree fighting for their lives. You can see the front of a cannon just to the left of the left most figure. They are at war.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><em>\u00a0<\/em><em>Now, in the foreground of the picture (in the present) you can see these same Spanish soldiers. What are they being confronted by? What is that standing over them?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><em>\u00a0<\/em><em>\u201cA Ghost.\u201d (grim reaper, death, etc.)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><em>\u00a0<\/em><em>Yes. And what is a Ghost\u2026. a Ghost is a memory from the past. <\/em><\/span><!--more--><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><em>\u00a0<\/em><em>What is the Ghost doing?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><em>\u00a0<\/em><em>\u201cHaunting them.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><em>\u00a0<\/em><em>So, the Ghost, or memory of the past has come to the present to Haunt the soldiers.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><em>\u00a0<\/em><em>What is their emotional reaction to the memories of the past coming to haunt them in the present?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><em>\u00a0<\/em><em>\u201cFear, Anxiety, Dread\u2026.\u201d (as seen on their faces and body language)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><em>\u00a0<\/em><em>And what is their reaction? (behavior)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><em>\u00a0<\/em><em>\u201cWanting to escape, run away, hide in terror, falling to the ground, give up.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><em>\u00a0<\/em><em>How does your PTSD make you react when the memories come back to haunt you?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><em>\u00a0<\/em><em>\u201cAvoid people, isolate at home, drink, etc.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><em>\u00a0<\/em><em>PTSD is the ghost from the past coming to haunt you in the present through intrusive thoughts, nightmares, and flashbacks. It causes intense emotional upheaval and makes you want to engage in avoidance. But the Ghost isn\u2019t real. It is just a powerful memory. It is inside you. If avoidance worked I would teach everyone with PTSD to avoid. But avoidance doesn\u2019t work. The memory is inside you and will follow you wherever you go. Your memory (amygdala) is signaling \u201cDanger Danger\u201d at everything that reminds you of the trauma. But these are false alarms based on memory associations. <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><em>We can\u2019t escape our memories. But we can make peace with them.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><em>\u00a0<\/em><em>What would happen if the soldiers stood up and walked forward instead of running away?<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><em>\u00a0<\/em><em>\u201cThey would walk through the Ghost.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><em>\u00a0<\/em><em>Exactly. It is not real, although at times it feels as if it is. With Prolonged Exposure we teach you to walk through the Ghost. To face and overcome the memory. To recognize or Re-Cognize\/Re-Think the trauma experience and discover you are safe and the Ghost (memory) can\u2019t hurt you. The more you face the Ghost the less power it has over you. And in the end, in the best Ghostbuster frame of reference you can say,<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><em><b>\u201cI aint afraid of no Ghost!\u201d<\/b><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><em><b>\u00a0<\/b><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\">Site Administrator:\u00a0 <em>Gary S. Aumiller, Ph.D. ABPP<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><em>Please share this article from down below.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 12pt;\"><em>Please join the email list on the top of the sidebar and you can get these sent to your email.\u00a0 Also follow me on Twitter (<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ThinBlueMind\">https:\/\/twitter.com\/ThinBlueMind<\/a>) for other articles and ideas, and YouTube at\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCfjNw0510ipr3bX587IvAHg\">https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCfjNw0510ipr3bX587IvAHg<\/a> .<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This is a PTSD technique used by a colleague of mine from Detroit, Michigan using a work of art from Francisco Goya found in Museo del Prado in Spain.\u00a0 I have seen this work of art live a couple of times in Madrid and never would have made the connection LaMaurice did: Police Psychology:\u00a0 The [&hellip;]<\/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":[17165629],"tags":[17169013,17168803,17168797],"class_list":["post-6517","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-emotions","tag-fear","tag-police","tag-police-psychology"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4987,"url":"https:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?p=4987","url_meta":{"origin":6517,"position":0},"title":"Police Psychology | Symptom Stress","author":"Gary Aumiller","date":"December 15, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Police Psychology | Symptom Stress by Gary S. 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