Breaking the Barriers

Law enforcement has long been troubled by high levels of stress, anxiety, poor sleep, and divorce. Many officers, firefighters, paramedics, corrections staff, and wellness professionals insist that everything is fine, yet suicide among police continues to rise, largely because the profession stigmatizes asking for help. Officers dedicate themselves to protecting and serving others, but rarely stop to ask who is looking after them.

Dr. Ron Rufo, an author and speaker, draws on 22 years as a highly decorated member of the Chicago Police Department. Breaking the Barriers is his fourth book and his second on police wellness. He argues that emotional health deserves the same attention as tactical training, and that officers should seek mental health intervention before a small problem grows into a serious crisis. Through interviews with experts in psychology, sleep medicine, religion, leadership management, epidemiology and environmental health, holistic medicine, exercise physiology, and alternative medicine, he offers ways to sustain emotional, physical, psychological, and spiritual wellness throughout a career.

Rufo is determined to lift the persistent gloom that hangs over the profession. He traces the police culture that contributes to current physical and mental health problems, then lays out a broad set of intervention and support tools. His aim is to help officers of every rank balance work and life so they can reach a long, healthy retirement they have truly earned.