‘Police officers should learn better stress management’

CCPO says corruption bad for physical and mental health.

LAHORE:

Policemen must learn to manage stress better as it affects their performance and long term health. This was said by Additional IG (training) Sarmad Saeed while lecturing in a seminar on general health awareness organised by the Capital City Police on the occasion of Health Awareness Day at the Alhamra on The Mall.

He highlighted the importance of stress management, saying that while occasional stress can be motivational and invigorating, prolonged exposure to stress can be dangerous. He also talked about the importance of developing a strong emotional quotient so that police officers could go about their job with compassion and respect for others.

The seminar was attended by 500 policemen who were given lectures and demonstrations about health awareness by renowned doctors and senior police officials.

Parliamentary Health Secretary Dr Saeed Elahi, who was the guest of honour at the event, commended the performance of the police department and appreciated the courage of its men and officers in the face of terrorism.  He expressed grief at the death of a policeman on duty due to hot weather in Rahimyar Khan and promised that government would strive to make working hours of policemen more flexible and comfortable.

In his opening note, DIG (operations) Ghulam Mehmood Dogar highlighted the importance of health awareness amongst police officers, saying that owing to the nature of their job, policemen are more vulnerable to health problems.

Capital City Police Officer Ahmad Raza Tahir, who was chief guest at the event said that buying nutritious food with money earned fairly is just as important for good moral and physical health as the nutrients contained in that food. He congratulated the policemen attending the seminar on their selection for this training and said they should feel proud to represent the 46,500 men and women of the Capital City Police and now they had the responsibility to spread this knowledge to their colleagues. MPA Shazia Ashfaq Watto said that physical health precedes mental health and people should learn more about health. She advised the female police to behave nicely with public.

Principal Lahore Medical College discussed healthy dental care habits for officials. Neurosurgeon Dr Anwar Chaudhry elaborated the functioning of human brain and nervous system and raised awareness about handling neuro trauma in case of injuries. Dr Aftab Shah lectured on heart function and prevention of heart related diseases. Dr Adrees Rana delivered a lecture on healthy usage of water.



Published in The Express Tribune, June 24^th, 2011.