Policing has always been a challenging profession, but the last couple of years have been especially hard on police officers. Between COVID-19, the rise in anti-police sentiment, soaring violence against officers, rising crime rates, and mental health crises, officers’ minds have taken a hit. Fortunately, a resilient mindset is still achievable for police professionals. In fact, resilience is forged through adversity.

An unhealthy mindset limits a police officer’s ability to be effective on the job and happy at home. The hallmarks of unhealthy mindsets can be remembered with the acronym, C.A.N.T., which stands for closed, avoidant, negative, and toxic.