Welcome back to Just Breathe, where we explore the intersection of leadership and the science of self-regulation in public safety. This episode takes on something every first responder knows and few talk about honestly: being tired. There is tired, and then there is fatigue — and fatigue quietly changes how we process information, regulate our emotions, assess risk, communicate, and make decisions, on duty and at home.

Dr. Tracie L. Keesee is joined by Dr. Lois James, Professor and PhD Program Director in the Washington State University College of Nursing and Director of WSU's Sleep and Performance Research Center. Together they unpack what sleep loss does to the brain and body, why "I'm tired, but I'm fine" doesn't hold up, and what both individuals and agencies can change starting today.

WHAT WE COVER

• Why routinely getting five or six hours of sleep isn't a "new normal" — most adults need seven to nine hours to avoid building sleep debt.

• How fatigue takes the prefrontal cortex offline first, eroding the self-awareness, calm, and judgment a tense encounter demands.

• Why drowsy driving after a shift feels safe until it isn't — micro-sleeps happen even when you believe you're awake.

• What leaders should know about shift length, shift rotation, and forward-rotating schedules, and why staffing should match actual demand.

• Simple sleep-hygiene moves: limit handheld screens, use steady background noise, and keep your bedroom cool, dark, and quiet.

• The case for on-duty napping — and how a 20-minute power nap (or a "nappuccino") tops up alertness without sleep inertia.

• The one thing to start today: a self-soothing wind-down routine that lowers hypervigilance so your body can actually rest.

• Why the culture of "push through it" is fading — and why the question isn't whether we can keep going, but whether we should.

ABOUT DR. LOIS JAMES

Dr. Lois James is a Professor and the PhD Program Director in the Washington State University College of Nursing, and Director of WSU's Sleep and Performance Research Center. Her research examines how sleep loss, fatigue, stress, and bias affect performance and safety among shift workers, including police officers, firefighters, health care personnel, and military personnel. She specializes in developing and evaluating fatigue risk management, sleep education, and anti-bias training programs, and is the founding Director of Counter Bias Training Simulation (CBTsim). Internationally recognized in her field, she also consults directly with agencies on building schedules that work for their officers and their communities.

ABOUT THE JUST BREATHE PODCAST

Just Breathe with Dr. Tracie L. Keesee is a leadership platform for first responders and public safety professionals. Each episode explores how leadership, judgment, accountability, and wellness are shaped by the internal state of the leader making the decision — on the street, in the command staff meeting, and at home. New episodes drop every other week.

Control the breath. Control the moment.

This episode discusses suicide, trauma, depression, and cumulative stress. If you've lost a colleague, friend, or loved one, or if these topics are personally difficult, please listen at your own pace. If you recognize yourself in this conversation, asking for help is a sign of courage, not weakness — and you are not alone.

Welcome back to Just Breathe for the final installment of our three-part series, The Lives We Don't Talk About. The first two episodes covered understanding suicide and loss; this one shifts forward to what healing, treatment, and recovery look like for first responders and their families, and how agencies can build a culture where asking for help meets support instead of stigma.

Dr. Tracie L. Keesee is joined by Dr. Dorothy Novitskie, a licensed clinical and forensic psychologist and founder of Novitskie Forensic Psychology, with more than two decades of experience in clinical, forensic, correctional, and law enforcement settings. Together they unpack what recovery means after trauma, why asking for help remains hard in public safety culture, and what effective treatment, family involvement, and forward-looking leadership look like in practice.

WHAT WE COVER

- Dr. Novitskie reframes recovery not as "going back to who you were" but as regaining the ability to carry what you've experienced without being controlled by it — sleeping again, being present with family, and having access to joy.
- Why the fear of asking for help isn't irrational for officers: mixed messages from agencies, and legitimate concerns about how disclosure could affect assignments, promotions, or firearm status.
- How leadership sets the "emotional temperature" of an agency — officers watch what leaders tolerate and reward far more than what they say.
- What a comprehensive treatment assessment looks like, including screening out medical causes (like a thyroid issue) before assuming a psychological diagnosis.
- Why safety planning around suicidal ideation focuses on reducing access to lethal means without automatically stripping an officer's firearm privileges or identity.
- The specific role family, friends, and trusted peers play in recovery — noticing changes and staying connected, without being expected to act as the person's therapist.
- Why recovery isn't linear, and how anniversary reactions, court proceedings, or a difficult call can resurface symptoms without meaning treatment has failed.
- Dr. Novitskie's vision for where public safety agencies need to go in the next five years: proactive wellness built into daily culture, not just a reaction after tragedy.

RESOURCES MENTIONED

If you or someone you know is in immediate danger or considering suicide, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

- CopLine — 1-800-267-5463 (1-800-COPLINE) — a confidential, 24/7 peer support hotline staffed by retired law enforcement, for active and retired officers and their families.
- Safe Call Now — (206) 459-3020 — a confidential, peer-based resource for public safety professionals and their families, offering referrals to treatment.
- Your agency's peer support team or Employee Assistance Program can also connect you directly to these resources.

ABOUT DR. DOROTHY NOVITSKIE

Dr. Dorothy Novitskie is a licensed clinical and forensic psychologist and founder of Novitskie Forensic Psychology, LLC. With more than two decades across clinical, forensic, correctional, outpatient, and academic settings, she specializes in trauma-informed care, forensic mental health assessment, and treatment for law enforcement and public safety professionals. She holds an M.A. in Forensic Psychology from John Jay College of Criminal Justice and a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Fairleigh Dickinson University.

ABOUT THE JUST BREATHE PODCAST

Just Breathe with Dr. Tracie L. Keesee is a leadership platform for first responders and public safety professionals. Each episode explores how leadership, judgment, accountability, and wellness are shaped by the internal state of the leader making the decision — on the street, in the command staff meeting, and at home. New episodes drop every other week.

Control the breath. Control the moment.

If you are a first responder or public safety professional struggling right now: call or text 988, or call CopLine at 1-800-267-5463 — both are confidential and staffed by people who understand this work.

This episode discusses suicide, trauma, depression, and cumulative stress. If you've lost a colleague, friend, or loved one, or if these topics are personally difficult, please listen at your own pace. If you recognize yourself in this conversation, asking for help is a sign of courage, not weakness — and you are not alone.

Welcome back to Just Breathe for part two of our three-part series, The Lives We Don't Talk About. Part one honored the lives lost to first responder suicide and challenged the culture around it; this episode goes inside the research, exploring the psychological autopsy — the method used to understand why an officer died by suicide, and how that understanding drives prevention.

Dr. Tracie L. Keesee is joined by Dr. Jeff Thompson, a retired NYPD detective who served more than two decades, including as the department's first-ever mental health and wellness coordinator and as a hostage negotiator. He's now an Adjunct Associate Research Scientist in Psychiatry at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, where his work on police psychological autopsies has become a leading resource for suicide prevention in public safety.

WHAT WE COVER

- What a psychological autopsy actually is: a scientific, interview-based method for understanding why an officer died by suicide — grounded in honoring the person and generating prevention data, never in assigning blame.
- The five critical questions behind every psychological autopsy: why that person, why by that method, why that day, why didn't protective factors intervene, and what could have helped.
- Why "why that day" is often the most revealing question — a recurring stressor, like an on-and-off relationship, can suddenly become the tipping point after years of surviving it.
- Why over 90% of police suicides involve a firearm, and what that says about the role of access to lethal means in prevention.
- How depression can show up as anger outbursts and lost impulse control rather than visible sadness — and why that gets misread as a disciplinary problem instead of a warning sign.
- Why direct and indirect suicidal statements ("I don't want to wake up," "there's no way out of this") both call for the same direct follow-up question, and how to actually ask it.
- Why loved ones interviewed for a psychological autopsy often describe the process itself as part of their healing, even though it can't undo what happened.
- Why social connectedness outside of work — with people who have nothing to do with the job — is one of the strongest protective factors against the isolation that precedes suicide.

RESOURCES MENTIONED

If you or someone you know is in immediate danger or considering suicide, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

- CopLine — 1-800-267-5463 (1-800-COPLINE) — a confidential, 24/7 peer support hotline staffed by retired law enforcement, for active and retired officers and their families.
- Safe Call Now — (206) 459-3020 — a confidential, peer-based referral service for public safety professionals and their families.
- Your agency's peer support team or Employee Assistance Program can also connect you directly to these resources.

ABOUT DR. JEFF THOMPSON

Dr. Jeff Thompson is a retired NYPD detective who spent more than two decades with the department, including serving as its first-ever mental health and wellness coordinator and as a hostage negotiator. He is now an Adjunct Associate Research Scientist in Psychiatry at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, focused on evidence-based strategies for resilience, crisis response, and suicide prevention in law enforcement. He is a leading voice on using psychological autopsies to understand and prevent first responder suicide, with research published in outlets including Police Chief magazine.

ABOUT THE JUST BREATHE PODCAST

Just Breathe with Dr. Tracie L. Keesee is a leadership platform for first responders and public safety professionals. Each episode explores how leadership, judgment, accountability, and wellness are shaped by the internal state of the leader making the decision — on the street, in the command staff meeting, and at home. New episodes drop every other week.

Control the breath. Control the moment.

If you are a first responder or public safety professional struggling right now: call or text 988, or call CopLine at 1-800-267-5463 — both are confidential and staffed by people who understand this work.