Stress in policing is not a question of if—it’s a question of how much and how long. Some days it sharpens us, other days it wears us down. The Oklahoma City Police Department Wellness Unit teaches us to understand stress as a continuum—a movement between GREEN (optimal), YELLOW (boiling frog), and RED (overwhelmed). This model isn’t theory. It’s built from the real experiences of officers, what happens when we thrive, when we drift, and when we break. It’s a roadmap to awareness: self-awareness and other-awareness.
A Day in the Life: From Green to Red
Imagine an officer starting his day in GREEN. He’s rested, fit, connected with his family, and walks into roll call clear-headed. Calls are stressful, but he’s sharp, focused, and steady. He feels mission-ready. Over time, the slow drift begins. He moves into YELLOW without even realizing it. He skips the gym one week, then another. His sleep shortens. He snaps at his kids more than he’d like. Paperwork feels heavier, and he starts thinking, “I just don’t care anymore.” It doesn’t feel like a crisis—just the water warming, degree by degree.
Then comes RED. Stress explodes. He turns to drinking to cope, isolates from his wife, and stops answering calls from friends. Anger, anxiety, and exhaustion consume him. His performance suffers, his family suffers, and his life is at risk. This story isn’t rare. It’s the reality many officers face if awareness isn’t practiced and peers don’t step in. That’s why the OKCPD Wellness Unit teaches us this continuum: so we can recognize it in ourselves and in those standing beside us.
Self-Awareness and Other-Awareness
Self-awareness means listening to your own signals: irritability, numbness, skipping workouts, saying “I don’t care.” These aren’t just bad habits—they’re early warnings.
Other-awareness means noticing the changes in your brothers and sisters. A once-positive partner becomes withdrawn. A colleague stops showing up for the things they loved. These are opportunities to lean in and ask, “Are you good?”
Sometimes awareness is the difference between catching someone in YELLOW—or losing them in RED.
The MAGNUS Ovéa Alignment
The MAGNUS Ovea framework teaches that true resilience isn’t one-dimensional. To stay in the GREEN, we must align three domains:
Compass – Knowing our purpose and values.
Armor – Building protective habits that guard us against stress.
Mission – Staying engaged in meaningful service.
When Compass, Armor, and Mission are aligned, stress doesn’t disappear—but it no longer dominates. Instead, it sharpens our focus and strengthens our service.
Toward Ikigai
The Japanese call it Ikigai—your “reason for being.” It’s the intersection of what you love, what you’re good at, what the world needs, and what you can be paid for. Reaching Ikigai doesn’t mean living without stress. It means managing stress with awareness, aligning Compass, Armor, and Mission, and choosing to live with balance. When we do, stress becomes fuel—not fire.
Final Thought
The Stress Continuum, taught to us by the Oklahoma City Police Department Wellness Unit, is more than a diagram—it’s a lifeline. It reminds us that every day we are somewhere between GREEN, YELLOW, and RED. Where we land depends on our willingness to notice—and to act.
When we remain self-aware and other-aware… when we align Compass, Armor, and Mission… we don’t just survive the job. We thrive in it.
That’s when we discover our Ikigai—our reason to live, to serve, and to fulfill the mission with strength and purpose.