Emergency services
Most people encounter stress and discomfort in their daily lives, but some professionals must face dangerous, high-stakes situations as part of their every day work. This includes police officers, military personnel, paramedics, firefighters, and security personnel.
Igor guides us through the intricacies of the mind and body, teaching us what occurs during stress and how to recognise its signs before it takes hold. He provides clear and practical strategies for mentally preparing for critical high-risk situations and equips us with tools to handle them effectively as they arise.
With firsthand experience in high-pressure scenarios, including competing at an elite level in martial arts from a young age, working as a bouncer in Malmö’s nightlife for many years, and enduring the civil war in the Balkans as a vulnerable young civilian, Igor has dedicated the majority of his adult life to studying, understanding, and developing the skills necessary to navigate the human psyche under stressful and frightening circumstances.
Igor possesses a unique pedagogical ability to convey how we, as individuals, can train ourselves to avoid stress, which can easily take over and steer us in a negative direction.
The structure Igor employs in his training sessions combines theory with practical exercises. For the professional development of ambulance personnel, I view Igor’s approach as a significant component of systematic occupational health efforts from a preventive standpoint. Igor Ardoris received high praise from our ambulance staff for the way he addressed the topic of stress management.
I wholeheartedly recommend Igor Ardoris for stress management training tailored to ambulance personnel. My best recommendations.
A direct and clear form of mental training, Igor can relate to and explain the causes of emotions in a straightforward manner. Through analogies and examples, you understand why you feel the way you do.
‘Strong on the Inside’ is a training program that provides positive effects in several contexts and is particularly well-suited for personnel in the Swedish Armed Forces.
In training: increase your learning ability through enhanced focus, with all awareness directed towards a single task.
In action: become better at handling difficult situations by maintaining your focus and access to your intellect. Use the technique to relax and recover more effectively between assignments.
After action: to feel better and manage experiences that give rise to strong emotions.
Police Conflict Management (Polkon) is the police training system for basic, advanced, and further education. The system includes, among other things, tactical, communicative, and mental knowledge areas. Polkon is a recurring training and competency development program designed to prepare police officers for handling everything from difficult and complex situations to everyday events.
As part of strengthening the knowledge of police instructors in the area of mental training related to the mental knowledge domain, we invited Igor Ardoris as a guest to the NIK Polkon instructor training course in Stockholm. Igor demonstrated a very high level of pedagogical skill in how he conveyed the principles of mental training. The spontaneous feedback from the group was that this was one of the best lectures they had experienced, as Igor delivered both new knowledge and practical tools to incorporate into daily life.
It’s fast in the air. There’s an enormous amount of information to take in and process. Your own flight situation, speed, and altitude. Then, the awareness of everything happening in the airspace around you. Other traffic, airspace, obstacles, and everything combat-related. All of this under occasional immense physical strain. The G-forces require intense physical effort to maintain blood circulation to the brain. The vertical movements change air pressure, both high and low. Then there’s the combat itself, the struggle, maneuvering against an opponent. The constant rotations…
But that’s only half the story.
The mental aspect is often a greater challenge. Getting into the right “zone” before each flight, every day. Staying calm and composed when there’s the most to get worked up about. Relaxing during intense periods. Being soft and adaptable when it’s physically demanding. Finding peace in setbacks and failures. Setting aside your competitive instinct and aborting before a situation becomes too dangerous. Surrendering without being reckless… These mental aspects require just as much care as the physical ones.
I reached out to Igor, who has since helped me get started with mental training. Igor has a deep understanding of the mind’s impact on performance and well-being and possesses the tools to train mental abilities. It has helped me a great deal over the past few months, especially in finding recovery and well-being during high-intensity periods. I am incredibly happy and grateful for our collaboration and look forward to continuing the personal development I’ve begun for the rest of my life.