Stress in Policing

Stress in Policing

Stress refers to the body’s reaction, mostly emotional or physical, to a stimulus that places an adjustive demand on the body (Swanson et al., 1988). Stress can be positive or negative, and negative stress has been linked to various health issues. These health issues are mostly associated with heart diseases, like stress cardiomyopathy, also known as broken heart syndrome, a disease mostly caused by major emotional stress like the loss of a loved one (Akashi et al., 2010). Secondly, chronic stress has been directly linked to an overwhelmed emotional state, also known as depression. Besides, the link between depression and stress is bidirectional, meaning one can cause the other and vice versa, and when combined, the conditions worsen each other (Hammen, 2015). Our academic writing services are of high quality. We offer assignment help with high professionalism.

Thirdly, when subjected to stressful situations, the body secretes different hormones to elicit a flight or fight response. These hormones raise the blood pressure in preparation for the response; this causes a faster heartbeat rate and narrows the blood vessels. Being under pressure also means constantly being in the flight or fight state, with increased heart rate and narrow blood vessels. Eventually, this leads to high blood pressure (Swanson et al., 1988). Further, stress is also known to make existing health conditions worse, especially those associated with the heart, like coronary atherosclerosis (Swanson et al., 1988).

I have a type A personality, which means that I am obsessive about being busy and challenging myself. As such, I’m always finding new things to do to avoid staying idle. Consequently, I often find myself stressed. However, feeling stressed also helps me stay focused when solving a challenge.

Further, police officers are more prone to stress than any other job because they often encounter danger and always put their lives on the line (Swanson et al., 1988). Secondly, law enforcement jobs mean that they will be exposed to violence and cruelty like rape crimes, murders, pedophiles, human trafficking, serial killers, kidnappers, and terrorists. Further, police officers are also entrusted with keeping other people and themselves safe, which could mean taking a person’s life. All these critical decisions under high-pressure environments will take a toll on one’s mental health.

References

Akashi, Y. J., Nef, H. M., Möllmann, H., & Ueyama, T. (2010). Stress cardiomyopathy. Annual review of medicine, 61, 271-286.

Hammen, C. L. (2015). Stress and depression: old questions, new approaches. Current Opinion in Psychology, 4, 80-85.

Swanson, C. R., Territo, L., & Taylor, R. W. (1988). Police Administration: Structures, processes, and behavior. New York: Macmillan.

ORDER A PLAGIARISM-FREE PAPER HERE

We’ll write everything from scratch

Describe different health issues that are affected by stress. Analyze how stress corresponds with your personality type.

Stress in Policing

Examine why police officers are prone to stress more than other occupations.