 Over the years people who work in high stress environments have a higher chance of developing mental problems that affect their daily lives and are more likely to commit suicide.  But the stress does not just come from the job itself but the training as well. Even though this is known to day and many steps are in process of finding ways to treat this and pervert them now for years this problem was just over looked and many went unthread.  In some ways it is not possible to completely remove the risk of mental break downs in high stress level jobs. 

A mental illness is a disorder of the brain characterized by disturbances in thoughts, feelings, or social adjustment. The full spectrum of mental disorders ranges from those that are common, mild, and easily managed to chronic and even life threatening. All of us probably know are have Known someone with even severe depression or anxiety who nonetheless functions well at work, and fight through their illness but is a survivor, or has taken the steps necessary to get help and control it through therapy or medication. It is true a single trauma might overwhelm someone’s ability to cope and effectively integrate the experience, leaving them with all the signs and negative effects of PTSD. 

PTSD is a serious problem. It is a brain injury, restructuring neural function with potentially severe symptoms ranging from anxiety and depression to psychosis. Not all such severe problems stem from PTSD, however, and the genesis of mental illness can be abrupt and without clear external causes. Driven by external events, it is widely accepted that a single, overwhelmingly intense traumatic event can overpower coping mechanisms and lead to PTSD and this is often what most of us think of when we consider it. The soldier’s mine set cracking in the fog of the battle, an accident victim unable to adapt after an incident or the cop rendered ineffective by the memory of a witnessed and worked. 

One of the jobs that has the most stress is the military. it is a job that is not only physically trying on you but also mentally. Being in a high-risk environment is a very stressfully job and many solders go undiagnosed each year. A serve done by the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control found on average it is said that 1in every 5 solders home from war has Post-traumatic stress disorder but only about 10% are diagnosed which is a major problem. United states veterans are more likely to die at home from taking there on life because of their fight with PTSD than they are in war. In 2012, the Department of Veterans Affairs’ study on veteran suicide concluded that 22 veterans a day kill themselves. That’s 8030 veterans annually from all eras of war including Korean, WW2, Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq. That’s more suicides in one year than the total American deaths during Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan) and Operation Iraqi Freedom. This is an alarming number that many find hard to believe and, yet these numbers are a stark reality. Even though these numbers are so high it is a hard reality that every veteran must face. 

But how do you lower this numbers, the problem comes from the job and stress itself. When you are overseas fighting a war your mine in some ways goes in to a form of auto pilot and you start to act on instinct you do what you are trained to do to bring you and your fellow solders home. You get to the point where a boom exploding, or a gun shoot does not even affect you. But you sleep easy and get up and do it every day without so much as a second though. The problem come when you get home when you know your safe but cannot turn you fight or flight instincts off and you can’t escape the nightmares of your past. Turning on your instincts is easy; the problem is turning your instincts off is much harder.

The IOM reports that the most common psychological challenges experienced by both service members and their families include fears for the safety of the service member, feeling anxious or overwhelmed by deployment-related challenges and responsibilities, worry about children, and vulnerability to additional stressors that might arise. Over 2 million Americans have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan over the past decade and increasing numbers are returning home with complex mental and behavioral health challenges. Depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (aka PTSD, an anxiety disorder that follows experiencing a traumatic event) are the most common mental health problems faced by returning troops. The most common symptoms of PTSD include: difficulty concentrating, lack of interest/apathy, feelings of detachment, loss of appetite, hypervigilance, exaggerated startle response, and sleep disturbances lack of sleep, oversleeping. Post-traumatic stress disorder is diagnosed after several weeks of continued symptoms. According to the “NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness, Veterans & Active Duty” at least 30% of soldiers develop mental problems within 3 to 4 months of being home. An estimated 20% of returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans turn to heavy drinking or drugs once they return to the US.

But solders are not the only ones that have such a high risk, doctors and nurse have a very high risk as well. Studies report that physicians are more likely to complete suicide than the general population and even people with similar academic training who are not physicians. The suicide mortality rate is about the same among male and female doctors, and significantly higher than the general population. Historically, physicians who sought help for suicidal ideation sometimes faced professional punishments including risk of having their medical license revoked, future barriers to career advancement, and restrictions on professional privileges. However, many non-profit organizations and healthcare systems have begun developing tools and resources for physicians and other healthcare professionals to seek help and support as well as to address systemic barriers to treatment. Some professional organizations recommend that health organizations reform policy to allow physicians who want counseling to be able to access it with fewer professional penalties. About 30% of young doctors have depression or symptoms of it, according to an exhaustive new review published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA).

Psychiatric illness and behavioral problems among physicians are reviewed in this paper. Some studies suggest that the medical profession has a high rate of alcoholism, drug abuse and marital discord. As well, physicians appear to commit suicide and to seek admission to psychiatric institutions more frequently than comparable populations. Considered as etiologic factors in psychiatric illness among physicians are the role strain inherent in the profession and the personality development of individual practitioners prior to their entering medical school. The review concludes with suggestions for an improved approach to treatment and prevention.

Another is law enforcement officers, like anyone else, can be touched by mental illness is a topic we’ve addressed and explored many times before.   Depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), addiction and substance abuse disorders are all real, with their signs, symptoms, and risks something all police officers should be aware of; knowledge of mental health disorders and how they can strike even the most well-adjusted among us – as well as what to do when it happens – should be part of every department and individual officer’s survival set. It is reported that more officers die each year by suicide than in the line of duty. Identifying the exact number of police officer suicides is difficult and the number of suicides fluctuates each year, but you would be hard-pressed to find any cop with more than a few years on the job who hasn’t been touched by a police suicide. “Police officers are able to show greater strength than most others in dangerous situations. They are an elite group who are courageous enough to run towards danger to protect others. Yet despite their bravery, their mind and body absorb the hits from encountering a steady diet of critical incidents and other insidious stress events” (Suffering in silence: Mental health and stigma in policing). 

There were 124 law enforcement fatalities (LODD) nationwide in 2015. 51 officers were killed in felonious incidents; 42 of these officers were shot and killed. 73 officers died because of non-felonious incidents. The good news is that the number of felonious deaths this year decreased 16% from last year. However, there were many more lost LEOS lives last year than the above 124 who will be honored at the National Peace Officers Memorial Day on May 15, 2016 in Washington DC. According to a Badge of Life study there were 51 deaths by suicide of law enforcement officers in the last six months of 2015.  That would indicate that approximately 102 law enforcement suicides occurred last year. 

The good news is that deaths by suicide decreased for law enforcement officers in 2015 compared to the last study in 2012 by 19%.  While these represent a good trend; it is simply not good enough. The job of the police officer is one of the most stressful occupations in the world. Research has shown time and time again that police officer occupational stress is directly related to higher rates of heart disease, divorce, sick days taken, alcohol abuse, and major psychological illnesses such as Acute Stress Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Depression, and Anxiety Disorders. Stress for police officers consists of an accumulation of exposure to horrific events witnessed and intervened upon while in the performance of their duties, but even a single event can bring on monumental stress. Debilitating stress can also occur from a hostile work environment within an officer’s department. These events overwhelm normal intellectual controls, as well as psychological coping mechanisms. 

This numbers are overwhelming and continue growing each year, but the main problem is that not only is there no guaranteed way to treat mental illness. One of the main problems is that the jobs that cause the most problem are jobs that we cannot do without. One way to help prevent this is we need to start doing a better job of seeing the symptoms earlier and doing what ever we can to help that person cope with his problems, so it does not become too late. We all must learn from all the history of mental illness to find ways each year to lower these high numbers.
