Stress Management for law enforcement

Persistent sad, anxious, or "empty" mood
Feelings of hopelessness, pessimism
Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, helplessness
Loss of interest or pleasure in hobbies and activities that
were once enjoyed, including sex
Decreased energy, fatigue, being "slowed down"
Difficulty concentrating, remembering, making decisions
Insomnia, early-morning awakening, or oversleeping
Appetite and/or weight loss, or overeating and weight gain
Thoughts of death or suicide; suicide attempts
Restlessness, irritability
Persistent physical symptoms that do not respond to
treatment, such as headaches, digestive disorders, and
chronic pain

Two-thirds of people who suffer from depression do not seek help. It

is crucial, however, that depression be

diagnosed and

treated—

untreated depression has been linked to suicide. Of those who seek

treatment,

80% experience significant

improvement and lead

productive lives.

Retrieved January 16, 2006 from http://www.beliefnet.

com/healthandhealing/getcontent.aspx?

cid=14176

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Stress Management: Coping with Duality and Dichotomy in Law

Enforcement

Dr. Frank Kardasz

, April 8, 2007

eflecting sadly upon the 1968 murder of Martin Luther King Jr.,

Robert F. Kennedy said, "Let us

dedicate

ourselves to what the

Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man

and

make gentle

the life of this world." The savageness to which the

Greeks referred is part of the duality

and dichotomy of

the

human

condition. Duality is defined as the quality or character of being

twofold.

Dichotomy is simply the division into two contradictory parts.

Humans sometimes experience opposing

and

conflicting character

aspects, resulting in dichotomous displays of emotion. Personality

and

behavioral

characteristics, tempered by self-control

mechanisms, determine whether behavior

will

be ethical or

unethical. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are fictitious but extreme examples

of behavioral

duality and

dichotomy.

Regarding the dual instincts of man, Harold S. Kushner,

uthor of

"Living a

ife that

atters" (p. 49) said:

So what kind of people are we? Are we naturally good and

pure until external circumstances

compromise our

goodness? Or are we naturally weak and deceitful, needing

conscience or outside

authority to keep us in line? My

nswer

is that we are both. I see every human being as having good

and bad tendencies, impulses to charity and impulses to

selfishness, the desire to be truthful and

the desire to lie.

Internal psychological struggles occur between human basic

instincts. Behavioral pathways towards

aggression, greed, sexuality,

substance abuse, depression and anti-social behavior can be

impacted

personal and situational factors, challenging our ability

to maintain ethical conduct. Failure to restrain

actions can lead to

dysfunctions in social, family and professional life.

Duality and dichotomy of conflicting emotions are often apparent in

law enforcement situations.

Consider

for

example, a fatal drunk-

driving accident, where a first responder may experience intense

sorrow for the

mangled innocent victim, and alternating rage towards

the uninjured impaired driver who

caused the

accident.

Challenging situational and social conditions also influence

behavior. Proper and ethical behavior is

controlled by the ability to

make logical decisions. Logic-based decision-making tools aid in

selecting

the

proper course of conduct.

sychologists often describe an emotional "bucket" into which one

deposits and accumulates

stressful

personal incidents. Unless

effective stress management is practiced, the bucket fills and

overflows. When

the bucket overflows, the individual may react

negatively. For example, the emotional

bucket may fill when

accumulating series of traumatic events occur. Individuals who

experience

events such as bankruptcy,

divorce, death of a loved one,

and

-related traumatic incidents may

reach an emotional overload

point.

he emotional "bucket" can fill quickly and unexpectedly. An officer

on a busy shift may witness

trauma,

suffering and injustice several

times each day: frustrated by an inability to stop the continuing

unfairness,

the

emotional bucket overflows. The accumulated

emotional strain may cause the officer to

react. Post

traumatic

stress

is a condition that can result from emotional overload.

Law enforcement personnel are expected to adhere to high

standards of conduct in accordance with

their

sworn code of ethics.

Officers are particularly susceptible to emotional overload.

Cumulative and

unmanaged stress can contribute to law

enforcement misconduct when the individual's internal self-

control

mechanisms deteriorate.

Stress management is important in maintaining balanced and

healthy behavior. Without effective stress

management for the

release of emotional conflict, some form of misconduct may result.

Ideally, an individual self-evaluates, monitors one's own emotions

and participates in activities to

release

and reduce stress. Stress

reduction activities may include exercise, proper nutrition,

hobbies,

family

outings,

fraternal or civic organizations, religion, meditation,

and other appropriate

techniques. Therapeutic

stress-

reduction

activities are preferable to dysfunctional activities such as

substance

abuse, aggression,

depression and anti-social acts that tend to

result in added stress.

Evidence of the untamed savageness of man is experienced daily by

those who choose law

enforcement

a career. Field officers

witness firsthand the worst that mankind offers. The duality and

dichotomy of the

frail

human condition persists, causing stress and

psychological impact upon law

enforcement

employees.

Understanding and coping with accumulating emotions and

managing stress effectively

helps

towards

maintaining ethical

conduct.

Reference

Kennedy. Robert. F.

(

1968,

April 4

Statement on the assassination

of Martin Luther King

Indianapolis,

Indiana. Retrieved October 20,

2007, from http://www.jfklibrary.

org/Historical+Resources/Archives

Reference+Desk/Speeches/RFK/Statement+on+the+Assassination+

of+Martin+Luther+King.htm

Kushner, H

. (

2002

Living a

ife that

atters

. South Burlington,

Vermont.

Anchor

Dr. Frank Kardasz P.O. Box 45048 Phoenix, AZ 85064
e-mail: kardasz (at)kardasz.org

Stress Management

ethics

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