TBI and PTSD in Police Officers - Research Paper Example

TBI and PTSD (PTSD) in Police Officers Number Table of Contents I. Introduction………………………………………………………………………….3 II. Causes of TBIs and PTSD…………………………………………………………...3 (i) Negative Public perceptions about police officers…………………………..4 (ii) Poor interventions…………………………………………………………….5 (iii) Stressful Job…………………………………………………………………..6 III. Effects of TBIs and PTSD on Police Officers………………………………………..7 IV. Effective Interventions……………………………………………………………….8 V. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………….9 VI. References…………………………………………………………………………….10 Introduction A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a condition that is occasioned by a shock or trauma to the head or puncturing head injury that affects the normal functioning of the brain. Only serious blows to the head often result in a TBI among police officers. Blows and the subsequent brain injury may vary in intensity from minor cases causing temporary impediments of proper mental consciousness, to grave episodes characterized by longer unconsciousness after the blow. Police officers who have been diagnosed with a TBI are at a higher risk for taking another injury in the course of their work and those who have had TBI episodes are less likely to achieve complete recovery. Similarly, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is another mental disorder that is occasioned by constant violent events in the life of an officer. Members of the police service are likely to come across such incidents during the course of their practice. For instance, constant exposure bloodshed, deaths and inhuman treatment of some members of a community are likely to trigger PTSD in police officers. Symptoms of PTSD may encompass flashbacks, hallucinations and severe nervousness as well as irrepressible imaginations about the occurrence. TBI and PTSD in Police Officers Many police officers who experience traumatic occurrences such as bloodshed often have difficulty coping after such incidents, but they do not have PTSD. However, over time and with good self-care, such officers usually recover. But in the event that the symptoms degenerate into worse episodes running for many months or even years, to an extent that they impede the normal functioning of the brain, the agents in question may develop PTSD (French, & Parkinson, 2008). As such, providing the officers with appropriate care immediately they show symptoms of TBI and or PTSD can be an important to control of the symptoms and the subsequent improvement of the normal functioning of the brain. A police agent may develop PTSD after an episode of TBI or after experiencing a violent incident happen to a third party or after being subjected to long periods of distress that he or she could not withstand (Miller, 2006). Unlike TBI which is caused by physical shock to the head and brain during police training or in actual law enforcement processes, PTSD is caused by two primary factors: first, the public perceptions about a violent mission in which police officers had a hand, especially since the media criticism of police actions became commonplace in the 21st century. The negative perceptions the public have on the police can be one of the triggers to a PTSD by an officer that loses their self-esteem in the wake of constant degrading remarks on the social media, for instance. Negative public perceptions As McMains and Mullins (2014) shooting incidents may amount to single a TBI and eventually degenerate into PTSD in police agents who have been shot at by criminal gangs and or those who were forced to discharge their weapon to take out an innocent soul in botched missions. Owing to the tight schedules officers must meet due to their shortage in community policing, TBIs and the subsequent shocks often go undiagnosed and even if they are diagnosed critical incident teams with stress management skills can hardly see to the needs of all officers showing developing cases of PTSD well on time. As French and Parkinson (2008) noted, officers experiencing TBIs may have survived death in the line of duty, others may have been unprofessional, cowards and participants in crime by omission if they did not act quickly to kill one or two members of a criminal gang. In most cases, officers who have acted courageously get attention only immediately after the incident, but thereafter they are left to get back to their normal lives with the stresses piling up in their subconscious whilst their TBIs go unresolved. Hopefully, their superiors hail them as heroes after having achieved what they did without any visible lingering effects on the individual officer, considering that both TBI and PTSD are internal. According to Miller (2006) the fact that is unknown to many, particularly within the police ranks is that post-traumatic stress disorder can occasionally be prevented even in police agents with the most disturbing, antisocial and violent episodes. However, in most cases, serious episodes are the result of untreated mild symptoms which run for many years. The common mentality of hardship within security forces is to blame for TBI and PTSD in the agents as they are exposed to the worst of conditions and subjected to training and deployment missions which sometimes result in their personal injury. With such conditions at play, when interventions are finally called in, the outcomes of effective treatment of the victims become uncertain or grim. Poor interventions The second risk factor is poor interventions. Tanielian (2008) noted, however, that in other situations even the finest intervention may not yield positive outcomes, especially where chronic shocks caused by TBI conjoins with insurmountable pressures that come with a policing job. As far as Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) and Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD) may appear as important preventive measures to PTSD even after a TBI, the two interventions are not the silver bullet as far as treatment to the problem is concerned French, & Parkinson, 2008). Nobody really is aware of the PTSD trends, except that getting to know the psychological conditions of the officers really leaves senior police officers with no defense against their failure to act on avoidable high risk factors exposing the officers to TBI and PTSD. As Miller (2006) noted, law enforcement agencies rarely have time to monitor police agents for longer, especially after a violent or disturbing incident in order to get a clearer picture of their situation. Most of the agencies rarely have regular session screenings and treatment sessions for their officers despite the fact that officers are constantly exposed to violent accident clearing scenes, lengthy deployments in extreme weather and circumstances (McMains, & Mullins, 2014). Some of them witness their colleagues being taken out in violent shootouts with criminals in their line of duty. Constant diagnoses are very rare and for some officers, reading their own symptoms is extremely difficult because of a life in self-denial even in the wake of clear symptoms the tough mentality will kick in. The problem coupled with confusion of the victims who use their toughness skills acquired during training to deny obvious symptoms of PTSD and or underrate the impacts of such conditions adds to the causes of the condition. Stressful job Third, PTSD can also be caused by the stress occasioned by an attribute of the policing work over an extended duration of time that weakens the agents’ self-esteem, poise and faith in senior members of the agency and or their colleagues (McMains, & Mullins, 2014). The stresses may be triggered by social factors bordering on discrimination, which if left unattended could result in more TBI cases in the victims who resign basic safety rules and procedures during their practice. In addition, the problem may begin with a straightforward officer serving in a less honest agency as much as it may take place in a law enforcer that believes in effective policing activities in a caretaker sensitive agency. Yet, Tanielian (2008) suggested that it can happen in an agency where orders are issued on the grounds of favoritism, political affiliation and ego of the senior staffs. The end result is constant piling of pressures in a hostile workplace that go unresolved overtime. Of course constant trauma that develops into PTSD can be the direct result of certain officers having tight working shifts in an adversarial environment where the public is hostile and one’s supervisors keep on issuing strict orders to crack-down on violence or stay in the fight (Johnson, 2013). The end-result is that acts of violence are targeted on the individual officers on the ground, who without proper physical and psychological preparation or protection may end up being victims of violent acts which they were sent in to quell in the first place (French, & Parkinson, 2008). Effects of TBI and PTSD on Police Mild cases of TBI and PTSD can cause negative impacts on the social life of the police officers, but moderate to grave cases of the mental conditions can permanently impede rational judgment in the officers and even make them more violent to everybody including members of their own family. As McMains and Mullins (2014) noted, these conditions can have serious consequences, considering that they are combination of mental and physiological weaknesses in the agents. Psychologically, TBIs and PTSD have the potential to shake the core of an individual’s understanding. The conditions can generate overwhelming and illogical feelings of blame and reactiveness in the police officers. PTSD can prompt a law enforcer question whether policing activities are really important. According to Coughlin (2012), a disturbed officer who has watched his comrades’ lives taken out by criminal gangs during a patrol mission, for example, can be overly vigilant to the extent that he or she becomes suspicious, unable to have trust in virtually anybody around them, even when the officer is completely safe among their family after a day’s work. On their part, French and Parkinson (2008) noted that TBI and the subsequent PTSD can trigger suicidal ideation and in some cases actual cases of suicide among officers who feel they have lost meaning of life. Emotionally, the conditions can create nervousness, irritability, despair, chronic headaches, restlessness and loss of appetite and actual violent acts against the perceived enemies. As Mille (2006) suggested, deteriorating social skills really affect the officer’s role and place in the family environment as well as in their relationship with their colleagues within the police agency. PTSD can trigger the victim to become psychologically withdrawn and aloof from family members and fellow law enforcers. At work, such behavior lowers force cohesion and runs the risk of endangering the lives of fellow team members. At home, such officers can become excessively needy and over-reliant on their family members. For others, a disrupted social life is evidenced in outrageous demands, harshness and impatience resulting in stress. And to kill the stress, some of the officers are likely to indulge in alcoholism and other acts of substance abuse (French, & Parkinson, 2008). For others, engaging in risky, life threatening activities becomes the order of the day and with increasingly limited adherence to the police code of practice, such individuals are normally relieved of their job, which then complicates their access to money and care to maintain such a reckless life. Yet, some officers take some risky hobbies like motorcycling at speeds which are above average in the clearest indication of suicidal ideation, especially for officers who lack sufficient mental balance and judgment required of worthy road users. As McMains and Mullins (2014) said, owing to the dangers of violence an officer with a TBI or PSTD is likely to pose to substantial risks to his or her own life and endanger their colleagues as well as the civil community which they are deployed to protect. As such, there is need for effective interventions in the officers who have tested positive for TBI and PTSD in order to secure their continued safe handling of firearm and other lethal weapons at their disposal. Effective Interventions The best treatment option for PTSD cases is normally a comprehensive program bringing together psychotherapy and calming drugs. In addition, officers should be issued with proper protective gear such as helmets prior to security operations in order to limit subsequent injuries to the head and the brain (Coughlin, 2012). Screening options should also be offered at the local level by police agencies for every police officer, especially for those who have been involved in violent law missions. This way, Johnson (2013) said early cases of TBI which might degenerate into full-blown PTSD would be treated well. For serious cases of PTSD, officers should be relieved of their duties and enrolled in a full-time therapy program in order to avoid the losses that could follow (Miller, 2006). Retiring extreme PTSD cases could be the best option to allow the victims to lead a quieter, less stressful life of having to worry less about the possibility of a shootout with criminals or the deaths and the massive collateral damage that might follow the unpredictable life of law enforcement officers. Conclusion TBI is common in police officers who come face to face with violent law enforcement missions, especially ones in which the custodians of law lack adequate protective gear. PTSD on the other hand is the result of constant, untreated injuries to the brain accompanied by the stresses that follow violent experiences in law enforcement missions. Serious cases of PTSD can negatively affect law enforcement itself, especially for officers who exhibit signs of restlessness, agitation, and the need to engage in violent acts including attempts on their own life or on their colleagues or on those who they believe make life more difficult for them. Regardless, TBI and PTSD can be treated well, especially with a timely diagnosis. For late diagnoses, discharging the officers and enrolling them in care facilities can help to avoid the resulting acts of violence which the officers can unleash on themselves and their neighbors. References Coughlin, S.S., (2012). Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Chronic Health Conditions. New York: American Public Health association. French, L.M., & Parkinson, G.W., (2008). Assessing and treating veterans with traumatic brain injury. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 64(8), 1004-1013. Johnson, R., (2013). Biopsychosociocultural perspective on Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom women veterans as civilian police officers: mild traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder challenges. International Journal of Police Science & Management, 15(1), 45-50. McMains, M.J., & Mullins, W.C., (2014). Crisis Negotiations: Managing Critical Incidents and Hostage Situations in Law Enforcement and Corrections. New York: Routledge. Miller, L., (2006). Practical Police Psychology: Stress Management and Crisis Intervention for Law Enforcement. New York: Charles C Thomas Publisher. Sareen, J., (2014). Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Adults: Impact, Comorbidity, Risk Factors, and Treatment. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 59(9), 460-467. Tanielian, T.L., (2008). Invisible Wounds of War: Psychological and Cognitive Injuries, Their Consequences, and Services to Assist Recovery. Sydney: Rand Corporation. Read More