Sunday, November 11, 2001		Stressbusters

Policemen more susceptible to stress
V.K. Kapoor

• Stress is especially problematic in police departments.

• Police are subject to daily job stressors.

• Studies have called police work a "high risk lifestyle".

• Not high risk in terms of the physical dangers of the job, but a high risk in terms of developing: attitudinal problems, behavioural problems, and intimacy and relationship problems.

• Police officer’s progress in his/her career is the eroding of the attitudes.

• Police work presents a high risk of developing attitudinal problems.

• As their career progresses, police officers become more cynical.

• No one questions this anymore.

• The only questions in the research are how cynical and how soon.

• Some studies suggest that cynicism can be seen developing in the early stages and just gets worse from there.

• The problem with cynicism is that destroys all attitudes.

• All attitude becomes negative and thus the cynic will eventually crash.

• Cops more than people in any other profession are in continual danger of becoming cynics.

— The writer, an IGP of the Haryana cadre, is a stress-management expert