The truth is that police officers are humans first before becoming officers of the law and as such, they are also prone to mental health issues which can stem from any stressful situation.
The stressful situation can occur prior to or after joining the police force. The police force takes the mental well being of each individual in the police force serious now, and the institution is putting great effort to ascertain the well-being of its force.
We now have the Law Enforcement Mental Health and Wellness Act, where funds are set aside and use in delivery and access to mental health and wellness services for law enforcement.
Mental illness just like any other medical condition , is a medical problem which involves changes in one’s behavior, emotions or thoughts.
This illness is associated with stressful situation or distress which can significantly affects one’s family activities, work or social life.
Mental illness occurs mostly when there’s an interaction of multiple genes and factors which might have resulted from traumatic event, stress and abuse.
The good thing is that some mental illness can be treated, it can be medically handled and treatment involves both psychotherapy and medications.
Which means the symptoms can be reduced and a person with it can still function at work and in social gathering.
The nature of the police work means that officers will always be confronted with challenging and distressed situations which may elicit mental distress.
The police force is now supporting staff that might be suffering from these symptoms of mental illness since it has realize that a well maintained person on medication can still make a better judgment.
This article will furnish you with more information about the police mental well-being and what is obtainable now.
Contents
Can you be a police officer with anxiety?
Yes, an officer of the law like the police officer can have anxiety attacks. But this can be helped by both mental and emotional support.
As a people we have all come to accept stressful situations as part of our lives. Same is applicable to men and women of the police force,
they faced distressing situations a lot like having to do high speed chases, protecting lives, saving lives or going through unexpected physical altercation all of these will elicit anxiety.
Can I be a cop if I have depression?
One can be anything with the passion one has, but sometimes it is good to look at a situation from a logical stand-point. The policing job is quite taxing and takes its toll on even a very calm person.
It brings with it high level of anxiety and mood swings. So if you are already depressed then the day to day work of being a police officer will make it a lot worse.
So being a Cop when you are already depressed will need you getting your depression under control before joining the force.
Also before joining any law enforcement agency, they do carry out psychological evaluations on candidates, health reports will also be carried out,
all this is to ensure that only the best and sound candidates are enlisted.
If they didn’t detect any symptoms of depression on you, this means meeting all medical requirements;
then you might be lucky to scale through the recruitment process.
Can you be a police officer if you take medication for anxiety?
Don’t be surprised that 1/3 of all Cops are on Anti Depressant or Anti Anxiety medication.
Yes, before now it wasn’t possible because of the nature of the Job. But then again, having to be on these drugs for a long time means that there’s a deeper concern
which shows that you might not be able to have the mental resilience that will be sufficient enough for you to cope with demands of the Job.
Would a history of anti-anxiety medication disqualify me from law enforcement?
Your history on medication wouldn’t disqualify you but be rest assured that a medical fitness test will be conducted on you before hiring.
Secondly asking you about your health issues or history of the kind of medication you have been before won’t be a nice idea as it might be considered as invading into your privacy, although you might volunteer to give more insight about your medical history.
The recruiting team is always more concerns about their recruiting procedures as outlined than the history of one’s medication intake. Moreover if you don’t disclose it, nobody will get to know.
But be rest assured that you will be placed on a medical evaluation test and your urine and blood samples will be taken to examine. Honestly there is nothing to hid here.
Can I be a police officer if I’m taking antidepressants?
Taking antidepressants won’t disqualify you at the recruitment point but this could make them to ask further questions on your eligibility status.
Its important you try to be honest with the recruiter, let them know the true state of your health, once its established that your health could be well managed well enough and controlled you have no worries.
Before now, the candidate intending to become police officers had to wait for about 2 years if they were taking antidepressants drugs.But in reality they were refused to become police officers.
But this has been lifted now. There have been a little shake up of the rules in the police force. So those taking the antidepressant drugs can join the police force now. There will be a case to case assessment now to help recruiters,
But police recruits might be advised to tell the recruiters about their medical history, show their prescribed medications and maybe get a report from a licensed clinical psychologist.
This will help the recruiting team to make the right decision based on the information they have and see how to help.
Can a police officer be on duty while taking antidepressants? Why or why not?
Yes, if it will not interfere with the ability of the officer to perform or becloud his sense of judgement , then there’s no issue. Again, there’s no law against an officer taking antidepressant medication while on duty.
Can you be a police officer with mental illness?
The police recruits go through the recruitment process and undertake the psychological test but this test is mostly about personality traits and not mental health.
So basically, the police officers might have a whole long career without a psychiatric evaluation.
So some officers have mental illness that is undetected by the police force but while will you consider adding more stress to your present situation? let’s not forget that the police job is more demanding and you need to be at your best at all time.
Can you be a police officer with bipolar?
The police work can be really overwhelming already so it will need a personal assessment to be sure one can deal with all the traumatic situations that comes with the job.
Remember that it cost money to have police personnel being trained and as such they will need the best hands for the job and they will do everything possible to weed out candidates that won’t be able to keep on with what the job demands of them.
Conclusion
Mental illness can now be managed effectively now, thanks to today’s advancement in medications and psychotherapy.
The police force in their recruitment procedure though they focus more on intelligence, physical profiling has been taking the issue of mental illness seriously.