A large part of police work is that sometimes what happens on your shift stays with you long after you go home for the night. If being a police officer is causing issues for your mental health, addressing it right away can prevent things from getting worse.
The toll police work takes on you can be heavy, but it isn’t permanent. With the right support in place, you can recover, learn how to cope more effectively, and grow stronger. This article covers:
Police work exposes officers to what researchers call critical incident stress. This comes from sudden, high-stakes incidents like shootings, fatal accidents, or violent confrontations that overwhelm the body’s normal coping systems. These are the kind of events most of us never encounter, let alone as part of a routine week.
For a police officer, a difficult day can mean:
Think of your nervous system as a smoke detector. It’s supposed to sound during a real fire and reset once the danger passes. But when you face crisis after crisis, the alarm can start going off with no fire in sight, or it might stop resetting at all. Having these experiences day after day can add up.
Police post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a well-documented risk of the job. PTSD prevalence among police officers averages close to 15 percent, which is much higher than the general population.[1] Studies show that officers who were recently exposed to traumatic events have even higher rates of PTSD, on top of the day-to-day exposure.[2]
Officer anxiety often occurs with symptoms such as:[2]
This isn’t just “being on edge.” Fight, flight, freeze, and fawn are all nervous system responses to threats, and officers may even cycle through several in a single shift. That’s what happens when the nervous system is doing what it’s supposed to, but too often and for too long.
Officers often have trouble recognizing these symptoms, which can lead to underreporting.[3] Admitting a call “got to you” can feel risky as a police officer, as you may be worried about being seen as weak. But noticing a stress response is important because it means your body is working exactly as it should.
Repeated exposure goes beyond anxiety and intrusive memories. For many officers, it can also change your mood and motivation, and how connected you feel to the people around you.
Law enforcement depression can be easy to miss. It tends to show up as:
Officers sometimes chalk these symptoms up to being tired, when police officers experience PTSD and depression at roughly five times civilian rates.[4]
Depression and burnout tend to happen simultaneously. Burnout is defined by three main features:[5]
A large review of active-duty officers found that burnout and PTSD symptoms frequently co-occur and compound one another, too.[5] Hopelessness has also been closely linked to both depression and burnout among police.[6]
Police officers face an elevated suicide risk compared with most other professions.[4][7] Depression has been identified as the strongest predictor of suicidal ideation among officers.[7] In one national analysis of officer suicide deaths, depression was present in over a third of the cases, yet fewer than a quarter of officers sought help beforehand.[8]
Occupational culture can also be part of the problem. The same tight-knit solidarity that helps officers survive dangerous shifts can also be the very thing that keeps you from asking for help.
Stigma has been directly linked to worse attitudes toward seeking help among police employees, and in turn, to a lower likelihood that officers said they’d actually reach out when struggling.[9]
The instinct to look out for each other on the street doesn’t always translate into looking out for each other’s mental health. For example, officers have described worrying that a mental health condition diagnosis could affect assignments or promotions, which is fear enough to keep many officers from seeking the support they need.[3][9]
AMFM is here to help you or your loved one take the next steps towards an improved mental well-being.
Recovery from police PTSD, officer anxiety, or law enforcement depression isn’t a one-size-fits-all process. What works looks different from one officer to the next, depending on:
That’s encouraging because it means you have more than one path forward, not just one single approach that has to work.
Broadly, effective care tends to fall into two categories that work well together. First, there are structured, trauma-focused therapies that address the roots of PTSD and depression directly. Second, there are resilience-building practices that keep the day-to-day toll from piling up between the harder moments.
Neither replaces the other, and it helps to know what each looks like in practice and why officers describe both as making a real difference.
When PTSD, anxiety, or depression reach a clinical level, two therapies consistently stand out:[10]
Research on these interventions found that both produce meaningful reductions in PTSD, depression, and anxiety symptoms. Additionally, more sessions are associated with greater improvement.[10]
People who’ve been through trauma-focused therapy often describe the same experience: the memory doesn’t disappear, but it reduces its power.[11]
Along with individual therapy, other practices that have shown promise for helping officers manage physiological reactivity during high-stress calls include:
This often means learning to recognize the earliest physical signs of an activated stress response before it fully takes over.
For example, one study of SWAT officers found significant improvements in heart rate and breathing control. These are signs that officers’ bodies were recovering from acute stress and returning to baseline faster after a short resilience training program.[12]
Peer support programs, where officers connect with colleagues trained in early intervention, can also make treatment feel like part of the job rather than a departure from it. Some officers also find relief in group formats, processing critical incidents alongside colleagues who’ve been through something similar.[13]
Realizing you’re not the only one dealing with this can make a huge difference.
You can build emotional resilience with a few supportive habits:
A Mission For Michael (AMFM) provides treatment for adults experiencing various conditions. Mental Health support is a phone call away – call 866-478-4383 to learn about our current treatment options.
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If you’re an officer who’s been carrying the weight of critical incident stress, anxiety, depression, or burnout, it’s a sign the job has asked more of you than any nervous system can handle without support. Recovery is possible, and it doesn’t require you to do it alone.
AMFM (A Mission For Michael) Mental Health Treatment offers evidence-based treatment for adults navigating PTSD, depression, and burnout, including first responders whose experiences call for trauma-informed, occupation-aware treatment. Our team of expert clinicians believes in treatment persistence and will personalize your treatment plan so you can achieve lasting, life-changing outcomes.
We offer an intimate, focused mental health treatment experience for adults in home-like settings that are carefully maintained to be peaceful, comfortable spaces. In addition to residential treatment, AMFM Mental Health Treatment also offers multiple levels of outpatient treatment.
Our locations in California, Minnesota, and Virginia accept insurance and are in-network with most major providers. To check your insurance coverage for mental health care, simply complete our confidential online verification form or call us at 866-478-4383.
Reach out to us if you would like to start the admissions process or learn more about how we can support your mental well-being. Our compassionate team is available 24/7 to answer your questions and provide guidance with no obligation.
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At AMFM, we strive to provide the most up-to-date and accurate medical information based on current best practices, evolving information, and our team’s approach to care. Our aim is that our readers can make informed decisions about their healthcare.
Our reviewers are credentialed medical providers specializing and practicing behavioral healthcare. We follow strict guidelines when fact-checking information and only use credible sources when citing statistics and medical information. Look for the medically reviewed badge on our articles for the most up-to-date and accurate information.
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