One major reason is the long and difficult working hours an average police constable and an officer has to put in. The working hours severely disrupt not only the body mechanism but even the mental state of cops. Policemen have to put in about 12-14 hours of work every day, not counting any emergency situations. Sometimes they may also have to work round the clock and return to work the following day. On some occasions, policemen even have to be called back from leave to deal with any sudden crisis that might have erupted. All this puts a policeman under severe stress.

Worse, this leaves him with very little time for his family, thus also placing his relations with his family members under considerable strain. We all need the care andaffection of our family members to bring out the best in us, but policemen are mostly deprived of this support system. The result is, they are always desperately trying to do justice to their work and family, and finally end up doing justice to neither. Not being able to fulfil family responsibilities makes a policeman feel guilty and adds to his depression.

Dietary habits are also affected due to the long working hours and the absence to opportunities to rest and relax. A cop who does not know where he's going to get his next meal may tend to overeat and consume unhealthy food. This kind of a situation leads to heart ailments. Therefore it is not surprising that most of the recent deaths of policemen have been due to heart attacks.

It is mostly the young recruits who are unable to cope with this stress. Many of them end up with some form of addiction like alcohol. The anxiety produced due to stressful working conditions results in overactivity of the nervous system and gives rise to symptoms liketremors, palpitations, sweating and even hyperacidity. But addiction is not the right way of dealing with the problem. What is required is a proper understanding of the problem, so that some sort of a solution can be found.

Policemen also suffer from frustration because, while on the one hand they have a tremendous sense of power, on the other, they have a low salary and often very bad living conditions. It is no surprise that with the low salaries they get, many constables and even some officers have to stay in slum areas, and it is years before they are allotted any place in the police quarters. A policeman's family life is thus again affected, and he is deprived of the vital family support. Due to low salary and bad working conditions, the police force does not attract the best talent in society.

Then there is the sword of transfers which constantly hangs over a policeman's head. In case of a transfer, a cop has to go through the trouble of getting his children admitted to a nearby school and make manyother adjustments which impact adversely on his family life.

Such a stressful situation creates anxiety in some persons, taking them on the path to finding a solution. However, beyond a point, this anxiety becomes counterproductive, and even otherwise, everybody has a breaking point. If the anxiety is not resolved, it might lead to severe depression, and if negative thoughts keep storming the mind, a person may develop suicidal tendencies. Therefore, certain steps need to to be taken in order to keep the stress and work pressure in the police force at a minimum.Firstly, immediately after selection, the new recruits should be subjected to some sort of an assessment so that any predisposition to mental illness can be detected and examined. After this, there should be regular follow-ups every two to three years, so that any problem a policeman is facing can be detected instantly and treated. It would be good if senior officers at the police station level could serve as counsellors to the junior staff. Theseofficers could be trained to spot any stress or problem in a staffer's behaviour. Once spotted, the problem could either be solved at that level itself, or the policeman could be referred to the police hospital for expert help. At the hospital, policemen are subjected to detailed tests and investigations to understand their problems and are then either admitted or given counselling on an OPD basis.

(As told to Rajiv Sharma)