Life as a correctional officer eats you up, said an Iraq War veteran to the Denver Post, which quoted Caterina Spinaris, an expert in clinical research on correctional policy issues, as saying that prison guards work in a war zone; they are subject to inhuman amounts of anxiety and personal abuse but have to be professional and stoic, to the point of turning off their humanity. As combat veterans can attest, simply turning it back on isn’t possible. A former manager of a corrections facility told the Post of how even at family outings, COs will always sit facing the exit and will always keep an eye on complete strangers, never letting their guard down and never relaxing.

According to a 2018 report published in Corrections Today, being a Corrections Officer is considered one of the riskiest professions. Those who choose this career path are exposed to work- and institutional-related dangers as well as mental and physical health risks. As a Correctional Officer, you’ll have to stop prison riots, disrupt prison gangs and protect yourself from infectious diseases.

Stress and burnout come as part of the job and can affect your mental health. Furthermore, Corrections Officers have a greater risk of chronic injury, high cholesterol, hypertension and heart disease compared to other law enforcement occupations. Work conflicts, fatigue, heavy workload and inadequate resources all contribute to stress among correctional officers. The stress you’ll experience on a daily basis can affect your work as well as your personal relationships and family life.

Today, correctional officers are expected to play a more hands-on role with the inmates in their charge. As much as the job entails keeping an eye on prisoners, COs are trained and empowered to offer on-the-spot (and limited) mental health treatment, to be involved in job skills development programs, religious rituals, and substance abuse interventions. The theory of the job is commendable, but the reality on the ground is starkly different. The Guardian writes of the unofficial motto that exists among COs across America: “Prison guards can never be weak.” Figures are not easy to come by, but for the half-million officers who work in prisons, there are over 2.5 million prisoners to watch. Guards are exhausted, traumatized, and often ignored or shunned if they express any weariness or misgivings about the work they are required to do.

As a result, COs have rates of post-traumatic stress disorder that are more than double the rate that military veterans experience. This, in turn, affects prisoners; guards have been known to take their frustrations and anxieties out on inmates, incurring penalties that contribute to their mental health problems.