Introduction

In Chapter 2, we took an honest look at the kind of mental states that can develop as we acclimatise to the stress response on the job, as we develop our own coping mechanisms and as we generally absorb ‘the way things go’ in policing. Here in Chapter 3, we go beneath these mind states to see some of the processes, systems and chemicals that likely formulate them. This prepares us for Chapter 4, where we will make more conscious choices about how we think by learning straightforward techniques to activate specific brain functions. With practice, these new ways of thinking can become second nature over time, slowly building formidable resilience in all areas of life, including our work. For now, though, our intention here is just to get to know the brain a little bit more.

Why is understanding the brain so useful?

We all have a brain, and each one of us, whether we like it or not, is largely governed by our ability to be on friendly terms with it. Having a general appreciation of the ‘kit’ we have inside our skulls (and why it is the way that it is) enables us to make the most of it and also helps us to understand what's happening when it's not working so well for us or others.

We don't need to be a neuroscientist to grasp this. School biology lessons have long explained that the human brain sets us apart from the animal kingdom, typically through our use of language and complex tools, our potential for spirituality and our capacity to watch our own thought processes (these days called metacognition). Our capacity to observe the thought processes of others and to generate conversation about them (or to put it another way, to gossip!) is said to make Homo sapiens who we are today. The scientific revolution of the 17th century was all about observation of the natural world and all its mechanisms, forces and processes. Following that came the ‘cognitive revolution’ when we started to turn all this observation back onto ourselves by observing how and why we think in the ways that we do.