Importance of mental readiness in highly stressful professions
Open accessAbstract
In highly stressful professions where decisions must be made under extreme pressure, mental readiness is a crucial factor in maintaining performance, safety, and long-term well-being.Professions such as aviation, emergency medicine, military service, and law enforcement require individuals as well as entire teams to navigate unpredictable, high-stakes situations where cognitive agility, emotion regulation, and stress resilience are essential.Without adequate mental preparedness, professionals and team members are more susceptible to impaired decision making, burnout, and psychological disorders, which can compromise both individual and organizational effectiveness.Despite its significance, mental readiness remains underemphasized in traditional selection and training programs, which often prioritize technical and physical skills.However, advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and neuroscience offer new opportunities to enhance cognitive resilience.AI-driven predictive analytics, virtual reality (VR) training simulations, and biofeedback systems provide innovative methods for assessing and strengthening psychological preparedness.These technologies can help identify early signs of mental strain, optimize decision-making strategies, and develop personalized interventions to mitigate stress-related risks.This paper explores the role of mental readiness in high-stress professions, emphasizing its impact on performance, safety, and mental health.It also examines emerging AI-based methodologies and psychological strategies designed to enhance resilience, improve decision making, and foster long-term occupational sustainability.By integrating these approaches, organizations can better prepare individuals and team members for the psychological demands of their roles, reducing the likelihood of stress-induced errors and improving overall professional effectiveness.
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In the framework of cognitive warfare, these cognitive processes constitute the core of human cognitive capabilities that adversaries seek to influence, disrupt, or exploit.
“In the framework of cognitive warfare, these cognitive processes constitute the core of human cognitive capabilities that adversaries seek to influence, disrupt, or exploit (Albertella et al., 2023; Ćosić et al., 2025).”
From Enhancement of modern defense capabilities by convergence of cognitive neuroscience and artificial intelligence (2026) · cites this paper as Ćosić et al., 2025
The ‘Mental, Cognitive, Emotional and Behavioral States’ section identifies perception, attention, learning, problem-solving, and decision-making as important cognitive functions and says stress can impair them (page not provided). It does not describe cognitive warfare or say adversaries seek to influence, disrupt, or exploit these processes. (LLM, conf=0.83)
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Cosic, K., Kuljanac, A., & Palermo, S. (2026) · Frontiers in psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1821242 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
“In the framework of cognitive warfare, these cognitive processes constitute the core of human cognitive capabilities that adversaries seek to influence, disrupt, or exploit (Albertella et al., 2023; Ćosić et al., 2025).”
Self-citation
- Authors
- Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing, U. O. Z., Ćosić, K., Kopilaš, V., University of Zagreb Faculty of Croatian Studies, Z., Jovanović, T., & Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, W. S. U. S. O. M.
- Affiliations
- University of Zagreb (HR)
- Wayne State University (US)
- Venue
- Psychiatria Danubina
- Publisher
- Medicinska Naklada d.o.o.
- Published
- 2025-08-11
- Volume
- 37
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 132-140
- ISSN
- 0353-5053 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W4413224718
- Cited by
- 1
- References
- 61
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1
- FWCI
- 0.20
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- diamond
- doi.org
- Locations
- Psychiatria Danubina (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- University of Zagreb University Computing Centre (SRCE) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Stress and Burnout Research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Sport Psychology and Performance
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Occupational Therapy › Occupational Health and Performance
- Keywords
- mental readiness, stress resilience, decision-making under pressure, burnout, workplace mental health, aviation, emergency medicine, military service, law enforcement, virtual reality training, biofeedback, cognitive agility, emotion regulation, personnel selection and training
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