COPING WITH THE STRESS IN THE AFTERMATH OF 9/11

Certainly our country as a whole experienced a great deal of stress from the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.  A poll of 560 adults conducted 3 to 5 days after Sept. 11 showed that 44 percent of adults reported one or more substantial symptoms of stress, such as having difficulty concentrating, having trouble falling or staying asleep, and feeling irritable or having angry outbursts.  Children have also suffered increased stress from these events, reporting more nightmares and feeling more worried about their own safety since 9/11.

Researchers have found that people who used “active coping” strategies right after the attacks were experiencing fewer symptoms of stress than those who denied the events or avoided talking about them.  Donating money or blood, attending memorials, and talking with people about their feelings after the attacks were some of the strategies that seemed to alleviate the stress people were feeling.  Studies have also shown that there was an increase in the alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking and marijuana use among Manhattan residents after the September 11 terrorist attacks, providing evidence that people were avoiding having thoughts or feelings about these events and not coping well with the stress they were experiencing.

Many people reported feeling a decreases sense of security and felt increasingly vulnerable and threatened.  With the continual warnings of further terrorist attacks, people’s stress levels could not return to a normal level and were constantly in a state of high stress, leading to chronic stress.  Many people reported that they felt hopeless about the future and began to question the meaning and purpose of their lives.

Disaster reactions tend to follow a predictable sequence of phases for community groups.  The initial “heroic” phase involves concerns for survival and altruistic efforts to help overcome reactions such as fear, anger, confusion, and numbness.  A “honeymoon” phase occurs next, characterized by outpourings of community and professional support and assistance.  As the aftermath of the crisis extends in time, many sources of initial support may be withdrawn as agencies complete their initial goals and normal routines are reestablished.  This has been identified as a “disillusionment” phase.  This may be characterized by a loss of sense of shared experience in the community, and a sense of a more pervasive disappointment, anger, resentment, and abandonment.  The final phase of a disaster adaptation is to mourn what was lost, to reestablish relationships, and reinvest one’s energies into current  life pursuits, relationships, and interests.  This process can extend for years, depending on the magnitude of the losses sustained by individuals and communities.  It is important to note that the honeymoon phase ends just at the point when persistent and severe post-traumatic stress reactions would be likely to emerge, about 1 to 3 months following the disaster.

Sometimes present loss or trauma can trigger past events.  If you have been the victim of past abuse or trauma, the 9/11 terrorist attacks may have triggered these memories for you or made it more difficult to cope with the stress of these events.

What can you do to cope?

·         Spend time with other people.  Coping with stressful events is easier when people support each other.

·         Talk about how you are feeling.  Be willing to listen to others who need to talk about how they feel.

·         Get back to everyday routine.  Familiar habits can be comforting.

·         Take time to grieve if you need to.  It is better to express your feelings rather than push them away or avoid them as feelings tend to emerge one way or another and it better for you to have some say in how they are expressed.

·         Ask for support and help from your family, friends, church, or other community re-sources.  Join or develop support groups.

·         Limit how much time you spend watching the news about the war or related events in order to avoid retraumatizing yourself.

·         Find something positive you can do.  Join efforts in your community to respond to this tragedy.

·         Stay positive and watch your negative  self-talk and expectations in terms of self-fulfilling prophecy.

Get professional help if you continue to experience difficulties.  College counseling centers offer excellent services in coping with grief and loss and trauma.