Feeling anxious, frightened or depressed because
of the recent terrorist attacks in the US and the startup of a shooting
war that may be long and bloody? If you are, you are not alone. Probably
a large majority of Americans are personally affected psychologically by
these unfortunate events. Those who are closest to them, those who live
near the attack areas or whose close friends or relatives suffered death
or injury, will be the most severely affected.
But as with all such trauma, there are some
people who can weather these things with hardly any obvious stress, while
others are more severely affected. Why is there such a wide difference
in people’s handling of stress? Can you yourself learn to handle stress
better? This article is meant to help you understand why you may over-react
to stressful events and why these particular events possess a different
kind of potency than most Americans have ever experienced.
Who are “they”?
Many are comparing the present situation to
December, 1941, when Pearl Harbor was attacked and the US was plunged into
World War II. They are saying that the situation here is similar, that
in both cases the US was suddenly attacked on its own soil, with extensive
loss of life. However, there are large, important differences that make
the current situation even more stressful than that in 1941.
In 1941 we knew immediately who the attacker
was. In 2001 we were unsure for some time who initiated the massive terrorist
attacks. And although Osama bin Laden was quickly suspected as the leader
of the attacks, several weeks were required to seek evidence and to convince
our allies that he most likely was behind them. Even now, more than a month
later, we are unsure who all the people involved were and where they are
and whether they could unleash more attacks upon us. We are also uncertain
whether our efforts at retaliation can be successful, or whether they may
cause more harm than good by alienating other nations and stirring up more
hatred of the US.
So “they” are not clearly known. The enemy
is an ambiguous, hidden entity. We are unsure of his strength and his ability
to elude us and continue to harm us. Because we are facing a shadowy enemy,
our judgments about him are vague and can become irrational. The scariest
opponent of all is a hidden, unknown opponent. Every maker of horror movies
knows this fact and tries to use it for maximum horror effect upon his
audiences.
Our terrorist enemies know this better than
we do. The terrorists are like movie directors who are using such psychological
factors to elicit in us as much fear as possible. Fear is the biggest weapon
the terrorists possess, and oddly it is a weapon that we contribute to
as much as they do when we bring our own anxieties and fears into the picture
so that they work against us. Truly, as President Franklin Roosevelt said
at the onset of World War II, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
There is another important difference from
1941: In those days the world was larger. News took much longer to be transmitted.
The only media we had were newspapers, radio and movies. Today the world
is much smaller, and we have instant transmission of words and pictures
to giant TV screens that put us into the heart of the action as it happens.
Although the Pearl Harbor attack was upon US soil, Hawaii was psychologically
much farther away than it is now. There was a huge distance between Americans
at home and the gathering battlegrounds. And although at first Americans
feared air raids especially upon coastal areas, with time those fears subsided
and we felt personally fairly secure in our homes and cities.
In 2001 we have the frightful events occurring
right in our living rooms, and repeated over and over via tape. And this
time the attacks were upon our mainland, in big population areas. Also,
the casualties were higher and were mainly of innocent citizens, not of
military personnel who at least have some chance of fighting back and defending
themselves.
So we have an enemy with the advantages of
ambiguity and elusiveness. We are unsure where and when he might strike
again. And while he is not marching with huge armies upon our borders,
he is using psychological principles of inflicting anxiety and fear upon
us that can be highly effective. Using psychological warfare, he can frighten
us into weakening or even destroying our democratic freedoms, our economy,
our personal feelings of well-being, and even disrupting our family lives.
Without massive expenditures for arms, he is using an efficient method
of harming us, a method in which we ourselves unwittingly participate!
Who are “we”?
The above discussion was not meant to frighten
you more. As in all scientific analysis, it is necessary to spell out as
fully as possible the problem being faced, in order to deal with it in
the most effective manner.
We don’t want to make
you feel guilty, because you aren’t. But we must realize that fears and
anxieties already existing in our own minds are drawn into our thinking
and feeling about terrorism. As children, most of us were exposed to frightening
events, and as children we lacked sophisticated means of handling our fear.
Unless we were lucky enough to have parents or professionals who knew how
to neutralize our fears, we kept them in our subconscious minds, from which
they could re-emerge under stressful conditions later in life.
As adults, faced with the threat of terrorism,
some of our childish reactions may surface again and operate without the
control that the thinking parts of our brain should exert on them. We may
overreact to frightening stimuli from the media, we may over-generalize
our fear and wariness to people and events that are actually harmless.
We may exaggerate the powers of the enemy and may feel ourselves to be
more vulnerable than we are.
It’s necessary to know that our fears are
products of two things: actual or implied threats from the enemy, and the
manner in which our minds react to these threats. Because some people can
handle stress well, they seem relatively unaffected by these external threats.
(This is not to say that they do not feel concern for our nation or sympathy
for the victims of terrorism, or that they ignore the threatening situation
we find ourselves in. Rather, their bodies and minds can weather the stressors
without overwhelming personal anxiety, fear or depression.) In battle,
some soldiers break down under stress and others seem to weather difficult
stressors with no apparent ill effects. People simply differ in this respect.
How can we help ourselves?
In the field of psychology, one is required
to take a lot of statistics courses. Because of this, I have learned to
think of life events that we would like to predict in terms of probabilities.
Here we’re concerned with the chance of physical harm to ourselves and
those close to us. Ask yourself: what’s the probability that when I buy
a state lottery ticket today that I will win the jackpot? The lottery gives
you the actual odds, which are usually one in some tens of millions. The
chance of winning tomorrow is vanishingly small, and yet we buy the ticket.
What’s the chance that you will be harmed
in a terrorist attack tomorrow? Given the population of the US, the chance
is far smaller than the lottery jackpot example, and yet we worry about
it.
Another question: What’s the chance that the
Sep 11 terrorist band will initiate a similarly large attack tomorrow?
This question involves more analysis and guesswork: how much money does
the band have at their disposal? How many active members remain in it?
How freely can they operate, given that the world is now focusing its attention
upon them? The answer would seem to be a very small chance. Yet we worry.
You can use the present challenge as an opportunity
for psychological growth by asking yourself analytical questions like these.
They can help you strengthen the power of your thinking faculties over
the more primitive lower-brain fear reactions.
Be good to your body
The state of your body determines in a pretty
powerful way the state of your thinking and feeling. Take good care of
your body, and your children’s bodies. Follow sound nutritional practices.
See articles (existing or coming) on this Web site to help you with this.
Get adequate rest. Exercise regularly. This need not be harsh, difficult
exercise. Walking and stretching are beneficial. Get lots of fresh air.
If you know how, meditate frequently.
Be good to your mind
Avoid sources of stress as much as possible.
Avoid too much tabloid-type TV news coverage. Seek your news coverage from
sources that are more analytic. Read or watch some pleasant or humorous
material each day. If you are a church-goer, you might find religious services
consoling.
Five months from now
Professionals specializing in post-traumatic
stress syndrome note that with many people the full anxiety reaction to
a stressful event occurs about six months after the event. This fact doesn’t
mean that it will be true of you. But you can ward off delayed reactions
by beginning now an informal program of self-help incorporating the ideas
we have given here. By all means, if you need someone to help you with
your stress, consult a trained professional. Maybe try going to two—a couple
of times to one, a couple of times to another—to get a variety of approaches.
Professionals are not all stamped out on an assembly line.
Outline a course of action for yourself. Write
it down and consult it regularly, revising it when you see what works for
you and what doesn’t. Following a plan empowers you, giving you the knowledge
that you are controlling your own forward action in living in a suddenly
more stressful world.
A war of nerves can be more dangerous than
a war with weapons. The terrorists on September 11 very efficiently used
their resources to destroy seats of power and commerce as well as thousands
of lives. They didn’t even use explosives; they used what was available
to them—airplanes flying around big cities. Even without bringing more
terrorists onto US soil, the leaders can induce us to hurt ourselves in
a war of nerves by playing on our fear of the unknown—if we let them.
As a nation, we won’t let them. As individuals,
we can protect ourselves by thinking about the ideas we have given here.
Please e-mail questions and comments to: [email protected].
Sincerely yours, E.J. Malmstrom, Ph.D.
