What 9/11 Taught Us, and How to Emotionally Cope With Future Trauma
The past two decades—and the past year-plus in particular—have illuminated plenty about shared fear, grief, resilience, and healing. “Since 9/11, there has been a positive shift to education about and better understanding of the impact of trauma and crisis,” says Lynn M. Smithwick, a trauma researcher and social services manager in Blue Earth, M.N. That momentum contributed to the rise in visibility around mental health issues related to the pandemic and helped chip away at the stigma surrounding getting help. Our approach to treating trauma has changed too.
Right after 9/11, people who had been directly affected by the attacks were psychologically debriefed immediately, but a 2019 report in the journal Prehospital and Disaster Medicine noted that this was ineffective and in some cases harmful, possibly because people weren’t ready to relive the events. “Today we have a better approach called psychological first aid,” Smithwick says. This type of intervention focuses on offering calm and practical support—like helping people find a safe place to stay, or simply listening as opposed to pushing people to explore their feelings—and this seems to foster resilience and lessen immediate stress reactions to trauma. Here’s how we can apply this idea to future crises.
After a trauma, be a good listener
Offer your undivided attention and empathy, and try to avoid filling the air with trite positive statements that may diminish their emotions. “Individuals experience trauma in unique ways. Having a trauma response doesn’t mean there’s something wrong with the person. It’s an innate protective mechanism. What becomes problematic is not being able to shut the trauma response off,” says Danielle Rousseau, Ph.D., a trauma researcher and an assistant professor at Boston University. However, people should eventually start to feel better—so for someone who doesn’t, it is a good idea (and can feel empowering) to reach out for professional help, Smithwick says.
Take a break from the news
Post-9/11 research showed that excessive media exposure could bring about PTSD-like symptoms. And a 2020 report in the journal Science Advances noted that this type of always-viewing/always-scrolling behavior is among the strongest predictors
of pandemic-specific acute stress.
Focus on what's within your control
When there’s a terrorist attack, a natural disaster, or a worldwide pandemic, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. Next time a crisis occurs, regain your footing by taking concrete actions that offer a sense of agency, Rousseau notes. For instance, at the start of the pandemic, there was a rush to stock pantries and hoard toilet paper, which is right in line with the concept of psychological first aid, in which folks prioritize the most urgent needs, like shelter and food.
This story originally appeared in the September 2021 issue of Prevention.
You Might Also Like
