Many are re-evaluating their lives in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks as they face increasingly uncertain times and come to terms with America’s enemies, both overseas and at home.
Yet for those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the events of Sept. 11, coupled with the real and imagined harm resulting from bioterrorism, is yet another kind of enemy that some say is equally fearsome to the psyche.
To help battle this unseen enemy, psychotherapist Sheida Ashley is facilitating a 10-week PTSD recovery and process group at the Malibu Vineyard Church called “Surviving Terrorism.”
“A lot of people were affected by post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of Sept. 11,” said Ashley. “It’s the straw that broke the camel’s back. It’s necessary [for people] to work on those issues that brought them to this point, and look at what makes them feel so vulnerable to an event like this.”
Ashley said PTSD is caused by “extreme stressors,” for example, people who have been involved in accidents, natural disasters, or those who have been victims of crime, child abuse, sexual abuse, severe neglect or a sudden, unexpected death of a loved one. These, according to Ashley, are among the kinds of triggers that can render people “emotionally paralyzed.”
Dr. Phillip W. Long at Mentalhealth.com, says PTSD can result “when the person’s response [to threatening situations] involves intense fear, helplessness or horror.”
As to what specific actions workshop participants are taking to make themselves feel less traumatized by the attacks and recent worries about more attacks, they vary according to individual needs.
Paula (not her real name), a cancer survivor, said, “What I’m doing is putting myself in this chair every week. After this [group], the first few days of the week I’m really calm-but I’m a news junkie-by the end of the week, I’m rattled again.”
Paula indicated she felt threatened if not fearful recently while “stuck in traffic downtown.” She saw what she described as “slow-flying planes near the buildings.” She said she began to pray, which helped, and uses coping skills derived from the group to deal with other alarming feelings triggered by the anthrax threats.
“After the first anthrax scare happened in Florida, the blood drained to my feet,” said Paula. “As time progressed, I actually found myself getting less afraid, oddly enough. I am exercising my brain, asking, what are the real risks”?
Others find themselves participating in the group for different reasons. Due in part to resolving painful feelings stemming from her childhood, Rachel (not her real name) wants to help provide aid to the more than 1,000 children orphaned in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks by organizing or participating in some type of relief effort for them.
Another tool to help combat growing fears, according to Ashley, is an exercise created by “Dr. Phil,” of Oprah fame, which involves, among other tasks, making a written risk-assessment of one’s daily encounters, which people believe puts them in harm’s way. Step two is to identify what the “high risk” areas are in one’s life and determine which fears are “rational and which are irrational.” “Irrational fears,” according to Phil, “Are ones that occur in the absence of a clear and present danger.”
While some take personal responsibility for undue fears, others hold the media accountable for their increased sense of panic.
“Where do you draw the line by being informed by the media, as opposed to jumping the gun every time they say something?” asked Ashley.
Rachel said she has reduced her news intake to “every other day,” while another suggested getting only “news highlights” or pivotal events from one of the Internet news services.
“One of the most significant indicators of post-traumatic stress disorder is feeling you have no control over your environment,” said Ashley.
To combat feelings of vulnerability and powerlessness, Ashley recommends getting involved in a creative project or engaging in activities that make you feel “empowered.” She spoke of the personal healing that resulted from creating a spontaneous patriotic calendar utilizing a group of neighborhood pups to serve as pin-up models for a project emphasizing humor-filled captions and photos. Ashley said the calendars’ proceeds would go, in part, to the New York and Washington, D.C. ASPCA to help support pets that lost their owners in the wake of the attacks.
Though the circumstances are vastly different, the notion of “personal power” was hit home again when one participant told the story of a man who is said to have survived the Nazi concentration camps with the aid of one key philosophy.
“He said the decision to respond to whatever was coming his way was still his decision, that it was still within his power.” For some, that makes all the difference.
“Surviving Terrorism” is scheduled to run for six more Saturdays, 10 a.m., at the Malibu Vineyard Church located at 23825 Stuart Ranch Road, Malibu. It is free and open to the public. More information can be obtained by calling 310.317.4293.