As the one-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center approaches, mental health professionals are encouraging people to be tolerant and accepting of their behaviors and those of others.
Sandi Hanish, a clinical nurse specialist with the Defense Department’s Operation Solace, which began after the Sept. 11 attacks, advises people to suspend their notions about how they think they should act or feel and “truly embrace” the idea that people react in different ways.
Psychologist and trauma expert Victor Welzandt, who recently addressed a Pentagon audience on this subject, agreed.
“Anniversary reactions of all types are pretty normal aspects of grieving,” said Welzandt, director of acute trauma services at Sheppard Pratt Health System in Maryland.
Many people may experience the same feelings they had when the attack occurred, he said. They might feel apprehensive, angry, frustrated, sad or have a sense of loss, even if they haven’t felt that way for some time. It’s also normal for some people to have no significant emotional reaction, particularly if they experienced a lot of grief in the first few weeks after the event.
Anniversary reactions can vary from one person to the next and are a normal step in the healing and growth process. People shouldn’t be alarmed by their feelings. They can cope with feelings by talking, particularly with others who shared the experience. They might attend a memorial service or create their own. Or they can write down their thoughts, Welzandt said.
If, however, people feel their reactions are severe, they might want to seek the help of a support group, mental health professional or chaplain, he said.
“If anybody’s concerned about the reaction they’re having, it’s a real sign of strength to reach out and talk,” Welzandt said.
Children might react by regressing. A 5-year-old might suddenly want help dressing, for example, said psychologist Daniel Dodgen, senior legislative and federal affairs officer with the American Psychological Association, who also recently spoke with Pentagon employees.
As the anniversary nears, children also may become more irritable or have trouble sleeping or getting up, have changes in their appetite or avoid people or things that remind them of the traumatic event, he said.
Parents can help by listening to their children and allowing them to express their feelings, without forcing a discussion.
To relieve children’s anxiety, parents can focus on safety — giving the children a sense of what they can control, and an action plan, such as whom to call if they can’t reach their parents, and how to place a collect phone call, for example, Dodgen said.
Parents also should monitor what their children see on television because they may receive more news of Sept. 11 than parents realize, he said. Research from the Oklahoma City bombing showed that the more hours of event-related programming children watched, the more stress and psychological symptoms they displayed.
Hanish, the clinical nurse specialist, recommends that children who are younger than school age not watch anything related to the attacks and that parents who let their school-age children watch programs on the attacks should be present while they do.
This year, for the anniversary of the attacks, Operation Solace will set up a hot line and a booth and hand out fliers letting people know its staff is available to help. The hot line, which can be reached at (703) 695-9110 or (703) 693-5676, will be staffed from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern Time on Sept. 10, 11 and 12 for one-to-one confidential counseling.
