By Article Writers Inc., published Jan 11, 2008
It has been almost seven years since the tragedy of 9/11 and yet it continues to haunt us and affect our lives. I shall never forget that day as I was in New York when the horrendous terrorist attacks took place. I stood in horrified silence as the World Trade Center towers crumbled into the earth unleashing enormous plumes of dust and debris. All I could feel was my heart sinking into deep despair; a sense of helplessness, fear, and frustration. I was not alone. Many people who witnessed the attacks either in person or on the TV felt that incredible shock and anxiety after seeing the country's institutions and symbols of power attacked and destroyed; our notion of American invulnerability shattered.
From that day on, the catastrophic attacks have taken a toll on the health of many individuals. According to several research studies, the psychological trauma of 9/11 and the continued stress and anxiety over false terrorist alarms has led to an increased risk of heart ailments including heart disease, high blood pressure, and strokes.
Dr. E. Alison Holman of the University of California and her team conducted a study, released on Jan. 7, on the mental and physical health of 2,592 individuals (who had either witnessed the terrorist attacks in person, or saw it live on TV, or had not seen any live coverage) three years after 9/11 happened. Her team found that within a few days after the attacks, 10.7% of the individuals suffered from some form of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) including symptoms of edginess, depression, extreme anxiety, difficulty sleeping, and even fear of loud noises. Around 53% of individuals who suffered from extreme anxiety were found to be more susceptible to cardiovascular ailments including heart disease and high blood pressure.
click above for the rest
After 9-11 the reporters took a look at survivors. They looked at the children and they looked at emergency responders.
Paging Dr. Gupta blog
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Flashing back to 9/11
Today, on this sixth anniversary of 9/11, the country will mourn together. For most of the country, it will be a reminder, an anniversary, but for thousands of others it could be psychologically devastating. It could cause something known as PTSD or post traumatic stress disorder. The symptoms can be awful and the research shows us the reminders don't help.
We know on average 4 percent of the general American public suffers from PTSD, but one in eight 9/11 rescue and recovery workers had PTSD, even years after the attack, according to the World Trade Center Health Registry. We know firefighters developed PTSD at 2 times the rate of police officers, but both groups continue to suffer today. We also know that PTSD is an anxiety disorder that is marked by sudden and intense fear, along with feelings of desperation, hopelessness and outright horror. We know it can be difficult to treat.
During the last six years, there has been a growing body of research on PTSD, looking at the survivors of 9/11 and veterans from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. For example, researchers are looking at propranolol, a blood pressure medication, as a possible treatment for PTSD. The idea is that this medication will block the adrenaline surge associated with a traumatic event. If you can block that release of adrenaline, the terrible memories may not be seared into the brain, and that might reduce the risk of future PTSD. There are some emergency rooms that now give the medication immediately after a traumatic event. There also is video game technology used for returning veterans. I tried it out myself and understood the premise that by exposing someone to previously traumatic events in a controlled setting with psychologists standing by, you could learn what is specifically traumatic, and deal with it. (Watch Video)
http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/blogs/paging.dr.
gupta/2007/09/flashing-back-to-911.html
New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center
'Virtual 9/11' Brings Ground Zero Survivors Real Healing
By E.J. Mundell
HealthDay Reporter
Monday, November 20, 2006; 12:00 AM
MONDAY, Nov. 20 (HealthDay News) -- Psychologists estimate that hundreds, even thousands, of people directly affected by the events of Sept. 11, 2001, are still crippled by post-traumatic stress disorder.
Could a virtual-reality "revisiting" of that horrific day actually help them?
New York City psychiatrist Judith Cukor believes that it can.
"We are getting tons of calls for 9/11-related post-traumatic stress disorder -- it's five years out, and we are still seeing people who have never had treatment," said Cukor, an instructor in the department of psychiatry at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. "A lot of people have had traditional treatment, too, but it's not helping."
Cukor is supervising a unique clinical trial that uses high-tech virtual reality to help fight the more stubborn cases of 9/11-linked post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. "We're seeing very positive results here, in terms of people finally getting better," she said.
For people who suffer from the emotional numbness, terrifying flashbacks, nightmares and avoidance behaviors of PTSD, "exposure therapy" remains the gold-standard treatment. The therapy involves patients being asked to imagine in detail the past event that caused them such pain.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/
content/article/2006/11/20/AR2006112000316_pf.html
Hispanic Community
Release Date:May 15, 2006, 12:01 AM US Eastern time
PTSD Affected Hispanic Patients in New York for Months After 9/11
By Joel R. Cooper, Contributing Writer
Health Behavior News Service
Low-income, immigrant, primary-care patients in New York City continued to suffer the psychiatric effects of 9/11 long after the original terrorist attack, says a new study.
“Many of these patients, for cultural or economic reasons, shun traditional mental health services, and rely heavily on their primary care doctors for the provision of mental health intervention and treatment,” said lead author Yuval Neria, Ph.D., a professor at Columbia University and co-director of the Center for the Study of Trauma and Resilience, New York State Psychiatric Institute.
In another finding, the study negated the notion that post-traumatic stress disorder may develop among those experiencing terrorist events second-hand, such as while watching media coverage of the attacks on television. PTSD did not show up in individuals only indirectly exposed to the 9/11 attacks — unless they were at increased risk for the disorder to begin with.
For the study, published in the latest issue of General Hospital Psychiatry, researchers screened adult primary care patients for PTSD in the months following the 9/11 attacks. The patients — 930 men and women ages 18 to 70 — were seen at the New York Presbyterian Hospital, Columbia University Medical Center. The majority were low-income immigrants — primarily Hispanic.“Many in the population under study would be reluctant to seek psychiatric help for fear of being stigmatized within their communities, even though they are, in fact, at increased risk for PTSD and its associated illnesses,” Ng said.
If you look back you will find the news reports for the earlier studies done. Most of the time the emergency responders have a higher level of PTSD because of how often they come into traumatic situations. Police have a higher level. Combat forces even a great level than that. As with all wounds there are degrees of how much damage is done.
With all traumatic survivors there is a time difference between when the event happens and the trauma hits. Some will have mild PTSD, be able to more or less cope with it. Some will spiral into full blown PTSD symptoms right away. Others will experience a slow progression of it. Others will not experience the problems until many years later when a "secondary stressor" hits.
We need to look at all causes of trauma to understand what the combat forces are going through because for them it is not just one incident but many of them, more horrific and compounded for the term of deployment.
No comments:
Post a Comment
If it is not helpful, do not be hurtful. Spam removed so do not try putting up free ad.