Newsletter article
September, 2001

Dick Farenhorst

TERRORISM: SPIRITUAL AND EMOTIONAL AFTERMATH

A friend tells me his mother, born roughly in 1914, said, "at the beginning of my life I went through two World Wars. Now at the end of my life I'm going to be going through another". In contrast to many of us she is not going through something new. In contrast to most traumatic events, the New York experience was not something singularly new. It was an event experienced not by an individual, nor by a small group or family, nor even by a community or nation, but a world collectively experienced trauma, or what (in the counseling field) is called a critical incident.
One reason that this event resulted in collective trauma, is that we all realized, that this could be us tomorrow. We all sensed that "I'm as vulnerable as a New Yorker". When previous shocking world events happened, there was always a sense of safety, that sense of, "it won't happen here", that insulated us from the intense psychological trauma. Now that New York showed that, "it can happen to me", it brings a new personal vulnerability.
Aside from the fear and vulnerability we also have many other feelings. For many of us we entertained fantasies of revenge, or tried to feel secure by evidencing boastful superiority. Many who perhaps have had their lives somewhat planned out, while always being aware of life's exigencies, nevertheless were thinking and planning along the lines of "in ten years I'll retire". Now we realize with a far deeper sense that there is no certainty in life's goals. Young people feel an increasing sense of bleakness, and after putting in years of schooling, knowing that there is no career certainty in this world.
People that witness trauma often suffer from post-traumatic stress, with acute reactions that are physical, such as upset stomachs, headaches; thinking impairments such as trouble concentrating, poor attention spans; emotional reactions such as fear or shock; behavioral difficulty such as sleeping problems. Later on the impact would be somewhat different where for instance, there would be a greater general fatigue or irritability, or finding oneself easily startled. Self post-trauma care includes paying attention to our thinking time or the fixation that we have on the event. Obsessing about it will bring about no new solutions but will keep the traumatic feelings fresh and disturbing. World events, of course, we cannot control, but to some extent we can choose or be aware of the response that we take. For those who have some difficulty emotionally with their emotional responses to this, who struggle with the psychological aftermath, there are an array of very specific therapeutic techniques that can help most people experience some relatively quick reduction in overall stress.
Besides the healing of our emotions, the healing of the heart is a very significant aspect of the recovery process. How do you feel about Muslim's today? Empty, boastful superiority (a compensation for feelings of vulnerability) is an equally dangerous fantasy that challenges and appeals when we feel vulnerable. More importantly, events like the terrorist attack, are not things that we get over, but these events change us forever. Something very important has shifted for all of us whether we acknowledge it or not. What meaning do we make of this now as Christians? For many people there is a total loss of meaning, or a questioning of much of one's life direction and activities. I often hear my neighbors and friends talking about the importance of family and re-ordering our priorities. I hear Christians talking and thinking about "end times". Some T.V. evangelists saw the whole experience as evidence of God's punishment for U.S. moral laxness and sin.
For many of us our prayer and devotional life has deepened and changed. God and our ultimate trust in him for many is even more elusive, for others oh so deeply reassuring.

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