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Should America Prepare for a Mental-Health Crisis? Expert Says Terror Strikes Will Cause Millions to Need Help With PTSD By� <A HREF="http://aolsvc.health.webmd.aol.com/content/article/1756.53105";> Daniel�DeNoon </A> WebMD Medical News --from AOL Oct. 9, 2001 -- Millions of Americans will need treatment for psychological wounds suffered on Sept. 11, a trauma expert predicts. The wounds come from the very real medical condition known as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It's not something a person just gets over. Untreated PTSD can become a life-shattering chronic illness. "There is an epidemic of PTSD about to unfold in America. No one is talking about the manpower that will be required to treat literally millions of victims," psychiatrist Mark I. Levy, MD, tells WebMD. "It is not clear how these people are going to be screened, identified, and treated -- and by whom. ... This issue needs the immediate attention of senior public-health and mental-health planners." PTSD begins as an acute stress reaction from living through or witnessing a life-threatening event. This trauma obviously was worst for those who survived the 9/11 attacks, for the families of those who lost their lives, and for rescue workers. Even so, those who watched the horrifying events unfold on television went through a real trauma -- particularly those who watched them replayed over and over again. "What is totally unique about this situation is that the trauma for most people was around television images," says Levy, an assistant clinical professor at the University of California, San Francisco, and a private-practice psychoanalyst. "The images were so traumatic and so compelling. They are burned into our memory the same way a traumatic event is burned into the memory of a victim of violence." "You don't have to be at the bottom of the World Trade Center or the Pentagon to experience the symptoms," Russell J. Kormann, PhD, tells WebMD. Kormann is associate director of the PTSD program at Rutgers University's Anxiety Disorders Clinic. Studies indicate that at least one in 10 people exposed to a traumatic event will develop PTSD. Levy says that if the condition affects only a much smaller fraction of those exposed via TV, the number of cases still will be "mind boggling." Women seem to be twice as vulnerable to PTSD as men. A recent traumatic event -- or a past trauma that remains unhealed -- increases vulnerability. People who are depressed or who suffer other untreated psychiatric conditions also are at increased risk. By now, we're all familiar with the symptoms of acute stress: Trouble sleeping. Nightmares and/or intrusive images of the tragic events -- or of prior catastrophes a person may have experienced. Frequent crying. Trouble concentrating. Numbing of feelings and a strong desire to avoid any mention of the event. These symptoms are normal reactions -- unless they don't go away. "It takes 30 days for an acute stress reaction to evolve into frank PTSD," Levy says. "At this point, these are symptoms of illness. It is time to treat it like any illness that has symptoms. It's like you were running a fever for a couple of weeks -- you should see a doctor. Going to a family doctor is not a bad idea, because most people resist going to a psychologist or psychiatrist." "The question is how do you determine what represents the beginning of psychological disorder and what is normal," Carol S. North, MD, MPE, tells WebMD. "At first it is hard to tell which is which." North, a psychiatry professor at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, studied PTSD in the wake of the Oklahoma City bombing. "In Oklahoma City, people who over the first few months developed a lot of avoidance and numbing responses were more likely to have PTSD," North says. "It is important for someone having a lot of problems to get to a psychiatrist who can examine him or her for proper diagnosis. People who are seriously ill may need medications for depression." A phenomenon that already has begun will peak at about six weeks after the attacks: people will get tired of hearing and talking about the events. This is exactly when people who are beginning to experience PTSD will feel most abandoned. "That is the time to be alert to colleagues and family members who might be floundering," Levy says. "You worry a little bit about what is going to sustain them when other people get busy with our lives. We need to look out for each other -- that is really the bottom line. It is very important that people tune into how family members and colleagues are functioning, and get them help if they need it. We all have to keep together in this thing." Medically Reviewed By�<A HREF="http://aolsvc.health.webmd.aol.com/content/article/1756.53722";>Dr. Gary�Vogin</A> � 2001 WebMD Corporation. All rights reserved. =========================================== 12 CDs for 1 with BMG Music Service! 12 CDs for 1 with BMG Music Service! 12 CDs for 1 with BMG Music Service! http://click.topica.com/caaadKjb1ddNBb2HgmNf/BMG =========================================== Visit and show your support for the Grass Roots Oyate http://members.tripod.com/GrassRootsOyate Clemency for Leonard Peltier. Sign the Petition. http://petitiononline.com/Release/petition.html ==^================================================================ EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?b1ddNB.b2HgmN Or send an email To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] This email was sent to: [email protected] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
