September 11 Tragedy Affects Mental Wellness

Life changed on September 11, 2001.Along with every other newspaper columnist I felt the need to comment on the tragic events in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. What does this have to do with women’s health? Health is not just the absence of disease but a state of wellness; both physical and mental. Most of us can be relieved that we were not physically harmed by the recent tragic events. However we all seem to know of someone who was directly impacted. When such horrific acts are committed against our community we feel it as a threat against ourselves. Our state of mental wellness has been harmed.

As most of us are aware there is a strong connection between mind and body. Any cause of stress can cause physical symptoms and preexisting physical symptoms are made worse by stress. Indeed, a large part of our management of labor pain (often the worst physical pain women will experience) involves relaxation therapies. Patients who have vague and multiple complaints often have excessive and unalleviated stress as a prime cause of their symptoms or at least a significant factor in them. These symptoms are not "all in their heads" but a physical response to the neurotransmitters and hormones our brain and body produce in response to any sort of stress, be it emotional or physical.

Sitting on my office desk is a favorite picture of me with my children at the Statue of Liberty. My office manager pointed out that this is now a historic picture because of the changes in the New York Skyline. My pregnant sister wonders what sort of world she will be bringing her child into. My husband and myself debate whether we should go into Boston this weekend. A colleague said that her 12-year-old son felt that he was "distracted". Maybe that is a good way to describe how we are all feeling.

Elizabeth Kubler-Ross defined five stages of dying…denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. These stages and feelings can be applied to any loss; they are coping mechanisms that allow us to deal with extremely difficult situations. Our initial response to loss is usually denial…. "This can’t be happening to me". When denial cannot be maintained it gives way to feelings of anger, rage, envy and resentment. This is eventually replaced with a sense of great loss, sadness, and guilt (depression). These feelings may occur at different times or even coexist. However, as Dr. Ross points out, "the one thing that usually persists is hope". These responses to loss can be applied to our community as well as to individuals.

When I went to the library to check out Dr. Ross’ book I saw that the title of the next book on the shelf was "Relax-You May Only Have a Few Minutes Left" by local comedian and consultant on stress management Loretta Laroche. I thought this was an interesting coincidence and checked out her book too. The next morning a commentator on NPR stated that laughter is part of the healing process.

The healing process is different for every one of us. As our community comes to terms with the changes in our lives it is important to keep in mind words from my mother’s oncologist when he told us her cancer was not curable "Life must go on". Although we are deeply saddened by these tragic events it is good to smile and laugh. Laughter can actually help us to go on. It is so important for us to continue to take positive steps and not dwell on the negativity of looming warfare. Fly the flag, attend community activities, spend time with friends and family, go to your house of worship and most importantly resume your normal activities. We cannot let the fears both spoken and unspoken that we have been experiencing gain control of our lives.

As a community we have lost our sense of security and have been brutally reminded of the fragility of life. However we have no choice but to move forward, to laugh, to love and continue living. Past history should be of comfort, ultimately good will prevail, it always has.