9/11 survivors may still experience PTSD 20 years later: Shot

Visitors will see the names of the victims engraved on the bronze balustrade at the 9/11 Memorial Museum in New York.

Xinhua News Agency / Xinhua News Agency / Getty Images

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Xinhua News Agency / Xinhua News Agency / Getty Images

Visitors will see the names of the victims engraved on the bronze balustrade at the 9/11 Memorial Museum in New York.

Xinhua News Agency / Xinhua News Agency / Getty Images

Like most Americans, Christina Rosano remembers exactly where she was when the plane crashed into the World Trade Center on the morning of September 11, 2001.

“When the first plane collided for the first time, I was actually in charge and they attended there,” says Rosano, who was present at the age of 16. Maryberg Traum High School, Just a few blocks from the World Trade Center. “By the time the second plane hit, I was in an English class.”

She remembers the school building shaking and being hit by debris. Immediately, her school evacuated. The train wasn’t running and many roads were blocked, so Rosano tried to find a way home by walking with a friend. The two teenagers eventually realized they were using one of the bridges to Brooklyn.

“I remember my friend Sonia and someone running on the Manhattan Bridge saying that another plane was actually coming, so everyone started running,” Rosano says.

In the weeks and months that followed, Rosano suffered from sleep and was easily anxious. “There is a loud noise, such as an airplane passing by, [I remember] It’s a bit delusional. ”

She also began to lose interest in what she once loved, like sports. “I’ve become really skeptical of my abilities in terms of school performance, and I don’t really care,” she says. “I lived mostly on the autopilot.”

Many people in New York City and the surrounding area who witnessed the disaster experienced traumatic symptoms in the months that followed. Researchers studying the health of survivors, recovery workers, and witnesses such as Rosano said the event led to an increased incidence of mental health problems such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorders. say.

And although the vast majority of people have recovered since then (a testament to human resilience), a significant proportion of survivors still experience symptoms today.

“The 9/11 disaster in New York City had long-term consequences for both responders and civilians,” he said. World Trade Center Health ProgramTracked the health of more than 70,000 people who were directly exposed to attacks that were voluntarily registered in the registry in 2003 and 2004.

The registry provides an ongoing survey of this group and surveys the health of its members every few years — That study It sheds light on factors that erode or enhance the ability of people to recover from trauma.

According to the data collected by the registry, about one-tenth of registrants suffer from PTSD symptoms.

“Every time we do a survey, between 8% and 10% have enough symptoms to show post-traumatic stress disorder,” said Robert Blackville, Principal Investigator of the Registry. Stated.

However, he adds that the incidence is even higher among those who have experienced the disaster more closely, such as building residents and rescue and restoration workers, at around 17% to 18%.

Study the emotional effects of disasters

The first effort to track the mental health of those who witnessed the attack was led by researchers at Columbia University who surveyed people in the weeks following the disaster and followed them for three years.

“first, Manhattan researchAnd then I was able to get funding to do research in New York, southern Connecticut, and eastern New Jersey. ” Dr. Sandrogarea, Dean of the Department of Public Health at Boston University, who was at Columbia University at the time. The survey surveyed the general population of these areas, including survivors, rescue workers, and those who witnessed the attack that day.

“The first thing we found was that the baseline depression rate doubled. Post-traumatic stress disorder In the general public, “says Galea.

People with PTSD can experience a variety of symptoms associated with traumatic events, such as event nightmares. They are often easily surprised and anxious about something bad happening.

“They are plagued by what has happened, and by re-experiencing symptoms such as nightmares and flashbacks, ghostly qualities emerge,” says psychologists. Barbara Rothbaum At Emory University, she specializes in treating people with PTSD and other anxiety disorders. “Man [also] I feel emotionally numb and separated from others. I know I’m loved by my family, but it’s hard to feel it. It’s hard to feel joy. ”

Galea and his team also found that those who experienced the 9/11 attack more closely, such as those who worked in buildings or lost their loved ones, were at increased risk of developing PTSD and depression.

They also found that most people with symptoms continued to recover within 6 months of the attack. “But about one-third of people had persistent symptoms,” he adds.

His study, and a study by the World Trade Center Health Program, revealed some of the other risk factors for long-term symptoms of mental illness.

Those risk factors are the presence of other trauma and chronic stress in people’s lives. As a result, people who experience trauma or difficulties before or after an attack, those who do not have a job, those who have low incomes, or those who experience housing anxiety may continue to suffer from mental illness for many years compared to others. The sex was much higher.

Also, studies of people registered with the World Trade Center’s Health Register often show that most people with symptoms suffer from multiple physical and / or mental health conditions.

“Unfortunately, the characteristic of the 9/11 state is that many of these states occur at the same time,” says Farfel. “So, for example, PTSD often occurs in depression, which extends the impact of the disaster.”

Similarly, substance use is high among patients with PTSD, says Brackbill.

“Often what they do is self-medication,” says Rothbaum. “So they’re smoking a lot of marijuana to try to sleep tonight. They’re drinking a lot to try to sleep tonight, but obviously it can turn into their own problem.”

Get help

Approximately 400,000 people directly affected by the attack on the Twin Towers are eligible to register for the World Trade Center Health Register. The registrant is World Trade Center Health ProgramProvides free surveillance and healthcare to people directly affected by the disaster.

“The program is open and anyone who is not currently receiving care through the World Trade Center Health Program can apply,” says Farfel.

Still, he says, the registry is still finding people who are symptomatic but not seeking care. And the stigma of mental illness is a major barrier to seeking help, he adds.

“Treatment really helps,” says Rothbaum, who has worked with many post-9.11 veterans and refugees from war-torn areas who have returned from combat and are suffering from PTSD.

“I think people should get treatments that have proven to be effective, and we have many options for that.”

Them Evidence-based treatment This includes drugs like Zoloft and Paxil, certain types of talk therapy such as long-term exposure therapy, including talking about traumatic events, and trying to do what individuals have avoided since trauma.

For Christina Rosano, registering in the World Trade Center registry paved the way for help.

“I asked for help in college,” she says. “I was treated, and the treatment was a big surprise to me.”

At that time, she was diagnosed with anxiety and depression and began to work on recovery.

Currently she works as a life coach. She says she’s feeling emotional as the 20th anniversary of the attack approaches, but she’s no longer anxious or depressed.