A Time For Woolgathering and Healing

It was a worldwide day of reckoning. On September 11, 2001, the entire world became a witness to the darkest evil as well as the highest good that man was capable of doing. On that day, it was as if time had stopped and everything stood at a standstill. It was a time when most people began to ponder about their lives and how they lived, individually and collectively as human beings.
Amidst the concrete rubble and stench of death, people from all walks of life came together to lend each other a hand. Each came to bring their skills to save the trapped and wounded; all worked together with a heart that wanted to provide comfort in a time of great crisis for the people of New York and the rest of the United States. Yet the cries of shock and protest against that act of terrorism resounded from different countries around the globe. It was a defining moment in modern history, a turning point in the on-going war against terror.
Reminiscent of the horrors of the holocaust during World War II, and the devastation wrought by the atomic bomb in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the events of 9/11 has been recorded as one of the most destructive man-made disasters of the 21st century.
Surely, even relatively smaller scale incidents produce the same kind of gried and sense of loss. Day after day, other tragedies happen to people around the world, around the clock. Vehicular accidents, kidnappings, robberies, rapes, hurricanes and other natural disasters all bring death and destruction.
The tragic 9/11 bombings of the World Trade Center generated extensive media coverage worldwide. Millions of viewers who are not really closely related to any of the victims felt a great sense of loss, fear, anger, surprise, shock and disbelief.
Those who escaped and survived the collapse of the World Trade Center bore scars on their body and within themselves. Many of the survivors, including their families now suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). This is a type of anxiety disorder is acquired when an individual's undergoes a life-threatening experience or a very traumatic event. Those with PTSD have an anxiety attack whenever they remember the traumatic incident. Some of of the symptoms of PTSD include having a feeling of history repeating itself; sleep problems like insomia; nightmares; a feeling of isolation; agitation or irritability; and even guilt.
Many PTSD sufferers report that they always feel and think that the tragic event is happening all over again. These painful memories are called flashbacks and may consist of images, sounds, smells, or feelings that can be triggered by even the most ordinary things. A person having a flashback may lose touch with reality and believe that the traumatic incident is happening all over again. The anxiety can be very distressing and could lead to another panic attack. PTSD usually occurs about three weeks after the traumatic incident. In some cases, signs of PTSD may be delayed and would only start to appear after a couple of years later.
Insomia or having some troubles getting sleep may be caused by worrying or unresolved feelings about the tragic event. Nightmares may be about the same traumatic experience or it could be anything that is frightening and threatening to the person. Survivors of the 9/11 terrorist attack may even develop a feeling of isolation characterized by not feeling close to people. It is similar to socio phobia in the sense that there is fear in being with strangers, and sometimes, even with their own loved ones. People experiencing PTSD are highly irritable and get angry even at the slightest provocation. Guilt haunts people with PTSD. They feel guilty about surviving the tragedy while others did not. They feel irrational guilt that they could have done something for others who were in the same tragedy, or blame themselves for being the cause of the incident or accident.
Anti-anxiety medications may help people with PTSD feel less afraid and tense. It may take weeks before they experience its full medical benefits. Consulting with health care specialists and counselor for therapy may greatly help.
It is important that we keep family ties and other relationships tight. We need to surround ourselves with people who will always be there to reassure us, affirm us and comfort us in times of life's great challenges. People suffering from PTSD need a lot of reassurance, comfort, and encouragement. Survivors of 9/11, as well as other people suffering from PTSD, need enough time for “wool gathering” in order to heal from the hurts and pains of their tragic memories.

Are Phobias Inherent or Inherited?

Phobias are extreme fears in specific situations lacking real danger or fears which are completely out of proportion. Most of the time, the person with the phobia realizes that its fear is irrational and illogical, but he still keeps feeling the pain and is hostaged by fear. Only avoiding the painful situation can bring relief.

One of the most common phobias is Social Phobia. Social phobia is a very exaggerated shyness typified by persistent and strong feelings of anxiety and fear when facing certain social situations, interacting with others, or even when being observed, to such an extent that this feeling greatly interferes in the development of the normal life of those who suffer it.

One of the main characteristics of social phobia is the strong anxiety felt before the feared events take place, known as "anticipated anxiety." People start worrying and feeling terror before confronting the feared situation, so, once they actually face it, and due to their nervousness, it comes out worse. It leads to an increase in the level of "anticipated anxiety" next time they confront the same situation. A vicious cycle is created and which is self-generating and causes self-destruction.

Social phobia is much more widespread than we believe, for it is estimated that about 3 to 13% of the population suffers from it in some way. Unlike most phobias, it affects men and women equally, normally appears during adolescence or before the age of 25 and is frequently hereditary, or perhaps, culturally imbibed within the family or social setting. Social phobia generally develops in childhood or adolescence, specially following a humiliating experience. Approximately 40% of social phobia cases occur before the age of ten and 95% before the age of 20. Often the question that is frequently asked; are phobias hereditary? This is often queried in cases of social phobias where both male and female are susceptible to this disorder. Are phobias inherited or learned? There has been a continuous debate on whether a phobia is hereditary or not.

In most cases, the supposedly hereditary component of phobias or anxiety disorders remain unidentified for a substantial amount of time. People know they are afraid but, at the same time, are hard-put at explaining why they are afraid. They may be scared as this feeling of fear or terror is deeply entrenched in their blood down the generation and they simply do not know when and where this fear originated.

Hereditary component of phobias relate a series of phobic tendencies passed down from one generation to another. In 30% cases, social phobias develop due to hereditary or genetic influences and in 70% cases due to environmental factors like faulty upbringing by parents and learning from social behaviors of others.

If a person has inherited this feeling of fear primarily from forefathers or from some members of the family, or even from a close circle of friends --- he or she cannot get rid of this hereditary component of phobias, as the reason of his terror is unknown. With the gradual passage of time, the fear becomes a part of his character. Probably another reason is that children learn fears from adults. Tribal elders knew enough to be afraid when they encounter wild animals back in the Stone Ages, so it makes sense from an evolutionary standpoint that fear and anxiety and phobia may be inherited.