NEW YORK, March 17, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Last Friday, Japan experienced the most powerful earthquake to hit that country since seismic measurements began. Life for millions was made worse by a devastating tsunami. In the wake of the catastrophe, many Americans are experiencing Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS).
Most people have never heard of STS—the experience of someone not directly exposed to a traumatic event, but who nevertheless suffers some of the same symptoms as those who experience the event firsthand: anxiety, sadness, confusion, anger and worry. STS is common. Many Americans are experiencing it now. Increasing numbers of them are learning to deal with it.
"The attacks of 9-11 in 2001 and natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the Haiti earthquake in 2010, violated Americans' historical sense of safety and security in their homes and their homeland," says Pender Greene. "It's not surprising, then, that the shock and trauma we felt back then are resurfacing at this moment. Our fears past are echoed in our fears present—in response to news of a crisis 11,000 miles away."
"Not only do we feel for the misfortunes of people in Japan," Pender Greene points out, "but we also identify with them and fear for our own safety and health. We absorb impressions of cars, boats, buildings and whole towns being swept away. We hear reports of thousands of dead and missing. We watch crippled nuclear plants burn and imagine distant people running for their lives. We also imagine ourselves, and we fear the worst."
The probability that a comparable disaster might come to America's shores is for physical scientists to calculate. How we, ordinary Americans, ought to respond to present events is for social scientists like Pender Greene to think about. "I'm seeing some very healthy responses among my clients and acquaintances, I'm glad to say. People are finding effective ways to cope with the stress they feel as they identify with Japan's trauma." Summarizing those coping mechanisms and methods, Pender Greene distills them into six recommendations:
Pender Greene makes a final point that few would disagree with: "Life is inherently risky, often painful, and sometimes profoundly sad," she says. "People who live it well do it with love, learning and courage."
CONTACT: Sharon Fenster Fenster Communications, Inc. sharonfenster@gmail.com 914.391.0275