A psychologist's look at September 11, 2001

QUESTION:
In the aftermath of the events of 9/11/01, I find myself constantly stressed-out. My job situation has now become unstable. I find myself less competent, less focused, and nervous. What do you recommend?

"The answer to your question requires that we look at the complex interaction between politics and biochemistry.

"In any adversarial situation, it is vital to have a thorough understanding of the other side's objectives. From a political perspective, it is important to understand that the objective of terrorist groups is NOT to kill people. The objective of terrorist groups is to put individuals and societies under conditions of chronic, unrelenting stress. Under conditions of chronic, unrelenting stress individuals and societies sometimes do stupid things.

"The terrorists wish to put the U.S. under a situation of chronic, unrelenting stress in the hopes that we do stupid things that would force all moderate Moslems to realize that they cannot ever be comfortable with secular-oriented Western societies. They wish to polarize the political situation so that the new conflict is between the Moslem World and the Non-Moslem world. There can be no moderate Moslems in such a conflict.

"When President Bush initially spoke of a "Crusade" against those who would harm us, that unfortunate word was picked up by ben Laden himself to use against us. When teenagers harm innocent Moslems, they simply feed into the terrorist objectives. If our military actions lead to the slaughter of innocent civilians in Afghanistan, it will also be help the terrorist cause.

"Seen in this perspective, the killing of innocent people is not the objective of terrorist groups. It is the means of achieving that objective.

"If the objective is simply to kill people, then the Terrorist objectives have been met and we can live in peace. If the Terrorist objectives is to put society under a state of chronic, unrelenting stress it is likely that there will be other attacks in the future. We are not the first to live under such conditions and we will not be the last. Chronic, unrelenting stress is a situation faced by Israelis, Palestinians, those who live in Northern Ireland, those who live in London, those who lived in Paris during the Algerian difficulties.

THE BIOLOGY OF STRESS
"Under conditions of stress, the body tends to produce higher levels of adrenalin.

"What do we know about behavior under conditions of higher levels of adrenalin?

"Hypervigilence. Under conditions of higher levels of adrenalin we become hyper sensitive to threats in our surroundings. For example, one friend of mine spoke about picking up her child from school. In her rear view mirror, she saw two men with swarthy complexions sitting in the front seat of their truck. Before 9/11/01, this friend told me she would not have noticed this. Today she does. Many of us are sensitive to the sounds of airplanes flying over our homes, when those same sounds used to be part of the background noise before 9/11/01.

RETREAT BEHIND A WALL OF SOUND
"Under conditions of hypervigilence, the body becomes ultra sensitive to external noises and events. For example, under normal conditions music that is faster than your normal heart rate would not necessarily impact your heart rate. Under conditions of higher levels of adrenalin, however, your heart might be impacted by the rhythm of the music you listen to.

"Hypervigilence at the individual level also means that you will be highly sensitive to news stories on radio and TV. How often do you hear or watch stories involving people being helpless in the face of events that they cannot control?

"Much of TV and radio news will provide more of these stories keep up their audience levels.

"Such stories may be good for ratings. Are they good for you?

"I suggest that you surround yourself with a wall of music and ask that your employer provide such music at work.

"This music should have a regular rhythm that is slightly slower than the normal rhythm of the heart. Thus Mozart is better than Beethoven or Janet Jackson. The melody should be simple and pleasing to the ear. Thus Kenny G is better than John Coltrain. Bach is better than Mahler.

"There is no local radio station I am aware of that broadcasts this type of music on a regular basis. The old radio station WJIB-FM used to broadcast this type of music. (there may be a WJIB-AM operating in Cambridge during daytime hours).

"In the late 1950's to early 1960's comedian Jackie Gleason produced a series of albums for Capital records. These albums all had regular rhythm slower than the normal heart rate, simple melodies, and lush orchestration. Gleason was not a musician. He could not even read music. But he had great instincts about people. The proof of his instincts is that the Gleason series is still sold in music stories 45 years later as CDs and tapes.

WHEN SOCIETY BECOMES HYPERVIGILENT
"When individuals become hypervigilent, organizations develop shorter perspectives. I believe most organizations were thinking quarter-to-quarter before 9/11/01, given the economy at the time. Now, I believe companies are thinking month-to-month.

"From a career perspective, this means words like "adaptive, reliable, and consistent" become more of what employers are seeking.

"Concepts like "strategic, out-of-the-box, paradigm changing, etc." are not going to be as that well received these days.

"Concepts like "quick, fast, rapid" also will not be as well received in a hypervigilent society. But "risk management" or "risk reduction" or "sustained profitability" will be well received.

"We are encouraging out job candidates to review their resumes and how they describe themselves in light of our analysis of the new realities.

OBEY YOUR BODY.
"Under conditions of added adrenalin in the body, there is a tendency for animals to fight or to flee.

"The adaptive qualities of this tendency are obvious if you live in the jungle.

"But what if can't run away and cannot fight?

"Telling yourself or others to calm down and not "let it get to you" is the psychological equivalent to saying, "I have a good idea: why don't you ignore the messages your body is sending to your brain."

"At Stybel Peabody Lincolnshire, we are recommending that clients obey their bodies.

"If they feel like running away, they ought to strap on a pair of sneakers and go jogging, swimming, or rowing.

"If they feeling like lashing out we recommend clients engage in 'bashing" exercises. Hitting a bucket of balls on the driving range may be better for your soul than 18 rounds of golf. Tennis may be better than lifting weights. I know one carpenter who refers to his hammer as his therapist.

"When infants get frustrated, they clench their fists and bash their pillows. Infants are smart enough to obey the message of their bodies. We need to relearn their wisdom.

CONTROLLABLE SURPRISES
"In a world currently marked by large, seemingly uncontrollable threats it is important to take back control of your life.

"One of the ways of taking back control of your life is to treat yourself, your employees, and those you love to small positive, controllable surprises. For example, we purchased a large book of movie tickets. As a surprise, we have given out tickets to our employees and their families. We have a large bowl of "comfort food" in the office and replace the contents often.

"Last weekend we turned what was going to be a hectic one day trip into a pleasant weekend by deciding to stay at a bed & breakfast at the last minute.

"Warren Buffet is a great investor and President of Berkshire Hathaway. He has said that betting against the United States is the stupidest thing on Earth. I totally agree with him.

"The United States will adapt, overcome, and will again thrive.

"But things will never be back to "normal."

"Given the terrorists' political objectives, we may be living with a chronic oversupply of adrenalin in our bodies for along time.

"In any new situation, there will be winners and losers.

"The winners will be those that are first to recognize the new realities and to master the coping mechanisms necessary to thrive."