That's the Puritans for you.
>Also keep in mind that Americans are among the most brainwashed and lied to
>people on this planet.
Among the most lazy-minded, too. Plus, through the miracle of medicalization, there is no political problem that we can't address through psychotherapy. The following is from Salon.com (http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2001/10/04/trauma/print.html), and there is much, much more there in the same vein:
"For New Yorkers suffering from varying levels of depression and anxiety, the tragedy has plunged many of them into clinical states. And therapists say there are new challenges for relationships here -- couples, families, friendships -- that were already strained by percolating anger, distrust and dissatisfaction before the crisis, as preexisting problems have intensified in its aftermath. 'This is all felt more profoundly by people who already feel vulnerable. More people are already coming into therapy, and increasing or beginning use of antidepressants. People already seeking help may be looking for more frequent visits. I know I've been full up,' said Joyce McFadden, a therapist whose SoHo office is in what was once the shadow of the towers.
"And the worst, according to all sources, is certainly yet to come. Even Mayor Giuliani expressed uncharacteristically grave concern recently during an off-camera moment at an Upper West Side temple's Rosh Hashanah services. He told the congregation he was terrified of the anguish coming when the dust literally clears and New Yorkers realize the true magnitude of the devastation. The words he did not speak, which have been on the lips of therapists and news anchors for weeks, are 'post-traumatic stress disorder.'
"'We're gearing up for an onslaught,' said Dr. Fieve's secretary. 'We're expecting people suffering from PTSD to start calling in droves -- it'll take a couple of weeks.' According to standard psychiatric diagnosis manuals, it takes a month before PTSD sets in. Not coincidentally, a national depression screening day has been set for Oct. 11. Many of the symptoms already have plagued people across the country since catastrophe struck. The symptoms include nightmares, insomnia or prolonged exhaustion and sleep, deep and unshakable sadness, feelings of isolation, heightened sense of fear and paranoia, jumpiness, weakened appetite and a continuous mental replay of the images some people saw firsthand and others saw repeated on television.
"'People will keep thinking about the event, keep seeing bodies flying through the air -- those images will keep intruding on our consciousness,' said Kiev. 'You see it over and over again, imbedded in the memory -- a person can be repeatedly traumatized hundreds, thousands of replays of those images.' For the time being, this experience has been classified as a symptom of acute stress disorder. But next week, that diagnosis will slide over to PTSD."
Funny, I don't recall much popular anguish over the PTSD we may have caused the citizens of Belgrade or any other civilians whom we have merrily bombed over decades.
C'mon, America, suck it up.
Carl
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