Week of September 26, 2001
This week, we explore "Mental Health in Troubled Times" with a compilation of common sense, science and psychology on topics such as courage, altruism, trauma, grieving, group psychology, and anxiety from some of our best programs. According to a recent study by the Pew Research Center, 7 out of 10 Americans feel depressed, nearly half have had trouble concentrating, and nearly one-third report having trouble sleeping at night. We offer insight into these reactions and perspective on a range of psychological issues now affecting all of our lives. Guests include members of Rescue Company One, the New York City Fire Department’s oldest rescue team; noted anxiety researcher Dr. Michael Davis of Emory University; Dr. Matthew Friedman, director of the National Center for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder; Dr. Daniel Goldhagen, author of Hitler's Willing Executioners; and a discussion about altruism with a Buddhist lama, an Episcopal priest, a Muslim imam and a Jewish rabbi.
Host Dr. Fred Goodwin begins with a brief essay explaining that this week, we are doing something a little different. For three years, we have been interviewing mental health professionals, scientists, and writers at the top of their fields and reporting on the cutting-edge of psychobiology, psychology, and psychiatry. Now, as the nation struggles to deal with the September 11th terrorist attacks, we went to our archives to find the best, most relevant, most thought-provoking information to help people in these troubling times. Throughout the show, we also interspersed recent thoughts and comments from New Yorkers about the tragedy and its aftermath.
Last year, for a program on Courage, we sent producer Sharon Lerner to interview firefighters from the New York City Fire Department’s oldest rescue team, Rescue Company One. In recent days, she's found herself reflecting again and again on that discussion. Although the men she spoke with are still alive, all of the company's firefighters who were on duty September 11th were lost. First, she offers an essay on the events of September 11th. Next, we hear her original interview with Tony Tedeschi, Ed Mislynski, and George Healy, members of Rescue Company One. Tedeschi, Mislynski, and Healy talk about being cut out for their dangerous and stressful job, but also learning how to overcome fear in certain circumstances. You can contact the New York City Fire Department at their web site: http://www.ci.nyc.ny.us/html/fdny/html/home2.html.
Next, in an interview from a May, 1998 show on Anxiety, Dr. Goodwin interviews Dr. Michael Davis, a top researcher in the area of anxiety and a professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Emory University. Dr. Davis talks about the connection between anxiety, the senses and memory.
To contact Dr. Davis, please write: Dr. Michael Davis, Emory University Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, 1639 Pierce Drive, Suite 4000 Atlanta, Georgia 30322. Or visit www.emory.edu.
From a June 1999 program on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Dr. Goodwin talks with Dr. Matthew Friedman, director of the National Center for PTSD, who defines the disorder and its characteristics. He says that the kind of trauma experienced determines the likelihood that PTSD will occur. For example, experiences of interpersonal violence and assault are much more likely to produce PTSD than a natural disaster like a volcano or earthquake.
The symptoms include:
- intrusive recollections, including nightmares as well as flashbacks, where the person feels like they are actually back in the situation;
- "avoidant numbing symptoms," where the person does everything they can to avoid situations that might provoke traumatic thoughts or memories; includes psychic numbing, which wards off fear and guilt, but can also shut down the capacity to love and be intimate;
- arousal symptoms, similar to anxiety, which can cause the person to be jumpy, irritable, hypervigilant, and have trouble sleeping.
Dr. Freidman goes on to discuss new research in PTSD, including what's going on in the brain, as well as different types of treatment. Treatments may include use of antidepressant medications as well as cognitive behavioral therapy.
To contact Dr. Friedman, write to: Dr. Matthew Friedman, The National Center for PTSD, 215 North Main St. 116-D, White River Junction, Vermont, 05009. Telephone: (802) 296-5132. Or visit www.ncptsd.org.
What makes some people unite in performing acts of murder and destruction? Our next interview was part of a November, 1999 show about Groups. Dr. Goodwin speaks with Dr. Daniel Goldhagen, author of Hitler's Willing Executioners, which was a bestseller in this country and received the prestigious Democracy Prize in Germany. Dr. Goodwin makes it clear that we are in no way equating the recent terrorist attacks with the Holocaust, but we do think the interview might give some insight into the psychology of groups, hatred, and the role of a charismatic leader such as Osama bin Laden.
Dr. Goldhagen has challenged many theories about the Holocaust that explain the killing of Jews as a product of people's fears of the Nazis and the pressure of crowds. In contrast, his research shows that people often chose to kill even when they were given the option not to. They killed because they believed it was right, often not under immediate pressure.
Dr. Goodwin and Dr. Goldhagen discuss so-called "charismatic" leaders. Dr. Goldhagen points out that the charisma of a leader is actually something people project onto him or her. He thinks that leaders can only take people where they already are inclined to go; a charismatic leader is one who taps into the desires of the crowd.
To contact Dr. Goldhagen, please write to: Dr. Daniel Goldhagen, Harvard University Center for European Studies, 27 Kirkland Street, Cambridge, MA 02138. Or visit www.harvard.edu.
Click here to order Hitler's Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust.
We have all seen moments of hope amid the terror and wreckage of past weeks. People all over the country have rushed to donate blood or send contributions to victims and their families. What spurs people to act in the interest of others? From a January, 2000 show on Altruism, The Infinite Mind's Emily Fisher moderates a discussion with a Buddhist lama, an Episcopal priest, a Muslim imam and a Jewish rabbi.
Panelist Lama Pema Wangdak says that Tibetan Buddhism teaches that all good comes from altruism, that a goal of the religion is to overcome the self as a motivating factor. Imam Feisal Abdul-Rauf discusses how the Sufi Muslim faith obligates people to do good. He discusses the role of the self in altruism -- when you feel a connection with the divine, then what you do is the divine acting through you. Reverend Robert Wright talks about how altruism can be justice. It is just, he says, to help people who are less fortunate. God extends his hand to the poor through an altruistic person. He says that we learn how to be altruistic from seeing God as altruistic. Rabbi Seth Frisch talks about how what we do matters in this world and the next; the good you do or don’t do can elevate you or lessen who you are as a human being.
Reverend Wright can be reached at St. John the Divine, 1047 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10025. Lama Wangdak is at the Center for Tibetan Buddhist Studies and Meditation, 4-10 West 101st Street, Apt 63, New York, NY 10025; the center’s e-mail address is sangye@aol.com. You can write to Rabbi Frisch at The Academy for Jewish Religion, 15 West 86th Street, New York, NY 10024. And Imam Feisal Abdul-Rauf can be contacted at the American Sufi Muslim Association at feisalrauf@usa.net.
Finally, from a program rebroadcast in March, 2000, commentator John Hockenberry suggests that we throw away the rulebooks when it comes to grief and loss.
For more information about trauma and healing, contact:
American Red Cross P.O. Box 37243 Washington, DC 20013. Also, donors may call 1-800-HELP-NOW (1-800-435-7669)
The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, Colonial Place Three, 2107 Wilson Blvd., Suite 300, Arlington, VA 22201. Phone: 703-524-7600; NAMI HelpLine: 1-800-950-NAMI [6264]
The National Institute of Mental Health NIMH Public Inquiries, 6001 Executive Boulevard, Rm. 8184, MSC 9663, Bethesda, MD 20892-9663. Phone: 301-443-4513; Fax: 301-443-4279 TTY: 301-443-8431
The National Mental Health Association 1021 Prince Street Alexandria, VA 22314-2971. Phone: 703-684-7722; Fax 703-684-5968
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