Mental health at risk in false alarm fallout
Experts worry mistake could trigger PTSD
A bungled missile alert that spurred statewide terror across Hawaii Saturday could have long-term consequences, including posttraumatic stress disorder — even for people thousands of miles away, experts said.
“For the people who took it seriously, it was very scary. People really thought they were about to die,” said David Cicero, associate professor of clinical psychology at the University of Hawaii. “PTSD is something people could experience — those who really thought it was going to happen, who had their adrenaline still going hours later.”
PTSD occurs when someone who has experienced a traumatic event has difficulty recovering, and often experiences flashbacks, fear, irritability or sleep interruption as a result.
Cicero said that could be the upshot for some people after an emergency missile alert — which turned out to be a false alarm — was sent out to the entire state over the weekend, instructing everyone to take cover immediately.
Cicero said he, his wife and two small children huddled into their closetsized bathroom together.
“I found it hard to believe,” he said of the alert, “but my wife was terrified.”
Cicero, who runs a small clinic for adolescents, said he will be on the lookout for symptoms of PTSD — especially in patients who already have mental health difficulties.
For many adults, there likely will not be longlasting effects. But children could be vulnerable to lingering fear, said Dr. Gary Sachs, a Harvard University psychiatrist.
He said this type of event can cause “hypervigilance,” or a heightened sensitivity to future incidents.
“If I’m asleep and I hear noise outside and I see the wind rattled the window, for the rest of the night, every little sound is going to jangle me,” Sachs said. “Kids are definitely more susceptible to this, because they have less of the kind of cognitive processes that can refine your response.”
But, he added, “I don’t think kids will be damaged per se, but I do think they’re much more likely to remember it in 10 years than their parents.”
Dr. Roy Lubit, an expert in post-traumatic stress disorder who worked extensively with survivors of the 9/11 World Trade Center attack, said the risk of any attack in Boston was slim but local children could be affected if their parents overemphasize the risk of a rogue missile alert by North Korea.
“Children’s reactions will be greatly affected by how parents speak about the situation. If parents are very anxious speaking about it, kids can get very worried,” Lubit said. “If the parents are calm, do not spend a lot of time discussing it around the children, and say ‘It’s not a threat, we’re going to be fine,’ then the children are not likely to be affected.”
NEW YORK — Pharmacy giant CVS said it will stop significant touchups of images used in its advertising for beauty products.
The company said it has a responsibility to think about sending messages of unrealistic body images to girls and young women.
CVS Health Corp. said yesterday it will not “materially” alter photos used in stores, on websites or on social media by changing a model’s shape, size, skin or eye color or wrinkles.
CVS, which was founded in Lowell in 1963 but is now based in Woonsocket, R.I., said it will use a watermark to highlight images that have not been materially altered beginning this year. The change affects marketing materials produced by CVS, which said that if suppliers use altered photos in their material they will be labeled.
CVS said it hopes the beauty sections of all its stores will comply with the new policy by the end of 2020.
Most of the chain’s retail customers are women. Helena Foulkes, president of the pharmacy division, said there is a connection between unrealistic body images and bad health effects, especially in girls and young women.
Foulkes said CVS was trying to ensure that the messages it sends help customers attain better health. She said many of the companies that make beauty brands carried by CVS were already thinking about the issue.
CVS has previously made changes in its stores to support broader health issues. It stopped selling tobacco products in 2014, and last year it announced it would remove certain chemicals from about 600 beauty and personal-care products by the end of 2019. CVS runs more than 9,700 retail locations.