How to cope with the fear of terrorist attacks
“The horrific Westminster attacker was British-born and known to the police and intelligence services, Prime Minister Theresa May has revealed.
“May told (members of Parliament) he had been investigated some years ago over violent extremism, but was ‘peripheral’ and was not part of the current intelligence picture.
“Eight arrests in London and Birmingham followed Wednesday’s attack that left four dead — including the attacker.” — BBC
There is no profile of a terrorist. But this does not mean we are helpless to understand, to cope in the face of terrorist events such as the horrific attack on Wednesday in London, where a lone individual drove his car into crowds of pedestrians and then fatally stabbed a police officer.
The world of the 21st century terrorist does strike most of us as unpredictable and unduly violent in an unprecedented and unique way. Hypervigilant, we go about our business in a suspended-anticipatory manner ... awaiting the next shoe to drop.
Terrorist attacks, whether perpetrated by so-called lone wolves — antisocial individuals who seek affiliation with terrorist causes, as is the apparent case of Khalid Masood, the Westminster killer — or the well-planned, large-scale symbolic efforts of al Qaeda to destabilize, are all military strategies to instill intense fear and are as old as the actions of the Zealots against the Romans. The lethality of the means is what has changed.
We should feel terrified in the face of imminent death: It is nature’s biological and psychological way of making us pay attention to a life-threatening situation.
But, as clinical psychologist and post-traumatic stress disorder authority Raymond B. Flannery Jr. notes all of this in his new book, “Coping With Anxiety in an Age of Terrorism,” there are basic strategies that help us control undue anxiety: Whether over lightning strikes or any unpredictable act.
First, we should remember that in the United States, there are risk-management strategies in place in triple-governmental layers. There are diplomacy, military-intervention, military-intelligence, homeland security, and health care steps to take, whether an attack is a conventional bombing or the release of toxins.
On an individual level, we can also cultivate coping strategies. Flannery has studied 1,200 stress-resistant people over the past 12-plus years. Here are their hallmarks:
Reasonable mastery, i.e., able to exert some personal control over the daily events in life.
Personal commitment to others and wise lifestyle choices. Social support. A sense of humor. Concern for the welfare of others.
Individuals with strong coping skills are able to press on without being interrupted by intrusive memories or having to avoid people or places to keep themselves from feeling distressed or overwhelmed.
Stress-resistant people stay sober, pay attention to their surroundings, avoid large crowds, move away from airport-security areas quickly, and know to say something, if they see something.