People caught up in terrorist attacks 'more resilient than previously thought
Do the media promote fear in the U.S. or are the British more phlegmatic? In a report from Dr. Richard Williams, professor of mental health strategy at the University of Glamorgan he analysed the psychosocial impact of terrorism and disaster on individuals and groups. He has analysed research literature to understand why certain people cope better in the aftermath of such trauma than others. Most importantly he drew a distinction between distress – a perfectly understandable reaction to a traumatic event – and a post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and said that it was important not to medicalise, ‘ordinary processes’ such as bereavement. Comment: It may well be that our rush to provide 'bereavement counsellors' to anyone near the scene of a tragedy may be misguided.