“There’s no greater mental health issue facing us as a nation than the effects of terrorism and war,” Richard Carmona, a combat-decorated Vietnam veteran, said in a speech at the California Psychological Association’s annual convention.
“We cannot allow this to become the forgotten wound for anyone, including our children,” Carmona said. “We are living in a state of elevated risk. . . . We’re all struggling to find out how much information is enough.”
Psychologists at the convention said members of the armed forces, now in combat, will need extra care upon their return.
Even far from the war in Iraq, people on the home front already are feeling anxious, powerless or depressed, and showing more irritability, forgetfulness and distractibility.
Oscar Cervantes, who treats mostly Spanish speakers and migrant workers, said some of his patients cannot stop watching television or talking about the round-the-clock war coverage.
Children aged 4 to 6 years are particularly vulnerable to worries about the war. “They’re scared that the war is actually here. They’re really terrified,” he said.
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Cervantes, like many of his peers, is telling patients to limit television or just switch it off.
Many psychologists traced the latest wave of angst to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon.
“Sept. 11 taught us that we’re vulnerable. Our life is not the same. . . . People are frightened. There’s a need to give [people] some tools to get beyond that,” said psychologist Michael Ritz.