Psychology of Safety and Resistance to Terrorism

Abstract

Psychographics of survivors of emergency situationsBesides injuries, emergency situations cause psychological stress.Below are listed the main parameters of any emergency situation that influence the psychological stress intensity: 1) hostility of the situation (danger to life, physical and mental integrity of the individual or that of his/her relatives);2) suddenness;3) intensity of negative effects; 4) long duration of negative effects; 5) ambiguity and unpredictability of the situation; 6) impossibility of taking control of the situation (the situation develops against the individual's will); 7) lack of social support; 8) aversion to his/her own behavior in an emergency situation; 9) incompatibility of the new experience with habitual reality; 10) impossibility of explaining the situation rationally.Let us characterize the most frequent consequences of emergency situations.1. Changes in the affective sphere. Disturbances of the emotional sphere may manifest themselves in emotional dullness, depression, dismal mood, and inability of experiencing joy, love, and creative enthusiasm. One constantly feels helpless and doesn't know what s/he is supposed to do. Intrapersonal conflicts and crises become more intense. The feeling of shame and guilt arises; the effect of survivor's guilt is widespread among survivors: the person blames himself/herself for surviving the traumatic situation that cost others their lives.2. Changes in the cognitive sphere. The survivor's memory deteriorates, s/he becomes amnesiac and cannot recall the traumatic events and experiences problems with concentration.3. Changes in behavior. The person's behavior becomes illogical, inconsistent and unpredictable. Excessive activeness and hypervigilance (detecting threats becomes the person's dominant trait) may be observed. Innocuous but sudden stimuli may produce a reaction of fear: the person starts behaving in a way as if s/he were in danger.Psychological reactions of specialists, who deal with the consequences of terrorist attacks, as the result of work with victims of emergency situationsThe first people who get in contact with the victims of accidents and terrorist attacks are rescuers and secret services agents.Meeting a person with a traumatic experience always produces strong personal reactions. Taking account of such reactions is an indispensable condition for an effective professional activity of those who come to the rescue of survivors. It is also an essential parameter of protecting doctors and their patients.In the second half of the XXth century psychologists started examining the reactions of helpers (rescuers in the first place) to mass traumas and deaths.The following characteristic psychological and pshycosomatic reactions of the rescuers and secret service agents were described:1. Irritability: the person feels weak and can't do anything; the effectiveness of his/her activity decreases; every now and again causeless grudge against somebody or something arises.2. Tachycardia: the person knows that s/he is in very good health but feels pain in the chest and symptoms of heart attack.3. Nervous tremor.4. Inability to act rationally: the person suddenly loses the ability to exercise his/her duty normally and can't remember his/her official responsibilities.5. Bursting into tears.6. Anxiety: the person takes up different activities and cannot differentiate important from unimportant.7. Exhaustion: suddenly, the person feels devastated, cannot take a single step, and wants to sit down. Every single muscle aches.8. Pestering: the person feels the need to talk and to share his/her terrible experience with somebody. S/he tends to retell the same story over and over again.9. Escape reaction.10. Despair: the person loses his/her self-control, breaks down, feels dizzy, and wants to hide in a secluded place. …