If you have an unsettling feeling of anxiety as we approach the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy, you're not alone — and you're perfectly normal. Although memories of traumatic events change and soften over time, 9/11 was a momentous, life-altering occurrence that is seared into the memory of Americans in what experts call a "flashbulb memory."
A flashbulb memory remains vivid longer than ordinary memories. "It is very like a photograph that indiscriminately preserves the scene in which each of us found himself when the flashbulb was fired," wrote researchers Roger Brown and psychologist William Hirst in the journal Cognition. And who can forget the horrific images of jetliners crashing into the World Trade Center and hundreds of Americans fleeing from clouds of dust as buildings collapsed — and the horrifying realization that thousands of people were dying before our eyes?
Memories of 9/11 are special and compare to finding out about the death of a parent, Hirst said. Although people in New York City and Washington may be more at risk to the anxiety and sadness that surround the anniversary of the attack, millions more Americans are vulnerable, including children.
"Even children who weren’t born at the time of the attacks have a more profound response to threats and stress if their parents felt exposed to 9/11 trauma," said Dr. Deborah Serani, a licensed psychologist and certified psychoanalyst. A parent's trauma is communicated to children by their behavior and attitudes, even if no words are spoken.
Added to the sadness surrounding the 9/11 anniversary is the fear that terrorists may launch attacks during the anniversary period, not only to commemorate the event but also to retaliate against the recent death of bin Laden.
