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A week after the terrorist attacks Robert1 was still paralyzed with fear and anxiety.  He sat like a zombie, staring out his window at what was left of the Pentagon.  Three of his friends bodies were buried somewhere in the rubble.

So he got on his computer and tapped out www.NewHopeNow.org to get live crisis counseling in a private chat room from one of the Crystal Cathedral's New Hope volunteers.

"Three of my friends from church were killed in the Pentagon crash last week," he typed to the New Hope volunteer.  "I'm looking at the wreckage in the center of the building right now.  I'm scared.  In fact, I keep having nightmares that the terrorists come to `finish the job.'  I sit glued to the TV.  I cry all the time. My job just seems so pointless in the light of things.  How do I cope with this stuff?"

Suzanne, the New Hope volunteer in the chat room with Robert was thousands of miles away, but she could feel the fear that was overwhelming Robert.  She listened and offered supportive comments.  Then they prayed together.

For the first time in a week Robert had shared his feelings.  He wasn't alone anymore.  He was on the road to recovery.

Within the first ten days after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon New Hope Counselors standing by at 714-NEW-HOPE had responded to over 150 crisis calls related to the attacks. 

Here are some of the stories we heard at New Hope:

• "I can't get a hold of my daughter!  She's on the 106^th floor of the World Trade Building and it's just been bombed.  Please pray."
  
  
• "My father was killed in the World Trade Center!"
  
  
• "My cousin was one of the pilots on one of the planes that crashed!"
  
  
•   "I was at the Oklahoma City bombing. This is so frightening."
  
  
• "I'm an Afro-American woman from the South.  The terrorist attacks have given me flashbacks from when the Klu Klux Klan went after people in my neighborhood."
  
  
• "I'm a Viet Nam vet and these attacks have really upset me."
  
  
• "I keep seeing bad news on TV and in the newspaper.  I'm afraid someone is going to poison our water supplies."
  
  
• "I can't sleep.  It scares me that we're sending troops out there."

Many of these people, like Robert, are in danger of developing Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  Perhaps as many as 50,000 people - survivors, witnesses, and emergency workers - have been severely traumatized by their direct connection to the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.  Countless other people have felt traumatized just by watching the news coverage of the terrorist attacks. 

Experience with past wars and disasters suggests that about one-third of the people who have been traumatized by the terrorist attacks on America will develop PTSD.  A month or more after the initial trauma these people will still be terrified.  They'll be on hyperalert, with adrenaline and cortisol repeatedly racing throughout their bodies to speed their hearts, dilate their bronchial tubes, and give them surges of energy. 

The people who had to run away from the collapsing World Trade Towers needed this surge of energy!  We need this God-given stress response to deal with crises like war and natural disasters and other life and death battles.  But for PTSD survivors the war is psychological and it doesn't end.  Their bodies wear out from being continually on hyperalert.  Painful memories and nightmares ambush them.  Fear and anxiety are crippling at times.

Seek treatment if you've had one month or more of acute traumatic stress symptoms like these:

• Frightening memories and images that keep returning
  
  
• Upsetting nightmares, insomnia
  
  
• Hypervigilance: nervous system on high alert
  
  
• Anxiety, jumpiness, worry, chest pain
  
  
• Hopelessness, indifference
  
  
• Isolating to avoid painful triggers
  
  

If you've been shaken to the core by the terrorist attacks and remain besieged with anxiety there is help.  You can regain peace.  You can return to your previous level of functioning.  Here are the steps you need to take:

1. Limit your exposure to upsetting TV news coverage.
   
   
2. Whenever you're anxious, stop and take a few deep breathes.  Relax your whole body as you breathe in deep, hold your breath, and then slowly release it.
   
   
3. Take a walk and get some fresh air each day.
   
   
4. Be patient with your feelings.  You've been traumatized.  You need care and time to heal.
   
   
5. Share your feelings with someone you trust.  By putting words to your fears and tears to your grief with a friend or counselor you'll begin to experience the comfort and peace that you've been missing. 
   
   
6. Meditate on soothing Bible passages like Psalm 23, "The Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want."
   
   
7. Pray, as "God is a very present help in times of trouble" (Psalm 46:1).
   
   
8. Do something positive for someone else.  Donate blood, volunteer for an organization, attend a prayer service, or make a contribution to a relief organization.  Helping others will bless and strengthen you!
   

If you're anxious or troubled you can call 714-NEW-HOPE or www.NewHopeNow.org 24-hours a day.  A volunteer crisis counselor is ready to listen, to care, and to pray.  And can offer you a referral to a counselor, support group, or positive Christian church near you.

Editor's Note: William Gaultiere, Ph.D. is the Executive Director of the New Hope Crisis Counseling Center at the Crystal Cathedral and a Clinical Psychologist with a part time private practice in Irvine, California.  You can read Dr. Bill's encouraging self-help articles on www.NewHopeNow.org and www.ChristianSoulCare.com.