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Laura Dodson
Professor Malcolm Campbell
English 1103
October 3, 2016
Topic Proposal: 9/11 Impact on the Mind
Introduction/Overview
The tragedy of the September 11th attacks is a prominent event in American history, as it
is annually remembered. After September 11th 2001, Americans experienced more psychological
illnesses than they had before, due to the personal impact of the attacks. The terror attacks
amplified the feelings of certain mental disorders, such as PTSD and depression.
The main focus of my project is to evaluate the psychological impact of the 9/11 terror
attacks on Americans. The American citizens have had 15 years to cope with the trauma and this
time holds valuable information on how individuals have changed mentally.
The geological location of the person has been assumed to be a factor of the severity of
mental health, but the symptoms spread throughout America. Based on a 2002 survey in JAMA
The Journal of the American Medical Association, 4.3 percent of the general population had
signs of PTSD in the month or two after the attacks. Major symptoms were associated with the
more graphic the television coverage viewed.
News articles contain valuable information on the events themselves, to further my
knowledge of the actual events and what exactly lead to the psychological effects. I am focusing
on the effects of the mind, so the opinions of psychiatrists and scholarly figures are important to
understanding the full impact of the disorder. I have found articles and journals describing the
symptoms people have displayed after the attacks and how these relate to the trauma.

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Professionals used in the articles lead to further studies on the mental disorder, using personal
experiences. My topic is based off the mental status of Americans, so personal accounts allow
for primary information that can be used to justify my claim.
The complexity of this topic comes with the decision of whether or not September 11 th
had any influence on the mental state of America as a whole. Some skeptics believe that there
was no measurable mental effect from the 9/11 attacks on the general population, but was
claimed by those who falsely tested the study. James C. Coyne expresses this contradiction in his
article After 9/11: The Mental Health Crisis That Never Came, arguing that only those who were
directly affected or in the immediate vicinity of the events had public health or clinically
significant effects. People also argue the description of PTSD and what symptoms determine the
disorder. This lead to many denying the existence of PTSD within the population.
Initial Inquiry Question(s)
How have the attacks of September 11th 2001 effected the mental health of America?
My Interest in this Topic
The terrorist attacks that occurred on 9/11 had such a profound impact on American
people that it is difficult to ignore. Although I was too young at the time to personally remember
the events, I have a deep respect and interest in the people who witnessed it in present time. The
emotions that these people must have been experiencing is something that cant be felt though
stories. Of course no one wants to have experienced that, but older relatives can tell you exactly
how they felt during the tragic fall of the Twin Towers and you want to relate to them to help
them cope. The selfless acts that took place between strangers and the firefighters who ran into
the buildings are inspirational. Evaluating how people are coping with the traumatic event is
interesting, this may be due to feelings of sympathy. I have watched videos of survivors who

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described their experience during and then after the fall of the Twin Towers and they all had
some form of PTSD. Especially those who were rescued from the Twin Towers after they fell,
experienced severe signs of PTSD, which was demonstrated by the story of the Miracle of
Stairwell B. Further investigation will reveal specific symptoms of PTSD and how they are
revealed within people who experienced 9/11. Discovering the correlation between proximity
and PTSD. How long did, or do, the effects of the attacks last on the minds of people?

Next Steps
The next steps are to read personal accounts of the aftermath of the attacks and how they
are individually coping with their experience. These reveal if the person is actually suffering, or
suffered, from PTSD and how long these effects have lasted since 2001. New York Times is a
great next step, considering the impact on the New York Community. I tried searching the
library database for works, but I didnt find much valuable information. I should use more
specific terms to uncover articles that could be useful for my topic. Determining what contributes
to these mental disorders is beneficial in justifying the effects of 9/11.