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Laura Dodson
Professor Campbell
UWRT 1103
November 3, 2016
The Plane Crash Felt Across a Nation: The Mental Impact of 9/11
Penny was staying in the Millennium Hilton Hotel right across from the twin towers in
New York City the day of September 11th,2001. She was just one of the millions of people who
were enjoying their morning until disaster struck. The transition here is kind of abrupt. People
were throwing whatever they could find out of the windows to break the glass and get air. I could
see them hanging out of windows, then to my horror I realized people were beginning to jump to
their death rather than being burned alive. What a terrible choice to have to make. And there was
nothing I, or as it turned out anyone else, could do to help. This image was instilled in not only
Pennys mind, but the minds of all Americans who witnessed one of the greatest cities in the
United States become penetrated with sorrow. It is an extremely dark event to move forward
from and unfortunately some have not yet found their light. This leads to the question; how were
Americans psychologically affected by the attacks of September 11th?
Several mental disorders arose in those most impacted by the attacks, which are still
being felt 15 years later. PTSD is a one of the more serious disorders associated with the
traumatic event. While depression and anxiety are broader, more common disorders felt amongst
Americans during this time, symptoms of PTSD were discovered in the people who were most
impacted by the attacks. Based on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the National
Center of PTSD, symptoms include,(Dont need comma) reliving the event through nightmares

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and flashbacks, avoiding situations that bring back memories of the event, negative changes in
mood, and feeling jittery and alarmed at loud noises. A surge of patients presenting signs of
PTSD are related to 9/11 anniversaries, when video footage and remembrances of the day are on
displayed to honor the fallen. Matt Komorowski, a New York firefighter who miraculously
survived the falling of the World Trade Center on 9/11, describes his life after the events.
Sometimes I cry for no reason. When I say no reason, I know its 9/11, but theres nothing in
the day that sets it off. Its just that youre at a saturation point. A few days after September
11th, Matt was jolted awake in the middle of the night by his body shaking uncontrollably for
twenty minutes. Similar accounts have been described by others who felt the mental impact of
9/11. Although this is an account of a firefighter who was personally involved in the attack on
the World Trade Center, signs of PTSD spread farther than New York City alone. Include
examples to support the sentence before this.
Who qualifies for a diagnosis of mental disorders like PTSD? Put in bold?
It is logical to correlate a greater risk of mental disorders within those who personally
encountered the attacks; for example, survivors, firefighters, police, volunteer rescue workers
who witnessed the horrors of 9/11. Then there are the people who were personally involved in
the traumatic event, yet show no signs of PTSD. Mickey Kross, a firefighter who survived the
fall of the World Trade Center on 9/11, was rescued from under 100 floors of the collapsed
towers, yet immediately returned to the scene of ground zero to help search for survivors like
himself. In the Miracle of Stairwell B documentary, Mickey Kross justified his return to the
horrific scene by saying, I wanted to do my part to help fix this thing and it wasnt just to find
the firefighters, because Im a firefighter, but to find the people. It demonstrates the varying
coping mechanisms of humans, that a man who was buried under tons of debris can return to the

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scene of his nightmares, while a person who witnessed the attacks on the television can
potentially develop a mental disorder. In an article published in The New York Times, Dr. John
Howard, the director of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and an
overseer of 9/11 programs, defended the public by giving them the benefit of the doubt on PTSD
by saying, Collapsing 220 stories of a lot of material in one of the most densely populated cities
in the world is a very unique event. This brings attention to the classification of mental
disorders and who qualifies for the diagnosis of these disorders. The events of 9/11 changed the

Commented [1]: Put this before you ask who qualifies for
the diagnosis of mental disorders.

way PTSD is perceived in the medical field, from being a mental disorder primarily dealt by

Commented [2]: This is where this section of your paper

should truly begin

psychiatrists to a public health issue (Healy). The attacks of 9/11 were brought into homes,
schools, and workplaces all over the country through news coverage, allowing Americans to
witness the tragic events taking place not so far away. The degree to which the news captured the
events unfolding, brought Americans to the scene and gave a sense of unity amongst those who
were present and those who were miles away. The most difficult decision is whether people
could suffer from PTSD through watching television coverage of the attacks. Those who were
informed of the events by watching more graphic television coverage were more likely to report
extreme symptoms of mental disorders (Harmon). While some experts acknowledge the
development of PTSD amongst those who were not geographically near the attacks, others are
skeptical to the accusations. Dr. Robert L. Spitzer, a retired psychiatry professor from Colombia
University and an expert in mental disorder classifications, advocates for tightening the criteria
of PTSD, for it has become too vague, with almost no other psychiatric disorder generating as
much controversy. Congress most evidentially relies on the diagnosis of mental disorders based
on geographic boundaries, by excluding the television watchers from government aided

Commented [3]: Kinda seems like a run on sentence.

Possibly try to make into two

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treatment programs (Hartocollis). It is hard to believe that potentially suffering Americans could
be overlooked solely due to the way they were exposed to the events.
Does proximity to the attacks determine the prevalence of mental disorders within civilians?Bold
The controversy that surrounds the mental impact of 9/11 on Americans, revolves around
the concept of geographical position to the attacks. Based on a study that examines New York
City companies affected by the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, geographic distance is
associated with increased risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (Fisher). What implies
the distance one must be from a traumatic event to feel the emotion impact of its aftermath? A
2002 survey, published in JAMA The Journal of the American Medical Association, concluded
that some 4.3 of the general population had signs of PTSD, without having direct exposure to the
attacks (Harmon). Although, surveys are not often reliable sources of data to base conclusions.
The authors of the peer-reviewed article found in The Lancet, produced studies that focused on
those present in New York City at the time of the attacks that showed signs of PTSD and
depression and how long these symptoms lasted. From the studies, they concluded that chronic
PTSD was more prevalent in recovery and rescue workers than in residents alone. There is
potential for populations outside of a geographical distance from the towers to develop similar
symptoms of PTSD like those who were directly exposed, but they are not to the degree of those
personally related. After 15 years of collecting information on mental disorders associated with
the attacks of 9/11, it is evident that the complexity to which the diagnosis of PTSD and other
related disorders pose a challenge on researches to find a consensus of how far the effects of 9/11
spread (Fisher). Differing opinions on the subject adds a complexity that allows researchers to
continue inquiry on the developing 9/11 mental health influences on the public.

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How do people inflicted with emotional distress from the September 11th attacks move
forward? Bold
September 11th was an enormous event in American history, that was felt across the nation. As
people came together to rebuild their beloved city and mend broken hearts, the emotionally
distraught were left to cope in surreal aftermath of that tragic day. The government
acknowledged the need for treatment programs for those most mentally impacted by the events.
Congress passed the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, which provided $4.3
billion, allowing victims to treat their illnesses without worry of financial conflicts (Hartcollis).
Mental disorders, like those accompanying the 9/11 attacks, can be present in victims for a
lifetime. A revised James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act was introduced in 2015 to
continue the financial support of 9/11 sufferers, demonstrating the continuous impact of the
September 11th attacks on Americans (Coalition). This Act was especially beneficial to those
who struggle financially and cant receive proper treatment for their illnesses. Differences in
economic status has been shown to determine how likely someone is to develop PTSD. An
article in Scientific American described a study which found that 9/11 survivors who had yearly
incomes of less than $25,000 had a 49 percent chance of having PTSD, while those who had
yearly incomes of over $100,000 had only a 6 percent risk. Millions are benefiting from this act
after their lives took a turn for the worse during the years following the September 11 th attacks.
Many victims have been able to make moves to recovery through treatment programs and
support groups. Mr. Howard was a paramedic supervisor called out to the disaster after the
collapse of the second twin tower. He tearfully recalls the hundreds of alarms going off,
signaling that a firefighter had stopped moving, also admitting that he kept a list of the missing.
After turning away from his job and eventually his family, Mr. Howard was diagnosed with

Commented [4]: Indent

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PTSD in 2009. After treatment, covered by the Zadroga Act, he has recovered enough to return
to work (Hartcollis). Mr. Howard is just one account of the beneficial qualities produced by the
Zadroga Act.
Over all this is an excellent first draft. Make sure to include a conclusion to sum up your paper.
Also, before doing an a citation like (Hartcollis). Make sure you try to in text cite the source or
author so your audience knows who you are talking about and their credentials. Also, double
check for contracts like cant and wont. For MLA youve got to type them out.

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