Take our Climate Anxiety Test

Find a trauma therapist near me.

Two and a half decades later, 9/11 remains a mass trauma that has a continued effect on the nation's psyche.

The event's shattering of our sense of safety resulted in pathologies such as PTSD, anxiety, and depression.

A continued search for meaning and understanding can aid in the process of healing from collective trauma.

As we prepare for the 25th anniversary of the deadliest terrorist attacks ever perpetrated on U.S. soil, we can use the lens of psychology to better understand how such an event can result in what is variously termed a “collective trauma,” a “societal trauma,” or a “mass trauma.” No matter what label we use, the events that unfolded on September 11, 2001, and all that has been stored in our collective memory since have the continued effect of being at once haunting, traumatizing, grief-ridden, difficult to fathom, and anxiety-inducing. Yet, as our yearly remembrances and tributes show, telling the story and remembering the event can help us find meaning in the tragedy, which can further our collective healing.

Collective Trauma Defined

Collective trauma may be defined as “the psychological reactions to a traumatic event that affect an entire society; it does not merely reflect an historical fact…It suggests that the tragedy is represented in the collective memory of the group, and like all forms of memory it comprises not only a reproduction of the events, but also an ongoing reconstruction of the trauma in an attempt to make sense of it” (Hirschberger, 2018). From a pathological perspective, research indicates “that people who have been exposed to trauma are at risk for development of PTSD, as well as other anxiety and mood disorders or may simply show a range of difficult emotional and behavioral responses post trauma” (APA, 2017). But what is particularly unique about 9/11 is the fact that even those of us who were not actually present at the site of the unfolding disaster are susceptible to all the trauma responses that the research indicates are common in the aftermath of a disaster. According to Wayment (2004), “the........

© Psychology Today