History has shown that after any major disaster, there is a huge psychological impact that is left on the victims, secondary survivors and the population that remains as a whole. The United States has experienced its fair share of disasters, but for this purpose of this paper the tragedies of both September 11, 2001 attacks (9/11) and the Lusitania Disaster will be examined. Both Tragedies suffered loss and it will be compared and contrasted with how (although almost one hundred years apart), the trauma impacted the culture. The impact will be examined by the phases of recovery for each disaster, the culture as casualty and how post Traumatic Stress (PTSD) affected survivors and the population left to comprehend it all. The Lusitania Disaster
…show more content…
The Lusitania attack was one torpedo that hit the ship, while it was in the Germans designated zone of war, whilst the 9/11 attacks were without question on a much larger scale and planned to not only make a statement, but to make the most amount of casualties as possible, as killing U.S citizens was top priority on the holy war that al Qaeda had on the U.S. not only the scale, but the lasting health effects of the attack. Since the attacks on the Lusitania happened at sea, the debris and many of the victims were lost at sea, the lasting health effects were not nearly as severe in comparison to 9/11 attacks where the debris, smoke and exposure has led to many of the survivors and people living in the surrounding area to suffer serious health …show more content…
After carefully examining the history of both the Lusitania disaster and the 9/11 attacks and psychological effects, it is clear there are disaster of psychology concepts that can be applied to both of these tragedies. The first concept that can be demonstrated in both disasters is the Phases of Recovery. According to The University of Florida 1998 Disaster handbook, there are four phases to the recovery after disaster: Phase 1- historic phase, which is an immediate response of the people, acting heroically and responding to demands to help. Phase 2- honeymoon phase, which lasts anywhere from first week of disaster to six months post disaster, is the strong sense survivors have of a strong and shared connection to others who have gone through this tragedy. Phase 3- disillusionment phase, where people begin to feel disappointment, bitterness and anger for lack of aid or failures to meet promises. People begin to lose the sense of community and connection they once shared. This phase can last anywhere from a couple months to a number of years. The fourth phase is reconstruction phase, where survivors begin to take their future into their own hands and begin to rebuild their lives the best they can. Each of these phases can at times, but not always, overlap each other (pg.
The Lusitania attack was one torpedo that hit the ship, while it was in the Germans designated zone of war, whilst the 9/11 attacks were without question on a much larger scale and planned to not only make a statement, but to make the most amount of casualties as possible, as killing U.S citizens was top priority on the holy war that al Qaeda had on the U.S. not only the scale, but the lasting health effects of the attack. Since the attacks on the Lusitania happened at sea, the debris and many of the victims were lost at sea, the lasting health effects were not nearly as severe in comparison to 9/11 attacks where the debris, smoke and exposure has led to many of the survivors and people living in the surrounding area to suffer serious health …show more content…
After carefully examining the history of both the Lusitania disaster and the 9/11 attacks and psychological effects, it is clear there are disaster of psychology concepts that can be applied to both of these tragedies. The first concept that can be demonstrated in both disasters is the Phases of Recovery. According to The University of Florida 1998 Disaster handbook, there are four phases to the recovery after disaster: Phase 1- historic phase, which is an immediate response of the people, acting heroically and responding to demands to help. Phase 2- honeymoon phase, which lasts anywhere from first week of disaster to six months post disaster, is the strong sense survivors have of a strong and shared connection to others who have gone through this tragedy. Phase 3- disillusionment phase, where people begin to feel disappointment, bitterness and anger for lack of aid or failures to meet promises. People begin to lose the sense of community and connection they once shared. This phase can last anywhere from a couple months to a number of years. The fourth phase is reconstruction phase, where survivors begin to take their future into their own hands and begin to rebuild their lives the best they can. Each of these phases can at times, but not always, overlap each other (pg.