Universe of Loss and Recovery for 9/11 Families

In the article "Universe of Loss and Recovery for 9/11 Families, Survey Shows," the effects of the devastating attacks to the United States continue to haunt Amricans. The aftermath is especially sensitive for the people who are survivors and for those who lost a loved one in the attacks. The article discusses how people handle the grief and loss endured that day in different ways. Since 9-11, those who lost loved ones have been expressing emotions concerning how they feel about the disaster and the pain and suffering that they are going through. Some people grieve publicly at the memorials while some prefer to grieve amongst the privacy of family and friends. There are also those who tend to try to put the entire thing behind them, leaving the life they used to know in the past along with the sad memories of 9-11.

According to the researchers from the New York Times survey, numerous interviews with the families revealed that some victims and their families suffer from denial, and anumber of people are still dealing with issues, both emotionally and physically. On a positive note, many have turned to religion to help ease their grief. Half of the families that have been interviewed felt that some people were expressing too many emotions to the public about September 11, and a third of friends and neighbors were keeping away from talking about the attacks as if they never happened.

One section that caught my attention in this article was when William Wilson of Warwick, New York mentioned that everyone thought of them as multimillionaires and that most people could not realize that money could never replace their loved ones. The pain of losing someone they have loved will remain with them for the rest of their lives. Another survivor, Cynthia Motus-Wilson, said that she too felt that not many people could not understand what survivors had to go through.

In the survey, one out of twelve people now live their lives to the fullest realizing life is too short and are spending more quality time with friends and family. What caught my attention was that when the interview was given, researchers found that out of 339 respondents, three-quarters were receiving counseling from a mental health professional and a majority of them who lost a spouse were already seeking help or have thought about getting treatment. In the same interview, 42 percent lost a spouse, 30 percent lost a child, 17 percent lost a sibling and