News release: Colorado - Denver/Boulder

August 20, 2002

For more information, call:
Jacque Murphy Montgomery
Kaiser Permanente, Media Relations
Phone: (303) 344-7410
E-mail: Jacque.Montgomery@kp.org

Helping people cope with reliving 9-11

Denver, CO – The anniversary of 9-11 surely will trigger emotions in many of us. Kaiser Permanente mental health experts offer the following tips to help people cope in the coming weeks.

Know it is common to feel re-traumatized by watching the images of last year's attack. Limit exposure, especially children's, to watching the videotape and pictures from last year.
Encourage people to commemorate the date by doing something positive. Ideas might include donating blood, giving to a charity, reading books about America to children, spending time with loved ones, participating in a community remembrance.
Adults should examine their own thoughts and emotions and have those feelings in check. Parents should cope with these feelings in a way that models to their children that "it's okay to be sad, concerned, anxious," but that there are appropriate and healthy ways to dealing with those feelings.
Answer questions from children in an age-appropriate manner. With younger children, encourage them to talk about their fears and worries. Talk should be generalized and reassuring. Older children will be able to handle discussions that are a bit more frank. Kids are most often looking for reassurance that their individual worlds are all right and safe.
Let others know in advance if this may be a difficult time for you.

Kaiser Permanente mental health experts are available for interviews to discuss these tips. They also can offer suggestions to help people avoid feeling re-traumatized and instead learn to cope with loss and tragedy.

Kaiser Permanente, a non-profit organization and the largest private health care provider in Colorado, cares for more than 400,000 members in the Denver/Boulder and Colorado Springs areas. In the Denver/Boulder area, care is provided by a coordinated team of physicians, nurses, pharmacists, dietitians, mental health counselors and physical therapists. In Colorado Springs, Kaiser Permanente cares for its members through an affiliated network of community-based physicians and other health care providers.