Posttraumatic Growth: Reflections on 9/11
It's been 20 years since the 9/11 attacks. What have we learned?
COMMENTARY
mandritoiu/Adobestock
Twenty years ago I remember my college roommate walking frantically into our room to inform me that planes had crashed into the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. His news was initially met with incredulity, which quickly transitioned to sadness.
Today we pay homage to the families who lost loved ones on this day. We also express our sincere gratitude and appreciation to our first responders who were relentless in their pursuit to perform life-saving measures.
I pray and hope that we reflect on how far we have come as a country in the 20 years following 9/11. We are resilient, and we have gained perspective. Let us forge ahead as a nation that embodies love, unity, and growth.
May this poem provide food for thought.
Twin towers once mourned
Twenty years of reflection
Posttraumatic growth
Dr Clark is associate professor at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine - Greenville and medical director and division chief for Adult Inpatient and Consult-Liaison Services for the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at Prisma Health - Upstate. He served on the American Psychiatric Association’s Task Force to Address Structural Racism Throughout Psychiatry, and he currently serves as the Diversity and Inclusion section editor and advisory board member for Psychiatric TimesTM.
