STRESS AND COPING WITH TRAUMA OF WAR IN THE PERSIAN GULF

File: 110596_sep96_decls2_0004.txt
Page: 0004
Total Pages: 48

Subject: STRESS AND COPING WITH TRAUMA OF WAR IN THE PERSIAN GULF        

Unit: VAR. BUMED  

Parent Organization: BUMED       

Box ID: BX303818

Folder Title: USNS COMFORT TAH 20 MEDICAL ARTICLES 1991 1992                                                  

Document Number:          4

Folder SEQ  #:         13











              crew members (Strange, 1967). Doctor Morgan O'Connell, a

              British psychiatrist, served aboard the cruise liner

              Canberra during the Falklands war in 1982. Dr. O'Connell

              spent nearly two years struggling to write about his

              experience during the Falklands War. fie believed that, "the

              delay may well be a reflection of my own problems,"

              referring to the difficulties he experienced integrating his

              own traumatic experience and the trauma he had observed in

              others (O'Connell, 1986).

                   Much of the trauma that the crew of the Comfort faced

              what has been referred to as "the immediate pro-crisis

              period" (Mitchell, 1986). The anticipated stress of

              disaster and trauma may last for seconds, minutes, days, or

              even years by victims of traumas such as earthquakes,

              hurricanes, or hostage situations. When this stress is

              chronic it is often overlooked by researchers, clinicians,

              and community leaders (see chapter by Davidson and Baum).

              During the anticipation phase, which can last from seconds

              to years, a person knows that there will be a disaster or

              trauma, yet does not know how serious it will be. The

              deployed forces of Operation Desert Shield faced 5 months of

              "pro-crisis stress." The atmosphere was characterized by

              tension, anxiety, boredom, heightened awareness,

              unpredictability, and radically altered personal and

              professional roles.




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Document 48 f:/Week-39/BX303818/USNS COMFORT TAH 20 MEDICAL ARTICLES 1991 1992/stress and coping with trauma of war in the pers:1104960910243
Control Fields 17
File Room = sep96_declassified
File Cabinet = Week-39
Box ID = BX303818
Unit = VAR. BUMED
Parent Organization = BUMED
Folder Title = USNS COMFORT TAH 20 MEDICAL ARTICLES 1991 1992
Folder Seq # = 13
Subject = STRESS AND COPING WITH TRAUMA OF WAR IN THE PERS
Document Seq # = 4
Document Date =
Scan Date =
Queued for Declassification = 01-JAN-1980
Short Term Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Long Term Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Permanent Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Non-Health Related Document = 01-JAN-1980
Declassified = 04-NOV-1996