These days, residents of Washington D.C.'s suburbs are waking up to new worry. In addition to talk of war in Iraq, economic uncertainty and upcoming elections, there is an even more pressing concern: The threat of assassination. And as the man who shot eight people in the past week—six fatally—continues to evade capture, anxiety around the nation's capitol heightens as locals anticipate the next victim.
"Everybody has some degree of anxiety over this," says Jerilyn Ross, M.A., LICSW, director of the Ross Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders in Washington D.C. "It's hard not to. We don't have any profile on who this person is going after." As a result, little can be said to ensure others of their safety until the shooter is brought into custody, so psychologists are concentrating on easing anxiety in the interim.
"These are normal symptoms; it's a terrible situation," Ross asserts. And when put under great stress, people tend to neglect performing the activities that help them cope. "We tell people to stay focused as much as they can on the information that they have, rather than on the 'what ifs.'" Ross also stresses that dwelling on conjecture is not only unhelpful; it's unhealthy. "It is very hard for us as humans to even comprehend that someone could be so cruel," she says.
