Testimony of Healing September 29, 2003 Issue

Chronic fear overcome, rash disappears

Piper Foster

In the weeks after the US-Iraq war began, there was talk of potential terrorist retaliation. Because I work in Washington, D.C.,—one of the targets in the September 11, 2001, attacks—terror alerts and wariness of potential disaster were constant features on my landscape.

Some friends talked about carrying gas masks on their subway commute, in case of terrorism. One said that he wasn't concerned about taking the subway to work now, so much as later. He said, "I'll be worried when people think the threat is over."

Last year, on the first anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, it was easy to wonder if my building might be a target, since I work on Capitol Hill. Despite attempts to think levelheadedly about my situation, I was constantly fearful. Chronic fear is exhausting to live with, and I knew I needed something more than sheer stamina to overcome my anxiety.

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