Question

In Joseph Wolpe's desensitization therapy, gradual exposure to a tension-provoking situation lessens the anxiety over time. Do you think that we Americans have grown so accustomed to media accounts and government warnings of terrorist attacks from around the world that we have become desensitized to terrorism? Some psychologists say we will never reach the same level of emotionalism as we did after 9/11. Do you think we are becoming so desensitized that we are numb? Are we in danger of becoming apathetic and thus, at greater risk of harm? Have we just decided it can happen anywhere, so we might as well just get on with our lives. On the other side of this coin, does the fact that we become desensitized cause the "bad guys" to get even more extreme in their actions to get the same effect? Your thoughts?

Answer 1

Numbness or desensitization is when something of grave emotion doesn't affect us at all. This isn't the case. What has happened is probably that we have become more resilient to these attacks and input believing we can go on through our lives inspite of these things. But its a given that if the bad guys feel that their actions no more terrorize us they may go on to include more extreme measures to make sure we feel terrorized.