The anxieties over terrorism and the war with ISIS are intense on a daily basis. Researchers say people with certain characteristics are most likely to suffer from ISIS anxiety reports Wiley. It has also been found that ISIS threat sensitivity may be lessened by increasing optimism and resilience.
The researchers studied 1007 Israelis and observed there was an association between ISIS anxiety and being female, having a low socio-economic status and having increased levels of post-traumatic-stress disorder. There was also an association found between being exposed to ISIS in the media and low resilience and ISIS anxiety.
The post-traumatic-stress disorder and ISIS anxiety relationship was particularly pronounced when the mental resources of resilience and optimism were not high. Resilience's has been defined as primarily dealing with a threat which is current and optimism has been defined as a resource which is associated with outcomes in the future.
Dr. Yaakov Hoffman, who authored an article on this study in Stress and Health, has commented these findings may have significant implications for addressing increased anxiety in dealing with elevated terrorist threats insofar as showing that being exposed to ISIS media harms one's mental health and causes ISIS anxiety to increase.
It has also been shown that heightening one's optimism and resilience may lessen ISIS threat sensitivity. Both resilience and optimism may be necessary to address ISIS anxiety. It appears that humanistic counseling should have a great deal to offer in helping to cope with this problem.
