THE 3-MINUTE INTERVIEW - Dr. William Lawson
By: Michael Neibauer
Examiner Staff Writer
November 12, 2009
Lawson is president of the Washington Psychiatric Society and chairman of the Department of Psychiatry at the Howard University College of Medicine.
Do you feel stress?
Oh sure, absolutely. A long time ago I developed ways to cope with stress, deal with distress with work with others in distress.
What's your stress reliever?
If you have a strong spiritual outlook, strong family and friends, outlets, you can effectively deal with these stressful times. Me, I'm into Brazilian jiujitsu. I like it because you can be over 60 and do it.
How do you spot a person who needs help?
Many times we find that there are indications and signs of emotional distress and sometimes a frank medical disorder that people didn't associate with violence but was someone crying out for help. We find people under chronic stress may suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder or major depression. Those who have these conditions may not show any violent behavior, but they may show other types of stress: difficulty eating, difficulty sleeping, nightmares.
When should a friend step in?
Sometimes other people may have to intervene, because some people may find they're stressed or need help but simply believe it is a sign of immaturity, a lack of masculinity, a lack of emotional strength to show they actually need help. We need to educate the public that the support can be provided by mental health professionals. That can prevent a lot of problems later.
Stress is part of everyday life. What do you recommend?
We need to do what we can to prevent, and one of the best ways is to get a peer support program, a network of colleagues. Blowing off steam by treating other people adversely, or by using drugs, simply don't work. Providing mental health and substance abuse services, having them available is extremely important and effective, both in civilian life and military life.
- Michael Neibauer
