Missing Titanic sub: Understanding the crew's anxiety
Members of the media may directly contact the following expert:
Nafissa Ismail (English and French)
University Research Chair in Stress and Mental Health and Full Professor, School of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences.
"This is a terrible and unimaginable situation, and it is difficult to even begin to imagine what the five passengers are experiencing at the moment. They are likely experiencing the same emotions and thoughts as individuals who have been kidnapped, or stuck in a mine, for example - a helpless feeling of not knowing their outcome. Under such extremely stressful situations, our brain and our body will go into survival mode. Our prefrontal cortex, which is involved in decision making, is inhibited and brain regions involved in emotions and stress, like the amygdala and the hypothalamus, are activated. This inhibition of the prefrontal cortex reduces our ability to think rationally, while the activation of the amygdala and the hypothalamus makes us more irritable, less patient, and more likely to react inappropriately. So, there is great probability of aggression and violence in such situation."