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Sniper on the Loose: Talk with Judy Madden

Aired October 17, 2002 - 11:53   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Right now, we want to bring in Judy Madden, She's joining us from Washington, from our bureau.
She is a professional counselor and supervisor of school counseling services in Montgomery County.

Judy, good morning. Thanks for joining us.

JUDY MADDEN, SCHOOL COUNSELING CENTER: Good morning.

KAGAN: We have received a lot of e-mail and questions for you, so I want to get to them. The first one comes from sarin, not too far from here, she's from Alexandria, Virginia, and of course she's feeling the effects, and she writes that she lives in the Alexandria area and that she has been affected emotionally and actually rationally by the sniper. "There are so many random possibilities that we deal with in daily life such as car accidents and disease and such, which probably have higher odds of happening to each of us. Why are we immobilized by this whacko?"

Karen, being the last week in the area, I can feel what you are saying. What can you say about that, Judy?

MADDEN: I think Karen has really identified the fact that the incident is different from most of the other incidents, the fact that it's so close to our neighborhoods, it's random, it's unpredictable, the violence of it is what makes it different, even though we know that illness and car accidents can certainly hurt us or kill us, those are the kinds of things that we have thought about before. This is something that is almost unthinkable, and it's challenging our ability to really understand how to deal with it, heightening people's anxiety, raising stress. and that's very typical with an unexpected crisis of this kind.

KAGAN: So what did do you about it, I guess, is the bigger question.

MADDEN: Yes, and that's the challenge for us all. It's really vital that we focus on healthy coping, and both for adults and children in this crisis, That means connecting with people with whom you can talk comfortably, exercising, eating properly. OK, making sure that you can have an outlet for the feelings and a healthy and appropriate way.

KAGAN: Let me get one more e-mail before the end of our hour. It's from a teenager. It's from Karissa, and she writes in from her being a teenager, she says, "I think it's horrible and very scary for a person to go around doing these things. This is putting doubt and fear in our hearts as young people and many adults are scared to even go outside."

Judy, what would you say to Karissa?

MADDEN: I would say to Karissa, hold on, hold on to the belief that things will get better, and that there are indeed lots and lots of people out there working to stop this incident. We really want to remind people that this is an unusual, abnormal situation, and that soon, and once again, the world we know will return to a safer reality. In the meantime, Karissa, hold onto the people that you care about, do things that help you feel better and know that we're in here supporting you.

KAGAN: Absolutely. Judy Madden, I want to thank you for your time, the segment is cut short because of the breaking news that we had, and also on the other end, we are waiting for this news briefing to begin, and hopefully that new information will provide some information and some comfort. We're going to try to continue the discussion and e-mails tomorrow. But for now, I want to thank you for your time.

MADDEN: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired October 17, 2002 - 11:53   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Right now, we want to bring in Judy Madden, She's joining us from Washington, from our bureau.
She is a professional counselor and supervisor of school counseling services in Montgomery County.

Judy, good morning. Thanks for joining us.

JUDY MADDEN, SCHOOL COUNSELING CENTER: Good morning.

KAGAN: We have received a lot of e-mail and questions for you, so I want to get to them. The first one comes from sarin, not too far from here, she's from Alexandria, Virginia, and of course she's feeling the effects, and she writes that she lives in the Alexandria area and that she has been affected emotionally and actually rationally by the sniper. "There are so many random possibilities that we deal with in daily life such as car accidents and disease and such, which probably have higher odds of happening to each of us. Why are we immobilized by this whacko?"

Karen, being the last week in the area, I can feel what you are saying. What can you say about that, Judy?

MADDEN: I think Karen has really identified the fact that the incident is different from most of the other incidents, the fact that it's so close to our neighborhoods, it's random, it's unpredictable, the violence of it is what makes it different, even though we know that illness and car accidents can certainly hurt us or kill us, those are the kinds of things that we have thought about before. This is something that is almost unthinkable, and it's challenging our ability to really understand how to deal with it, heightening people's anxiety, raising stress. and that's very typical with an unexpected crisis of this kind.

KAGAN: So what did do you about it, I guess, is the bigger question.

MADDEN: Yes, and that's the challenge for us all. It's really vital that we focus on healthy coping, and both for adults and children in this crisis, That means connecting with people with whom you can talk comfortably, exercising, eating properly. OK, making sure that you can have an outlet for the feelings and a healthy and appropriate way.

KAGAN: Let me get one more e-mail before the end of our hour. It's from a teenager. It's from Karissa, and she writes in from her being a teenager, she says, "I think it's horrible and very scary for a person to go around doing these things. This is putting doubt and fear in our hearts as young people and many adults are scared to even go outside."

Judy, what would you say to Karissa?

MADDEN: I would say to Karissa, hold on, hold on to the belief that things will get better, and that there are indeed lots and lots of people out there working to stop this incident. We really want to remind people that this is an unusual, abnormal situation, and that soon, and once again, the world we know will return to a safer reality. In the meantime, Karissa, hold onto the people that you care about, do things that help you feel better and know that we're in here supporting you.

KAGAN: Absolutely. Judy Madden, I want to thank you for your time, the segment is cut short because of the breaking news that we had, and also on the other end, we are waiting for this news briefing to begin, and hopefully that new information will provide some information and some comfort. We're going to try to continue the discussion and e-mails tomorrow. But for now, I want to thank you for your time.

MADDEN: Thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com