Rescued Chilean miners’ new challenge: Re-establishing ties with family

WASHINGTON - As if spending two months trapped under ground wasn’t enough, the 33 Chilean miners now face new challenges - re-establishing their relationships and roles in their families.

“Gaps arose in their absence and will have to be readjusted with their presence. So, they will need to re-establish normalcy in their relationships,” said Mark Salzer, director of the Temple University Collaborative on Community Integration.

Despite the possible post-traumatic stress they could suffer, Salzer said that majority of them should come through this incident with minimal long-term psychological effects.

“Maintaining a long-term connection among these miners will help alleviate the sense of isolation along with the availability of cognitive-behavioral therapy for possible PTSD is important, along with the support of family,” he said.

But it’s not just challenges that await these men. Book deals, movie offers, talk show appearances, and meetings with high ranking officials - Salzer said it could be a wonderful event that could act as a counterbalance to the negative life-changing event of being trapped in the mine.

However, “they might experience a certain degree of emptiness and depression when the excitement and energy fades and they return to their routines.”

Overall, Salzer said that as with anyone achieving sudden fame, it’s important to ensure the miners recognize the fame as temporary, and that the return to their families and their communities, and regaining their lives, should be equally satisfying. (ANI)