Transcript
It's up to you how much you involve your family
in your PTSD treatment.
But certainly if they want to be helpful
but they haven't known how, then involving them can,
first of all, bring you closer together
because you won't be alone going through it.
And second of all, they'll know how
to support you in the treatment.
They'll know how to get to where you're trying to go.
Sometimes, loved ones want to be helpful,
but they don't understand the principles of treatment.
So for example, I worked with one Veteran
who lived near an amusement park,
where every evening there would be fireworks.
And so his kids, who loved him very much
and wanted to help him, would say, "Dad, it's 10-to-9.
You better go get in the shower.
The fireworks are going to start in 10 minutes."
And he would, and he'd get in the shower.
And that was his kids' way of loving him and supporting him.
But what we know about PTSD treatment is that you want
to overcome that fear of something that's really safe,
like the fireworks in this amusement park
weren't going to hurt him, really.
They were just part of the PTSD.
So once the whole family kind of understood
where treatment was going and why it was actually good for him
to hear the fireworks over and over,
they were able to help him toward his recovery.
And they were so happy to be able to help him,
and it brought the whole family closer together.