Transcript
Had I not gone to the VA, talked about these things,
put everything together, I never would have put
two and two together that that's why I had such a fear
where alcohol is concerned, why I don't like bars,
where I don't like close quarters,
where I don't want anyone to buy me a drink,
where I don't want anyone coming up behind me.
I mean, all these little different things made me realize
that the triggers basically went back to the original assaults,
and I just didn't realize it.
It was a matter of figuring it out based on education.
So, once I went through and learned, "This is what PTSD is.
OK, this, all right, yes, I see how I fit into this."
And then they introduced another piece called "mindfulness."
Huge.
Because the mindfulness helped me to understand
the PTSD on a whole new level.
It helped me to understand that I can ride with the PTSD
and let it take me to those places that might
get me in trouble or hurt me, or I can recognize
that what's going on is that something's triggered me.
I've gone into this hyper-arousal mode, and instead of
making it worse, I now need to just back down,
find a quiet spot, let it ride, and then start over.
That's what's been helpful.