Transcript
- [Rodriguez] As we start
the therapy I was asked
to recall a
traumatic incident.
The first one that
came to mind
was being shot at for
the first time.
It was missile lock.
That's never any fun.
We decided to use that,
work that memory through,
and get it to the
long-term memory
where we should have.
So there's several things
going on at this time.
I recall the event as it
happened, what I was doing,
when I was doing, how
I was doing.
But I'm watching it
from a distance.
and just watching the event
take place with me in it.
Not that anything changed,
but I was watching it from
a different point of view.
I'm thinking about the
traumatic event
while holding the
tappers in each hand.
The tappers are
vibrating in my hands.
One, two, one, two.
They're vibrating
back and forth.
I'm thinking about the
traumatic event...
I knew that my
therapist was there,
but as I was doing the
breathing and the recalling
the traumatic event my
therapist did not interact
or say anything with me.
It was for me to work
through on my own.
You would do as many
times as it took
to bring your anxiety down
to a more manageable level.
You could do it up to 10,
15 times in a session.
After the session
sometimes I would still
feel a little stressed.
I would close my eyes,
take a deep breath,
and think about being in
my grandmother's kitchen.
And after thinking
about that,
I would feel less
stressed and be able to
walk out of therapy feeling
much better about myself,
and able to drive home and
be a part of the family.