Skip to content

[My doctor] understood, she was compassionate, and I was able to be...raw and honest with her.

Ayla Bennett (US Army, 2004-Present) describes how a compassionate clinician helped her learn ways to manage her PTSD symptoms and substance use.

Transcript

Keeping the alcohol diary,

practicing the tools,

and the skills that Doctor

Santana had taught me,

it was kind of like a challenge.

Can I do this without alcohol?

Can I? Do I want to? No.

Absolutely not.

Absolutely want to drink.

I want to drink more.

But I wanted to get better.

That desire to get through

this was very strong.

And you have to have

that personal, intrinsic

motivation to get through this.

Because if you don't,

it is easy to give in.

So I challenged myself

to practice the skills

that she was teaching me for

delayed gratification, basically

riding waves of cravings

and at the same time

living with these memories

in a more present way

than I ever have before.

It was hard,

but she was there.

She understood.

She was compassionate,

and I was able to be more raw

and honest with her

than I ever

have before with anybody.

Published At