Transcript
My therapist, and I believe this is
standard operating procedure, talked to me about two
proven techniques for dealing with PTSD symptoms.
One of them is called Cognitive Behavior Therapy, CBT,
and the other is called Prolonged Exposure therapy.
And my therapist explained to me in great detail
what those two things are, and she offered me
the opportunity to try one or the other first.
And she said, "We can try whatever you want to try,
and if it doesn't, if you don't feel better
within a reasonable period of time, say four to six weeks,
then we'll switch to the other process."
And I decided right away to use Prolonged Exposure therapy
because of my healthcare background.
The first challenge with Prolonged Exposure therapy is
identifying for yourself, and in my case it was kind of hard
to do, on a scale of one to 100,
several things that have traumatized you in your life.
And we know everyone comes to adulthood with trauma.
And so, that was harder than I thought it was going to be.
Nobody had ever asked me, "What were your traumas,
and can you assign a number to it?"
With 100 being the worst day of your life
and zero being the best day of your life.
That was so enlightening, and it was hard.