Transcript
- Toward the end of therapy,
you have to write a
second impact statement.
But this time around,
it wasn't stressful
in any way, it wasn't
a burden to me.
It came really natural to me,
and I guess once you
write that second impact
statement and you
go back and you
look at your first, you
realize how much change
you've done, and how
much growth you've had
in that little bit of time.
And it's almost like
seeing another person.
As you go through
CBT, you realize that
there was a lot of
things beyond my control.
I was doing what I was
supposed to be doing,
I was watching the area,
I was pulling guard,
I was making sure
everything was good to go.
It was 120 degrees outside,
I had all my gear on.
There were so many
factors that played
in effect that day,
that you look at that
one single event,
and you don't see it
the way you used to anymore.
It was a chance for
me to go back in
and maybe see things
that other people
seen in me that I
forgot to see, you know?
That I maybe let
fall by the wayside
and realize that, "Hey,
you are a good guy."
I could definitely see
the changes in my beliefs,
the changes in my thoughts,
the way I viewed by life,
the way I see the world,
and the way I see my trauma.
You know, the trauma
still happened,
it still took place,
but it doesn't
affect me nearly as
much as it used to.
It's very minimal.
It's definitely manageable now.
This box here contains
all of my military
memories, letters,
photographs, different
stuff I had collected,
friends, and all the places
that I visited, I guess,
the entire nine years
I was in the military.
(gentle music)
Before I went for treatment,
I wouldn't have been able to
go through this box.
It would have been me
breaking into tears.
I don't think I could
have actually done it.
Now after all this stuff,
I see all the people,
and the good memories,
and the places we got
to go and experience.
(gentle music)
Nothing can describe
what it feels like to
feel alive, and
appreciate everything
that's going on around you.
The wind hitting
your face, the water,
seeing people laugh and smile,
and actually be
content with that.
I absolutely love
the world I live in.
Yeah, I wouldn't
change it for anything.
(gentle music)