WEBVTT

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What we've found is that the reason that people

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have difficulty with trauma is that

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they don't know what to do with the symptoms that they have.

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They don't know to do with the nightmares, and the panic attacks,

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and the overwhelming emotions that they have.

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And so they cope with it the best way they do,

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they know how to, which is by avoiding.

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Because if you're scared of something

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it makes sense that you would avoid it.

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The problem, though, is that if you always stay away

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from those things, it doesn't help you get better.

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And so by confronting it rather than avoiding it,

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that's actually what's going to help your symptoms get better.

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What Prolonged Exposure helps you do

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is actually regain control in your life.

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By talking about what happened, by doing things that are safe

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that you enjoy doing, you will be in control

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rather than the memory being in control of you.

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Getting used to these horrible memories and getting used to

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situations that remind you of the traumatic event,

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the combat or the life threat,

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is a lot like getting used to cold water.

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If you jump in a swimming pool and you jump right back out,

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you never get used to it.

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If you get in the painfully cold water and swim around,

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after 10 minutes it'll still feel cold, but it won't be as painful.

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You start to get used to it.

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And that's what we try and do with the memories

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and the triggers in the environment

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that cause these types of emotional experiences.

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We have you get back in there with them on your terms.

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And we have you do it over and over again

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to the extent that you start to get used to them

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so that when they come up on you or they're triggered,

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you can deal with them as opposed to having them deal with you.