Once you have known the type of treatment, the doctor will explain what will happen, how it will help them feel better, and why it works. Remember, you can always ask questions about your treatment in depth. People with PTSD often try to avoid things that remind them of the trauma. This can help you feel better in the moment, but in the long term it can keep you from recovering from PTSD. In Exposure Therapy (PE), you expose yourself to the thoughts, feelings, and situations that you’ve been avoiding. It sounds scary, but facing things you’re afraid of in a safe way can help you learn that you don’t need to avoid reminders of the trauma. Your therapist will ask you to talk about your trauma over and over. This will help you get more control of your thoughts and feelings about the trauma so you do not need to be afraid of your memories. After a trauma, it’s common to have negative thoughts — like thinking what happened is your fault or that the world is very dangerous. Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) helps you learn to identify and change these thoughts. Changing how you think about the trauma can help change how you feel. You will talk with your therapist and fill out worksheets about the negative thoughts and beliefs that are upsetting you. Then your therapist will help you challenge those thoughts and think about your trauma in a way that’s less …show more content…
The therapy can help you process these upsetting memories, thoughts, and feelings. You will focus on specific sounds or movements while you talk about the trauma. This helps your brain work through the traumatic memories. Over time, you can change how you react to memories of your trauma. Your therapist will ask you to choose a memory from the trauma and identify the negative thoughts, emotions, and feelings in your body that go with it. You will think about this memory while you pay attention to a sound or a movement. Once the memory becomes less upsetting, you’ll work on adding a positive