I kept dream and daily journals for awhile. It helped to get the stuff out of my head and on paper especially when the dam shrink starts poking and prodding your subconscious mind for triggers of the event. I just throw ( yes I throw the book at him ) at him and tell him to read and save myself the Tripwire experience. It also helps me in the fact that I will put stuff in there I would not even tell my wife in a conversation but I might let her read after a while. Sometimes I feel it is easier for me to communicate through my journal to other people than conversing with them. It is less painful that way because I hate making eye contact ESPECIALLY when I am talking about my tripwires. I think this is why the forums here on military.com work for me as well. It is a safe way to express myself. Now, when I get argumentative, I wish I could really say that to that persons face to say the least. That is a bad thing about these forums that drives my blood pressure through the roof!!! But over all it keeps me from bashing that poor suckers face in and me out of jail so I guess it is better for everyone in the end, eh?

Just my 2 cents.

This just in from the VA press office:

VA To Host PTSD Research Conference


WASHINGTON (October 24, 2007) -- Acting Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Gordon H. Mansfield announced today the Department of Veterans Affairs
(VA) will convene a "consensus conference" with the Department of
Defense and the National Institutes of Health to improve the designs and
methodologies all three agencies will use in future research studies
regarding Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

On October 18, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released a report which
concluded exposure-based therapies such as prolonged exposure therapy
and cognitive processing therapy have proven to be effective treatments
for PTSD, while more research is needed on pharmacotherapy to determine
its effectiveness.

"IOM's findings have important implications for the future of PTSD
treatment for veterans and all Americans," said Mansfield. "We will use
their report as a blueprint to guide our future research and treatment
efforts."

Mansfield is requiring VA staff to work closely with the Department of
Defense to study how early interventions such as the Army's "Battlemind"
training and the "Marine Operational Stress Surveillance and Training
Program," both of which are designed to help servicemembers transition
from combat back to home, can improve outcomes for veterans with PTSD.
He has directed future VA studies to pay particular attention to the
prevalence of PTSD in special populations, such as women veterans and
older veterans who may be just beginning to manifest the illness'
symptoms.

Responding specifically to the study from IOM, VA has announced the
Department will take steps to ensure it provides the best available
treatments to veterans with PTSD, and that it will enhance its research
in line with IOM's recommendations.

"VA research has led to the success of the therapies IOM believes are
currently effective," Mansfield concluded. "And the work our
researchers are already doing will help answer many of IOM's questions
on the effectiveness of pharmacological treatments. I am confident we
will soon make giant strides in our ability to successfully treat this
difficult illness. Meanwhile, VA providers are doing an excellent job
developing treatments that work for individual patients. VA providers
have expert knowledge and skills to help veterans with PTSD and we can
always find ways to improve and enhance our care for our nation's
heroes."

A date and location for the conference will be announced separately.

Hi--Has anyone heard about using virtual reality therapy to treat PTSD?

For some information about virtual reality therapy go here.