Part 9/13:
Repeated retelling helps habituate the nervous system, decreasing hyperactivity within fear circuits, and allows the individual to form healthier associations. The key is to both weaken old fear responses and reinforce new positive ones.
Emerging Pharmacological Treatments
Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy
Ketamine, a dissociative anesthetic, facilitates a state of altered perception, allowing patients to re-experience trauma with diminished emotional reactivity. Its role entails diminishing the original fear memory and aiding in the formulation of a new narrative—effectively "remapping" old feelings with new, less distressing sensations.