Right now my exposure theray is helping me get ready to fly in July...

but regarding the startle response, it's best when in his office... his inner sanctum? Where I KNOW I am safe... proven for years.. so when I am startled by something there, we work on it. (They are building a high rise next to his office building. ) So it comes down to identifying the sound. Talking about the feelings I;m feeling, determining which are good and usable and which might not be, countering any thoughts that are negative (like, oh that always happens here, I hate it when that happens, I can't do anything about it, I am not safe, next time it might hurt me, it's just like when I was hurt.. etc) I'm sure you know some of yuour own thoughts that happen.

Sometimes my mind just "goes" as you understand I'm sure... and trying to access the thoughts and the emotion at the time is very hard work, but good for unwraveling the response and working on training the brain on the truth