ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Melissa Walker - Creative arts therapist
Melissa Walker helps military service members recover from traumatic brain injury and mental illness.

Why you should listen

Melissa Walker is a creative arts therapist at the National Intrepid Center of Excellence, a directorate of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. She works with active duty service members suffering from traumatic brain injury and psychological health conditions.

Dedicated to helping recovering service members safely express their deep thoughts and emotions in a creative environment, Walker designed the Healing Arts Program at the National Intrepid Center of Excellence in 2010, where she engages her patients in mask-making, a powerful mechanism for helping them express their invisible wounds. Walker received her Master's Degree in art therapy from New York University.

More profile about the speaker
Melissa Walker | Speaker | TED.com
TEDMED 2015

Melissa Walker: Art can heal PTSD's invisible wounds

梅丽莎・沃克尔: 艺术能够治疗创伤后应激障碍的无形伤痕

Filmed:
999,307 views

创意艺术治疗医师梅丽莎・沃克尔说:伤疤让受害者保持沉默。但是艺术能够帮助治愈那些受心理创伤之苦的人,帮助他们敞开心扉。在这个启发人心的演说中,沃克尔讲述了面具制作是如何让饱受折磨的军人们发现是什么缠绕着他们,并最终走出阴影。
- Creative arts therapist
Melissa Walker helps military service members recover from traumatic brain injury and mental illness. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
You are a high-ranking高级
military军事 service服务 member会员
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你是一个高级军官,
00:16
deployed部署 to Afghanistan阿富汗.
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现服役于阿富汗。
00:19
You are responsible主管 for the lives生活
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你要对上百个
00:22
of hundreds数以百计 of men男人 and women妇女,
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男兵女兵的生命负责。
00:24
and your base基础 is under attack攻击.
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你的基地遭到袭击。
00:27
Incoming mortar砂浆 rounds
are exploding爆炸 all around you.
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散落的炮弹
在你的身边爆炸。
00:32
Struggling奋斗的 to see
through通过 the dust灰尘 and the smoke抽烟,
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在尘埃和烟雾中,
你挣扎着想看清,
00:35
you do your best最好 to assist助攻 the wounded负伤
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去尽最大努力帮助伤者,
00:38
and then crawl爬行 to a nearby附近 bunker掩体.
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并爬到附近的掩体。
00:41
Conscious意识 but dazed迷茫 by the blasts爆炸,
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时而有意识,
时而为爆炸所迷茫,
00:44
you lay铺设 on your side and attempt尝试
to process处理 what has just happened发生.
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你躺下,尝试
思考刚刚发什么了。
00:49
As you regain恢复 your vision视力,
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当你重新获得
你的视觉的时候,
00:52
you see a bloody血腥 face面对
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你看到了一个
流血的脸庞,
00:54
staring凝视 back at you.
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盯着你。
00:57
The image图片 is terrifying可怕的,
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这个画面让人恐惧,
01:00
but you quickly很快 come to understand理解
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但是你很快明白,
01:02
it's not real真实.
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这不是真的。
01:06
This vision视力 continues继续 to visit访问 you
multiple times a day and in your sleep睡觉.
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这个画面在白天和夜里
多次出现,并持续侵扰着你,
01:11
You choose选择 not to tell anyone任何人
for fear恐惧 of losing失去 your job工作
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你决定闭口不谈,
害怕会失去工作,
01:14
or being存在 seen看到 as weak.
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或被当成弱者。
01:18
You give the vision视力 a name名称,
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你给这个画面
取了一个名字,
01:20
Bloody血腥 Face面对 in Bunker掩体,
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掩体下血腥的脸,
01:22
and call it BFIBBFIB for short.
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简称“掩体血脸”。
01:25
You keep BFIBBFIB locked锁定 away in your mind心神,
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你把“掩体血脸”
封锁在你的脑海里,
01:29
secretly偷偷 haunting令人难以忘怀 you,
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不为人知地侵扰着你,
01:30
for the next下一个 seven years年份.
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整整七年。
01:35
Now close your eyes眼睛.
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现在闭上你的眼睛,
01:39
Can you see BFIBBFIB?
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你能看到“掩体血脸”吗?
01:43
If you can, you're beginning开始
to see the face面对
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如果你可以,
你就能够看到
01:46
of the invisible无形 wounds伤口 of war战争,
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战争无形创伤的样子,
01:48
commonly常用 known已知
as post-traumatic创伤后 stress强调 disorder紊乱
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称作“创伤后应激障碍”
01:51
and traumatic创伤 brain injury.
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或者创伤性脑损伤。
01:54
While I can't say I have
post-traumatic创伤后 stress强调 disorder紊乱,
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虽然我没有得过
创伤后应激障碍,
01:57
I've never been a stranger陌生人 to it.
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但是我对它并不陌生。
01:59
When I was a little girl女孩, I would visit访问
my grandparents祖父母 every一切 summer夏季.
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当我还是个小女孩的时候,
我会在每个夏天拜访祖父母,
02:04
It was my grandfather祖父
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我的祖父,
02:06
who introduced介绍 me to the effects效果
of combat战斗 on the psyche精神.
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他告诉我了战争的心理影响。
02:10
While my grandfather祖父 was serving服务
as a Marine海洋 in the Korean朝鲜的 War战争,
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当我祖父在朝鲜战争
服役海军的时候,
02:14
a bullet子弹 pierced刺穿 his neck颈部
and rendered呈现 him unable无法 to cry out.
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一颗子弹穿过他的脖子,
让他无法叫出声。
02:19
He watched看着 as a corpsman医护兵 passed通过 him over,
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他看见医护兵
从他身边走过,
02:21
declaring声明 him a goner完了,
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以为他已经无药可治,
02:23
and then leaving离开 him to die.
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把他留下等待死亡。
02:26
Years年份 later后来, after his
physical物理 wounds伤口 had healed愈合
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几年过后,
当身体的伤痊愈,
02:29
and he'd他会 returned home,
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他回到家,
02:31
he rarely很少 spoke of his
experiences经验 in waking醒来 life.
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他却很少在清醒的时候
说过自己的经历,
02:35
But at night I would hear him
shouting叫喊 obscenities猥亵
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但是晚上,
我能够听到他的怒号
02:38
from his room房间 down the hall大厅.
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从走廊尽头的房间里传来。
02:41
And during the day I would announce宣布 myself
as I entered进入 the room房间,
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白天我会提醒他,
然后进入房间,
02:44
careful小心 not to startle惊吓 or agitate激荡 him.
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小心翼翼地,
生怕惊吓或激怒他。
02:48
He lived生活 out the remainder of his days
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他就这样,
度过了剩下的日子,
02:51
isolated孤立 and tight-lipped守口如瓶,
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孤独和紧张的,
02:53
never finding发现 a way to express表现 himself他自己,
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找不到一个表达自己的方式,
02:56
and I didn't yet然而
have the tools工具 to guide指南 him.
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那时候我还没有找到
能够引导他的方式。
03:01
I wouldn't不会 have a name名称
for my grandfather's爷爷的 condition条件
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我也不知道
他那种疾病的名字,
03:04
until直到 I was in my 20s.
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直到我20岁的时候。
03:06
Seeking a graduate毕业 degree in art艺术 therapy治疗,
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攻读艺术治疗的学位,
03:09
I naturally自然 gravitated被吸引
towards the study研究 of trauma外伤.
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我自然而然地
倾向创伤的研究,
03:14
And while sitting坐在 in class learning学习
about post-traumatic创伤后 stress强调 disorder紊乱,
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当我在教室
学习创伤后应激障碍时,
03:17
or PTSDPTSD for short,
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简称PTSD,
03:20
my mission任务 to help service服务 members会员
who suffered遭遇 like my grandfather祖父
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帮助像我祖父一样
的军人的目标
03:24
began开始 to take form形成.
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开始在我心中确立。
03:27
We've我们已经 had various各个 names
for post-traumatic创伤后 stress强调
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创伤后应激障碍有很多名字,
03:29
throughout始终 the history历史 of war战争:
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在战争历史上:
03:32
homesickness乡思,
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乡愁,
03:34
soldier's士兵 heart,
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神经性循环衰弱,
03:36
shell贝壳 shock休克,
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炮弹休克症,
03:38
thousand-yard千码 stare, for instance.
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目光呆滞等等。
03:41
And while I was pursuing追求 my degree,
a new war战争 was raging愤怒,
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在我攻读学位的时候,
一场战争爆发,
03:45
and thanks谢谢 to modern现代 body身体 armor盔甲
and military军事 vehicles汽车,
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感谢现代装备和军用交通工具,
03:48
service服务 members会员 were surviving幸存
blast爆破 injuries受伤 they wouldn't不会 have before.
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军人爆炸受伤
的存活率达到历史新高。
03:53
But the invisible无形 wounds伤口
were reaching到达 new levels水平,
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但是无形伤疤也达到新高,
03:56
and this pushed military军事 doctors医生
and researchers研究人员
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这使得军医和研究人员
03:59
to try and truly understand理解 the effects效果
that traumatic创伤 brain injury, or TBITBI,
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尝试真正理解创伤性脑损伤,
也就是TBI,
04:05
and PTSDPTSD have on the brain.
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和PTSD对脑的影响。
04:08
Due应有 to advances进步
in technology技术 and neuroimaging神经影像学,
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因为科技的进步
和神经影像的发展,
04:12
we now know there's
an actual实际 shutdown关掉 in the Broca's布罗卡,
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我们现在知道脑部的
布罗卡氏区,就是大脑语言部分
04:15
or the speech-language言语语言 area of the brain,
after an individual个人 experiences经验 trauma外伤.
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会在个人创伤经历后停止工作。
04:21
This physiological生理 change更改,
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这个生理变化,
04:23
or speechless说不出话来 terror恐怖 as it's often经常 called,
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就是经常被称作的失语症,
04:26
coupled耦合 with mental心理 health健康 stigma柱头,
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伴随心理创伤,
04:28
the fear恐惧 of being存在 judged判断
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怕被歧视和误解
04:30
or misunderstood误解,
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的那种恐惧感,
04:31
possibly或者 even removed去除
from their current当前 duties职责,
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即使调离了军人岗位,
04:34
has led to the invisible无形 struggles斗争
of our servicemen军人 and women妇女.
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都有可能造成
的无形的痛苦。
04:39
Generation after generation of veterans老兵
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一代一代的退伍军人
04:43
have chosen选择 not to talk
about their experiences经验,
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都选择对他们
的经历闭口不谈,
04:46
and suffer遭受 in solitude孤独.
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一个人受苦。
04:50
I had my work cut out for me
when I got my first job工作
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我的第一份工作非常适合我,
04:53
as an art艺术 therapist治疗师 at the nation's国家
largest最大 military军事 medical center中央,
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是在国家最大的军用医疗中心,
沃尔特-里德陆军医疗中心,
04:57
Walter沃尔特 Reed芦苇.
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担任一名艺术治疗医师。
04:59
After working加工 for a few少数 years年份
on a locked-in锁定的 patient患者 psychiatric精神病 unit单元,
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在一个心理疾病部门
工作几年后,
05:03
I eventually终于 transferred转入 to the National国民
Intrepid强悍 Center中央 of Excellence卓越, NICoENICoE,
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我被调到国家优秀勇士中心,
NICoE,
05:08
which哪一个 leads引线 TBITBI care关心
for active活性 duty义务 service服务 members会员.
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NICoE在军人TBI
看护有领先地位。
05:12
Now, I believed相信 in art艺术 therapy治疗,
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我相信艺术治疗,
05:14
but I was going to have
to convince说服 service服务 members会员,
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但是我需要说服一些军人,
05:18
big, tough强硬, strong强大, manly男子气 military军事 men男人,
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强壮的男子气概的军人,
05:21
and some women妇女 too,
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和一些女兵,
05:23
to give art-making艺术创作 as
a psychotherapeutic心理治疗 intervention介入 a try.
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让他们尝试把艺术
当作心理治疗。
05:28
The results结果 have been
nothing short of spectacular壮观.
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结果非常可观。
05:34
Vivid生动, symbolic象征 artwork艺术品
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被我们的军人创造了
05:36
is being存在 created创建
by our servicemen军人 and women妇女,
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那些生动,
具有象征性的作品。
05:39
and every一切 work of art艺术 tells告诉 a story故事.
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每一件作品讲述着一个故事。
05:43
We've我们已经 observed观察到的 that the process处理
of art艺术 therapy治疗 bypasses旁路
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我们发现艺术治疗的过程
05:46
the speech-language言语语言 issue问题 with the brain.
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绕过了脑部的失语症。
05:49
Art-making艺术创作 accesses访问 the same相同 sensory感觉的
areas of the brain that encode编码 trauma外伤.
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艺术创作接触到了
被封锁的大脑创伤。
05:54
Service服务 members会员 can use the art-making艺术创作
to work through通过 their experiences经验
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军人能够用艺术创作
表达他们的经历
05:57
in a nonthreatening没威胁 way.
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通过一个无害的方式。
06:00
They can then apply应用 words
to their physical物理 creations创作,
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他们能够把文字
用在创作上,
06:03
reintegrating重返社会 the left
and the right hemispheres半球 of the brain.
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重新连接左半边
和右半边大脑。
06:08
Now, we've我们已经 seen看到 this can work
with all forms形式 of art艺术 --
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我们发现各种形式
的艺术都可以,
06:12
drawing画画, painting绘画, collage大学 --
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绘画,素描,拼贴,
06:15
but what seems似乎 to have the most impact碰撞
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但是似乎影响最大的
06:18
is mask-making掩模制造.
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是面具制作。
06:21
Finally最后, these invisible无形 wounds伤口
don't just have a name名称,
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最终,这些无形的伤疤
不仅仅有了一个名字,
06:25
they have a face面对.
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还有了脸。
06:29
And when service服务 members会员
create创建 these masks面具,
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当军人创造这些面具的时候,
06:31
it allows允许 them to come to grips交手,
literally按照字面, with their trauma外伤.
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真的,他们能够抓住创伤。
06:35
And it's amazing惊人
how often经常 that enables使 them
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他们能够打破和开始修复创伤,
06:38
to break打破 through通过 the trauma外伤
and start开始 to heal愈合.
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真令人惊奇。
06:42
Remember记得 BFIBBFIB?
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记得“掩体血脸”吗?
06:46
That was a real真实 experience经验
for one of my patients耐心,
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那是一位我的病人
的真实经历,
06:49
and when he created创建 his mask面具,
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当他创作面具的时候,
06:50
he was able能够 to let go
of that haunting令人难以忘怀 image图片.
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他能够摆脱画面的困扰。
06:54
Initially原来, it was a daunting艰巨 process处理
for the service服务 member会员,
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刚开始,对军人来说,
这是一个吓人的过程,
06:57
but eventually终于 he began开始
to think of BFIBBFIB as the mask面具,
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但是最后,他开始把
“掩体血脸”当成面具,
07:00
not his internal内部 wound伤口,
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而不是他的内心世界。
07:02
and he would go to leave离开 each session会议,
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他离开治疗时,
07:04
he would hand me the mask面具,
and say, "Melissa梅利莎, take care关心 of him."
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他给我那个面具,并说:
“梅丽莎,照顾好他。”
07:08
Eventually终于, we placed放置 BFIBBFIB in a box
to further进一步 contain包含 him,
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最后,我们把“掩体血脸”
放在盒子里,
07:12
and when the service服务 member会员
went to leave离开 the NICoENICoE,
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当那个军人
离开NICoE的时候,
07:15
he chose选择 to leave离开 BFIBBFIB behind背后.
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他选择留下“掩体血脸”。
07:18
A year later后来, he had only seen看到 BFIBBFIB twice两次,
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一年后,他只见到“掩体血脸”两次,
07:20
and both times BFIBBFIB was smiling微笑
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而且“掩体血脸”在笑,
07:22
and the service服务 member会员
didn't feel anxious.
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军人不再感到紧张。
07:26
Now, whenever每当 that service服务 member会员
is haunted闹鬼 by some traumatic创伤 memory记忆,
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现在,当那个军人
被创伤记忆所侵扰时,
07:29
he continues继续 to paint涂料.
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他会继续绘画。
07:32
Every一切 time he paints油漆
these disturbing烦扰的 images图片,
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每一次他画这些
令人不安的画面时,
07:34
he sees看到 them less or not at all.
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他很少或者不会看到它们。
07:39
Philosophers哲学家 have told us
for thousands数千 of years年份
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哲学家告诉我们上千年来,
07:42
that the power功率 to create创建
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创造的力量,
07:44
is very closely密切 linked关联
to the power功率 to destroy破坏.
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是和摧毁的力量
紧紧相关的。
07:47
Now science科学 is showing展示 us
that the part部分 of the brain
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现在科学告诉我们
07:50
that registers寄存器 a traumatic创伤 wound伤口
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造成创伤的大脑部分
07:52
can be the part部分 of the brain
where healing复原 happens发生 too.
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也是发生修复的部分。
07:55
And art艺术 therapy治疗 is showing展示 us
how to make that connection连接.
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艺术治疗展示我们
如何将它们连接起来。
08:00
We asked one of our service服务 members会员
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我们让一个军人
08:02
to describe描述 how mask-making掩模制造
impacted影响 his treatment治疗,
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去形容面具制作
是怎样影响他的治疗的,
08:05
and this is what he had to say.
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这是他的回复-
08:07
(Video视频) Service服务 Member会员:
You sort分类 of just zone out into the mask面具.
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(音频)
军人:你好像进入了面具中,
08:10
You zone out into the drawing画画,
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你进入了绘画中,
08:12
and for me, it just released发布 the block,
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对于我来说,它释放了积压,
08:16
so I was able能够 to do it.
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所以我能够做下去。
08:19
And then when I looked看着 at it
after two days, I was like,
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然后当我在两天后看着
它的时候,我说:
08:23
"Holy crap掷骰子, here's这里的 the picture图片,
here's这里的 the key, here's这里的 the puzzle难题,"
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“我的天哪,这就是那个画面,
就是那个钥匙,就是那个谜团,”
08:26
and then from there it just soared飙升.
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然后它就这样离开。
08:28
I mean, from there
my treatment治疗 just when out of sight视力,
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我的意思是,
治疗就这样结束了,
08:32
because they were like,
Kurt库尔特, explain说明 this, explain说明 this.
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因为他们让我解释一下这些,
08:34
And for the first time in 23 years年份,
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然后23年来第一次,
08:36
I could actually其实 talk about stuff东东
openly公然 to, like, anybody任何人.
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我能够像普通人一样
谈论这些事情。
08:39
I could talk to you about it
right now if I wanted to,
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如果我想,我现在
就能够告诉你们,
08:42
because it unlocked解锁 it.
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因为它的封锁被解除了。
08:45
It's just amazing惊人.
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太神奇了。
08:46
And it allowed允许 me to put 23 years年份 of PTSDPTSD
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它能够把我23年的PTSD
08:52
and TBITBI stuff东东 together一起 in one place地点
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和TBI抛之脑后,
08:58
that has never happened发生 before.
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从来没有过。
09:02
Sorry.
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不好意思。
09:03
Melissa梅利莎 Walker助步车: Over the past过去 five years年份,
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梅丽莎 沃尔克:过去的五年里,
09:05
we've我们已经 had over 1,000 masks面具 made制作.
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我们制作了一千个面具。
09:09
It's pretty漂亮 amazing惊人, isn't it?
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很神奇,对吗?
09:12
Thank you.
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谢谢。
09:13
(Applause掌声)
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(鼓掌)
09:19
I wish希望 I could have shared共享
this process处理 with my grandfather祖父,
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我希望我能够跟
我的祖父分享这个过程,
09:23
but I know that he would be thrilled高兴
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我知道他会很激动,
09:27
that we are finding发现 ways方法
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因为我们发现了
09:28
to help today's今天的 and tomorrow's明天的
service服务 members会员 heal愈合,
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帮助现在和未来军人治愈
09:33
and finding发现 the resources资源 within them
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和找到内心痛苦
的源头的方法,
09:36
that they can call upon
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让他们能够自省
09:38
to heal愈合 themselves他们自己.
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并自我治愈。
09:41
Thank you.
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谢谢。
09:42
(Applause掌声)
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(鼓掌)
Translated by Conway Ye
Reviewed by Junyi Sha

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Melissa Walker - Creative arts therapist
Melissa Walker helps military service members recover from traumatic brain injury and mental illness.

Why you should listen

Melissa Walker is a creative arts therapist at the National Intrepid Center of Excellence, a directorate of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. She works with active duty service members suffering from traumatic brain injury and psychological health conditions.

Dedicated to helping recovering service members safely express their deep thoughts and emotions in a creative environment, Walker designed the Healing Arts Program at the National Intrepid Center of Excellence in 2010, where she engages her patients in mask-making, a powerful mechanism for helping them express their invisible wounds. Walker received her Master's Degree in art therapy from New York University.

More profile about the speaker
Melissa Walker | Speaker | TED.com