Expose and recover is controversial for PCS. I think it's value is mostly psychological, not physiological. Realizing that we can be exposed to a trigger and recover and survive is empowering.

To me, the valuable part of expose and recover is short exposures. I know my limits. I don't have to avoid the exposure. I just need to know I am approaching my limit of the exposure. It is not a formulaic time. It is understanding when my brain is starting to be negatively impacted. And, I don't look for that negative impact. I am just able to notice it when it happens. My wife can recognize it in me, too.

My sound sensitivities are as bad as they have always been. I am just better at tolerating them by not adding to them with an anxiety response. Our psychological response can feed a physiological response. What might have been an annoyance becomes a crisis if we let our mind get away.

Dr Norman Droige's book is full of these 'recoveries' that take hundreds of hours of disciplined therapy. Most do not have the time, resources, or concentration to maintain these levels. The intellectual OCD it takes to keep up with these is exhausting in itself.