Eight months after being mugged for my iPod, I am back to wearing an earbud in both ears when I walk around town. I still don’t walk home down Franklin Street, but there is no need to revisit the location and bring the incident to mind regularly. This will be another bonus of quitting my job. It will become infrequent that I walk near that intersection (now I walk within a block at least once a day, and while I don't spend much time thinking about it, it does often bring it to mind, if only for a few seconds or minutes). I think being away from the area will keep it out of my mind entirely, and in the future I will think of it less and less... and then never.
Recently, I met a woman who was mugged a couple of years ago. Because of it she wouldn't take the bus with me at 10pm, even though the neighborhood she was heading to is pretty nice and fairly populated at night. She said she won't take the bus at night, just cabs. I noticed when someone yelled on the street she seemed a bit flustered. I don't know if I'm older, used to the crappy parts of city living, less prone to PTSD, or what, but I guess one or all of those must be true. While I hope that she (and anyone who has been attacked) will again feel secure in the world, it made me feel good about myself that I have, for the most part, overcome that experience without lasting damage. Sure, I still get overly anxious once in a while when I'm stressed out, but even that continues to fade with time.
So, good job, brain. Thanks for adapting and going with the flow.