Shark attack survivor Leah Stewart has shared a positive update on her mental recovery after months of reliving the attack.
Ms Stewart, 35, was swimming between the flags at Sydney's Coogee Beach on June 13 when she was mauled by a suspected great white shark.
She spent two weeks in a coma and underwent multiple surgeries, including the amputation of one arm below the elbow and a failed skin graft on her leg.
In a video shared to Instagram on Thursday, the mother-of-one explained the 'nightmares have stopped'.
'When I used to recall the event, I would have an eight-out-of-ten fear response,' Ms Stewart said.
'I would feel like I was back in the water. Constantly, the shark attack was replaying in my head on a loop, 24 hours a day, for months on end.
'I couldn't sleep at night. I was having nightmares and I was waking up in sweats every single day.'
Ms Stewart revealed she had started a new form of therapy called eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR).
Leah Stewart, 35, has revealed she no longer suffers nightmares about the shark attack after she was mauled by a suspected great white shark in June
Ms Stewart was swimming between the flags at Sydney's Coogee Beach on June 13 when she was attacked by a suspected great white shark (pictured)
EMDR is a psychotherapy treatment that is designed to alleviate the distress associated with traumatic memories.
She explained EMDR had helped move the attack from the 'traumatic part of her brain' to her long-term memory.
'If you had told me that by November I would be handling it mentally, I would not have believed you,' Ms Stewart said.
'Now, I can think back on it and it just feels like something that's happened. I can recall it but my body doesn't feel it like I felt when I was in the water.'
Ms Stewart described the treatment as 'life-changing', saying she can spend time with her daughter without constantly thinking about the shark approaching her with its mouth open.
'I feel like I'm finally getting my life back,' Ms Stewart said.
The 35-year-old regularly shares videos to her Instagram account updating her followers on her recovery journey including positive milestones and major setbacks.
In October, she shared a video that she had finally managed to plait her own hair after hundreds of failed attempts and despite missing an arm.
The teacher and mother-of-one underwent multiple surgeries, including the amputation of one arm below the elbow and numerous procedures on her badly injured leg
Ms Stewart regularly updates social media followers on her recovery journey, sharing both the positive milestones and negative setbacks (pictured, Ms Stewart showing the skin graft donor site on her right leg)
'Can you see that? I just did that on my own,' Ms Stewart said while showing off her side plait.
'I didn't think I would be able to do this. I had honestly given up on doing hair. I have managed a plait! I am so happy, and I tied it myself.
'Before June, this would have been really lame, but my challenge to you is try and do a plait and tie it with one hand and see how tricky it is because I feel really clever.'
In a video shared in September, Ms Stewart said she was 'pretty devastated' after she learned that the skin graft on her leg had failed.
'It was confirmed that it failed,' she said.
'So yeah, feeling pretty devastated, had quite a few tears and now we're not really sure where to go from here.
'It's been three and a half months and my leg is still open.'
Ms Stewart said she was taking a break from the portable vacuum-assisted closure device attached to her leg, a treatment that uses suction to help serious wounds heal.
Ms Stewart (pictured with her daughter August) revealed she had started a new form of therapy called eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR)
She has previously been unsure about returning to the water but hopes to join a community swim next year at Coogee Beach as part of her recovery journey. Pictured, lifeguards erecting a sign that says 'Beach Closed' following the shark attack
The teacher returned to Coogee Beach just four months after the horrific attack to address dozens of locals taking part in a community bay swim.
She spoke to the crowd about raising awareness, improving safety protocols and introducing infrastructure to help people regain confidence in the water.
'To the community that has absolutely stood up and stepped up in supporting me this far, I'm so thankful to be part of what has demonstrated what is the very best of human spirit,' Ms Stewart told locals.
'Keep an eye out for my favourite Coogee local, the eastern blue groper, and give a wave from me.'
An avid ocean swimmer before the ordeal, Ms Stewart hopes to take part in the next community swim as part of her recovery journey.
She had previously been unsure about returning to the water.
'I don't know about the ocean. If the drones are up and there's a shark net, maybe yeah, eventually,' she said.
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