Understanding and Managing Flashbacks
Experiencing a flashbacks involves vividly reliving a distressing event or certain aspects of it. Various triggers, such as a specific sound, scent, or location, can induce flashbacks. During a flashback, it may feel like you are being taken back to the moment of the traumatic event instead of being in the current moment. Seeking assistance from a therapist or counselor is essential for comprehending and handling the emotions associated with these distressing recollections, especially if you are frequently experiencing flashbacks.
My flashbacks can be triggered by any word or gesture; occasionally, they occur in the middle of the night, leaving me confused my whereabouts when I awaken. I decorated my bedroom with images of my friends and pets so that when I wake up, I can ground myself in the knowledge that I am at home and safe.
Because I share a home with the person who gave me ptsd and depression, I have been experiencing a lot of flashbacks lately. I am forced to take care of my elderly and ill mother, and I can't help it. I have to put my physical and emotional health aside each day in order to help her.
What are flashbacks?
What are flashbacks, and what do they feel like?
Flashbacks are intense and involuntary memories that make a person feel as though they are reliving a traumatic event.
These memories can be visual, meaning a person sees all or parts of the event in their mind, but they can also be emotions a person felt during the event, or physical sensations they experienced during the event.
Flashbacks can affect people in many ways and vary in intensity. Some are brief or mild, while others can last longer, or make a person lose awareness of their current surroundings.
Written by: Amy Murnan
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What are flashbacks, and what do they feel like?
In PTSD, psychological trauma is the cause of flashbacks. Traumatic events can be any event or series of events that are threatening, scary, or cause extreme distress. This can include car collisions, war, or violence, but it may also include other causes, such as:
- living in an unsafe home or neighborhood
- experiencing poverty
- discrimination
- sexual harassment
- emotional neglect (when caregivers tend to a child’s physical needs but not their emotional needs)
- hearing about or witnessing something traumatic happen to someone else
Written by: Amy Murnan
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What are flashbacks, and what do they feel like?
This can look different for each person, but some approaches that may help include:
- Touching a meaningful object
- Grounding
- Self-soothing
It can also help to prepare in advance for flashbacks, just in case they occur. It may be beneficial to:
- Create a safe space
- Create a self-care plan
- Build a support network
Written by: Amy Murnan
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Flashbacks vs. memories
What are flashbacks, and what do they feel like?
There is a difference between having a flashback and simply remembering something that happened in the past. The main distinction is whether a person feels connected to the present moment.
A person recalling a memory of the past knows that the memory is a past event, but a person having a flashback will feel, physically or emotionally, like they are there again.
The same is true for the emotions a memory conjures up. If a person has a flashback, they will typically experience very strong emotions that are just as intense as they were during the original event.
In contrast, the emotions a person feels when they remember something will typically not be as intense, or if they are, this intensity may change or fade over time.
Written by: Amy Murnan
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What does a PTSD flashback feel like?
What are flashbacks, and what do they feel like?
An emotional flashback may cause:
- strong and sudden emotions that occur in response to a trigger, or reminder of the traumatic event
- emotions that feel how it felt to experience the event
- confusion, if a person knows these feelings are not proportionate to the situation
A somatic flashback may cause:
- physical pain or pressure
- breathlessness
- sweating
- a rapid pulse
- smelling specific odors
- hearing certain sounds
- tasting certain flavors
Written by: Amy Murnan
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Flashbacks
Those with posttraumatic stress may experience flashbacks as a recurring symptom of the condition. Posttraumatic stress may develop after exposure to military combat, sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, or potentially fatal events such as a car crash.
In addition to PTSD, other mental health conditions such as depression, acute stress, and obsessions and compulsions are associated with the development of flashbacks. The use of some drugs—such as lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD)—may also increase the likelihood of a flashback occurring.
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Coping Strategies for Flashbacks and Dissociation
Flashbacks and Dissociation in PTSD: How to Cope
Know Your Triggers
Flashbacks and dissociation are often triggered or cued by some kind of reminder of a traumatic event. For example, encountering certain people, going to specific places, or some other stressful experience may trigger a flashback.
By knowing what your triggers are, you can try to limit your exposure to those triggers.
Identify Early Warning Signs
Flashbacks and dissociation may feel unpredictable and uncontrollable. However, there are often some early signs that you may be slipping into a flashback or a dissociative state.
For example, your surroundings may begin to look fuzzy or you may feel as though you're losing touch with your surroundings, other people, or even yourself.
Flashbacks and dissociation are easier to cope with and prevent if you can catch them early on. Therefore, it's important to try to increase your awareness of their early symptoms.
Learn Grounding Techniques
grounding is a particular way of coping that is designed to "ground" you in the present moment. In doing so, you can retain your connection with the present moment and reduce the likelihood that you slip into a flashback or dissociation.
Grounding techniques use the five senses (sound, touch, smell, taste, and sight).
To connect with the here and now, do something that will bring all your attention to the present moment.
Written by: Matthew Tull, PhD
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Flashbacks and Dissociation in PTSD: How to Cope
In the end, the best way to prevent flashbacks and dissociation is to seek out treatment for your PTSD. Experiencing flashbacks and dissociation may be a sign that you are struggling to confront or cope with the traumatic event you experienced. Treatment can help with this.
Psychotherapy
- Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)
- Cognitive processing therapy (CPT)
- Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy (EMDR).
Written by: Matthew Tull, PhD
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Learn Grounding Techniques
Taking an inventory of your immediate environment can directly connect you with the present moment.
- Sight: Take an inventory of everything around you. Connect with the present moment by listing everything around you. Identify all the colors you see. Count all the pieces of furniture around you. Taking an inventory of your immediate environment can directly connect you with the present moment.
- Smell: Sniff some strong peppermint. When you smell something strong, it's very hard to focus on anything else. In this way, smelling peppermint can bring you into the present moment, slowing down or stopping a flashback or an episode of dissociation.
- Sound: Turn on loud music. Loud, jarring music will be hard to ignore. As a result, your attention will be directed to that noise, bringing you into the present moment.
- Taste: Bite into a lemon. The sourness of a lemon and the strong sensation it produces in your mouth when you bite into it can force you to stay in the present moment.
- Touch: If you notice that you're slipping into a flashback or a dissociative state, hold onto a piece of ice. It will be difficult to direct your attention away from the extreme coldness of the ice, forcing you to stay in touch with the present moment.
Written by: Matthew Tull, PhD
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Written by: Anxiety and Depression Association of America Staff
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