Dealing with Flashbacks
“I can’t sleep. When I close my eyes, it’s like I’m back in that house. I can’t go back.”
“I can’t breathe. I just had a flashback. He was there, I saw him.”
“The holidays are hard. It just brings me back to those same feelings and hurt I went through 10 years ago.”
The above statements are all paraphrases from conversations I’ve had with individuals that consistently deal with flashbacks from past traumatic events or situations they’ve lived through. They’re scared, uncertain, and stuck when we talk.
Flashbacks are a common symptom of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). A flashback occurs when you involuntarily experience some aspects of a previous traumatic event like it’s currently happening. Flashbacks don’t always involve reliving the situation frame by frame like a movie. Sometimes they look like seeing partial images, noticing smells or tastes that are associated with the trauma, feeling pain or pressure, or experiencing similar emotions you felt back then. Flashbacks can occur randomly, or they may be triggered by particular places, people, etc. They can last just a few seconds or minutes, or they may go on for hours or days (Symptoms of PTSD, 2021).
All hope is not lost if you experience a flashback or consistently deal with this PTSD symptom. So what can you do about it? (Self-Care for PTSD, 2021).
Focus on your breathing. Concentrate on breathing in and out slowly while counting to five. Flashbacks can induce panic, fear, and other feelings that can cause irregular breathing, which will only make matters worse. Take deep breaths.
Always have an object that reminds you of the present. Some people have found it useful to look at or touch something that brings them back to the here and now.
Tell yourself that you are safe. This one can be really hard to do when you’re in the middle of a flashback. So, one thing you can do is write down helpful, individual phrases at another time when you’re feeling good so that you can come back to them and use them when you’re dealing with a flashback.
Keep a journal. After you have a flashback, write down what happened, where you were, when it happened, etc. You may be able to notice some patterns or triggers this way that can help you avoid future flashbacks.
Grounding techniques. Similar to focusing on your breathing, grounding techniques help bring you to the present. You can do the 5-4-3-2-1 technique, listing objects that are the same color, etc.
Talk to a therapist. If flashbacks are a regular occurrence, talking to a therapist may prove beneficial! They are trained to know what to do and can help you figure out what works for you, while also helping in the healing process from past trauma.
While our pasts impact who we are today, what happened does not have to define you. You get to decide who you want to be and what your future will look like. Flashbacks do not have to control you!
References:
Symptoms of PTSD. (2021). Mind. Retrieved from https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd-and-complex-ptsd/symptoms/#WhatAreFlashbacks.
Self-care for PTSD. (2021). Mind. Retrieved from https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/post-traumatic-stress-disorder-ptsd-and-complex-ptsd/self-care/#TipsOnCopingWithFlashbacks.
Challenges/Points:
Flashbacks are when you experience some aspects of a previous traumatic experience. This can look like reliving the experience visually, noticing smells or tastes, feeling pain, etc.
Dealing with a flashback can look like focusing on your breathing, using objects to remind you of the present, telling yourself you are safe, keeping a journal, grounding techniques, and talking to a therapist.
Flashbacks do not have to define your future or control you.
Questions:
Have you ever experienced a flashback?
If you have experienced a flashback, what helped bring you back to the present?
Which of the six coping techniques sounds the most useful?
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