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PTSD flashbacks are often triggered by things that remind the person of the traumatic event they experienced. These triggers can be external, such as sights, sounds, smells, or locations that are associated with the trauma. They can also be internal, such as certain thoughts, emotions, or physical sensations that are similar to those ...
- Overview
- What are flashbacks?
- What causes flashbacks?
- What does a PTSD flashback feel like?
- What to do when you get flashbacks
- Do PTSD flashbacks ever stop?
- Summary
A flashback is when a person relives a traumatic memory. This could be via intrusive memories, but it could also be via reliving certain emotions or physical sensations from the event.
The media sometimes portrays flashbacks as being like a film that plays inside a person’s mind. Flashbacks can be like this, but according to the charity, Mind, they are not always.
Flashbacks can be fragmented, still images, or not visual at all. Some people may only experience emotional flashbacks, while others might only have physical sensations.
Read on to learn more about flashbacks, including the causes, what flashbacks feel like, what to do during a flashback, and whether they go away.
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.
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)
PTSD flashbacks will vary from person to person, depending on the memory they are reliving and the specific way they experience flashbacks.
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:
When a person is experiencing a flashback, it helps to bring them back to the present moment and to create a feeling of safety. This can look different for each person, but some approaches that may help include:
•Touching a meaningful object: An object that reminds a person of the present, which is small enough to carry around with them, may help when flashbacks occur. This could be a piece of jewelry, a stone or crystal, or other discrete object the person can carry with them.
•Grounding: There are several grounding techniques that may help a person focus back on the present. Counting objects in the environment, noticing physical sensations, or breathing exercises are some examples.
•Self-soothing: A person may find it helpful to tell themselves they are safe, to hug themselves, or to do something that feels comforting, such as wrapping up in a blanket.
It can also help to prepare in advance for flashbacks, just in case they occur. It may be beneficial to:
•Create a safe space: This is a comforting place a person can go when they feel unsafe. For example, a person might make their bedroom feel calm by making a few changes, such as using dimmable lights. Outside the home, identify places a person can go when they are experiencing flashbacks, such as a staff room.
Yes, PTSD flashbacks can stop, but they do not always resolve on their own. According to a 2023 research article, 30% of people with PTSD fully recover, while another 40% get better with treatment.
In a small number of cases, some people may receive enough support and are able to cope well enough with the impact of the traumatic event that they do not need formal treatment.
However, people do not need to wait to see if this happens. If they can, it is best to seek advice about flashbacks from a mental health professional. If the symptoms are impacting a person’s well-being or quality of life, they should seek treatment.
Learn more about treatments for trauma and PTSD.
Flashbacks are a potential symptom of PTSD. They involve reliving aspects of a traumatic event. This could include the emotions, physical sensations, or memories of the event. Sometimes, it may involve all three.
Flashbacks vary in severity. Some people may experience them infrequently or less intensely than others. They occur after a person experiences something extremely distressing, such as an accident, severe illness, violence, or an ongoing experience — such as poverty.
- Amy Murnan
Oct 28, 2022 · Emotional flashbacks: An overview. Emotional flashbacks describe the experience of being reminded of past trauma and your body responding by replicating the emotions you felt during the trauma ...
- Marissa Moore
Sep 29, 2010 · There are at least two, not mutually exclusive, answers to this question: (1) the flashback, again, overwhelms the psyche/mind and reconciliation is not possible (This is sort of a Janetian ‘take’ on the most common fate of flashbacks); or (2) the person, again, recoils from the unacceptable traumatic reality and defensively pushes the flashback away (This ‘take’ includes [a] Freud’s ...
Dec 21, 2018 · Flashbacks cause a numbing disconnection from self and a distressing sense of loss of control over one’s mind. Morris, who was injured in Iraq in an IED Humvee explosion and developed PTSD, told ...
Jun 24, 2015 · Consider incorporating some of these simple strategies as first steps towards managing flashbacks: Encourage the client to identify the experience as either a visual, somatic, cognitive, or ...
People also ask
What are flashbacks & how do they affect a person?
What is a flashback & why is it important?
Are flashbacks always a thing?
What causes a flashback?
What are emotional flashbacks?
How do you know if a person has a flashback?
Flashbacks are memories of past trauma that a person has experienced. They can come in many different forms. You may be able to see what happened to you in the form of pictures, sounds or smells. You may have bodily sensations and you might feel someone touching you, or feel part of the trauma like it is actually happening again.
