DaddyJay Posted October 5, 2008 Report Share Posted October 5, 2008 Flashbacks Flashbacks are memories that are intruding on your present, and can feel very real. People experience flashbacks in different ways, and some feel them more than others. Flashbacks can be pictures, sounds, smells, feelings or numbness, or a combination of two or more of these. You may smell something and have feelings or numbness associated with that smell, or you may hear something and see a picture that goes with that sound, or you may have a picture, the smells, sounds and feelings all together. Flashbacks do not have to a picture, sound or smell, you may feel panicky or trapped, but not know why. You may also find you suffer from flashbacks whilst asleep, during dreams. You may still be aware of the world around you in the here and now as you experience this flashback, or you may lose touch with the now and feel as though you are in the past. You may find that not all your flashbacks are the same. However you experience your flashbacks, they can be extremely frightening during and after the experience. Coping With FlashbacksThe list below contains some ideas that may help you to cope with flashbacks. Please don't be disheartened if the first idea you try does not work, we are all individuals and different things work for different people. Please do try some of the other ideas, or a combination of more than one until you find what works for you. Tell yourself you are having a flashback and that this is okay and very normal in people who were traumatised as children or as adults. Remind yourself that the worst is over - it happened in the past, it is not happening now. The person inside you is giving you these memories to use in your healing and, however terrible you feel, you survived the awfulness then, which means you can survive and get though what you are remembering now. Tell yourself you are not alone, not in any danger now and that you will get though this. Let yourself know it's okay to remember and to feel what you feel and that this will help your healing from what had happened. Try some of these ways of 'grounding' yourself and becoming more aware of the present. When you were being abused you could not get away, now you can. - Stamp your feet, grind them around on the floor to remind yourself where you are now. - Look around the room, noticing the colours, the people, the shapes of things. - Listen to the sounds around you: the traffic, voices, the washing machine, etc… - Feel your body, the boundary of your skin, your clothes, the chair or floor supporting you. - Have an elastic band to hand (or on your wrist) - you can 'ping' it against your wrist and feel it on your skin - that feeling is in the now, the things you are re-experiencing were in the past. Take care of your breathing: breathe deeply down to your diaphragm; put your hand there (just above your navel) and breathe so that your hand gets pushed up and down. You can also count - to 5 - as you breathe out and in. When we get scared we breathe too quickly and shallowly and our body begins to panic. Breathing slowly and deeply will stop the panic. If you have lost a sense of where you end and the rest of the world begins, rub your body so you can feel its edges, the boundary of you. Wrap yourself in a blanket, feel it around you. Get support if you would like it. Let people close to you know about the flashbacks so they can help if you want them to. That might mean holding you, talking to you, helping you to reconnect with the present, to remember you are safe and cared for now. Flashbacks are powerful experiences, which drain your energy. Take time to look after yourself when you have had a flashback. You could have a warm, relaxing bath or a sleep, a warm drink, play some soothing music or just take some quiet time for yourself. Your 'child' and you deserve being taken care of, given all you went through in the past. When you feel ready, write down all you can remember about the flashback and how you got through it. This will help you to remember information for your healing and to remind you that you did get through it (and can again). It will help you to identify the 'triggers' that cause the flashbacks, and help you gain a deeper understanding of why they are happening, and what they are trying to tell you. Find a competent therapist, or join a self help group - it is a healing thing to share your process with others who understand so deeply what you are going through. A therapist can be a guide, a support a coach in this healing process. You do not have to do it alone ever again.Taking NotesWhether you simply make mental notes or write down every detail about the flashback and what you did to cope, this is an important part of the process. The more information you have about your flashbacks, the better. What triggered the flashback? What was your goal? (Accept, Control or Escape) Did you accomplish your goal? What coping techniques did you use? Which of these techniques helped, which didn't? Having these notes can help create a better plan for flashback management. They can also help your therapist in helping you.Remember you are not crazy - Flashbacks are normal and you are healing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bibiddi Posted October 6, 2008 Report Share Posted October 6, 2008 Can you put a link as to where this is from,please. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaddyJay Posted October 6, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 6, 2008 Source: http://www.oneinfour.org/support/flashback/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bibiddi Posted October 6, 2008 Report Share Posted October 6, 2008 Thank you.They say flashbacks are normal, and you are healing.I dont understand.I've had flashbacks for years. It doesnt seem to be a part of healing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norabella Posted October 10, 2008 Report Share Posted October 10, 2008 Thank you.They say flashbacks are normal, and you are healing.I dont understand.I've had flashbacks for years. It doesnt seem to be a part of healing.I used to get flash backs esp. when I was deep in my psychotherapy, it is the memory's way of 'showing' you what you need to be addressing in the here and now so you can heal it. They are pushed up from your sub-concious into your concious mind as unfinished business, because you for whatever reason, too young, just trying to survive etc and could not deal with them at the time, your sub-concious will carry on doing this until the issues are dealt with and you can move on - it is hard and can be very harrowing, emotional experience but if you are in therapy you can deal with them there safely.They do go away, honest but they just want to be dealt with! Elke 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orange64 Posted October 24, 2008 Report Share Posted October 24, 2008 Hi Iam new and was looking for support. flashbacks I hate them and I have a hard time believing they are healing. Two weeks ago I had one of the worst that I have experienced. Christmas is a trigger and stores arleady have christmas stuff. I wanted to die after having this flashback. I am working it out with a counelor. Iam having difficulties believing I am going to make it through. Thank you for letting me vent by feelings. orange64 :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaddyJay Posted October 26, 2008 Author Report Share Posted October 26, 2008 Hi Orange,This is a great place for support and we will all do our best to support you through this tough time. I hope my post on Coping With Flashbacks has been a help to you. If there is anything I can do to help, please do not hesitate to contact me.Take care of yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiztheLounger Posted December 31, 2008 Report Share Posted December 31, 2008 Has anyone had any experience with the EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) method? I was having major trouble with my flashbacks and this really technique helped me. It doesn't work on everyone, it depends on the severity of the trauma as well, but it worked so well for me, I thought I'd put it out there...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eye_Movement_...nd_Reprocessing-Liz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
successful_workthru Posted August 28, 2009 Report Share Posted August 28, 2009 I get horrible feelings when triggerred by things in the here and now. The thing is, although I feel triggered, I dont know what the horrible feelings are flashing back to. Its just a vague but unbearable feeling. hope this makes sense Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
profound1 Posted September 4, 2009 Report Share Posted September 4, 2009 Hi sw That makes sense to me. I have flashbacks from past events that I know about and the flashbacks are clear and make total sense to me, but I also get some flashbacks to a situation I am unclear about. It is always the same, like a split second image, then intense panic symtoms followed by dissociation. I have a horrible feeling about this, I know I am very young and I know where I am because the image gives me that information but hell I am scared when I think about it. I hate flashbacks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellz Posted September 30, 2009 Report Share Posted September 30, 2009 I can see how they would say flashbacks are there to help you heal. But when it happens it's horrible and doesn't feel like a part of a healing process. I have flashbacks where I know what triggered them and what they are about. But I also get them where it doesn't make sense at all. I don't know how to explain them to my boyfriend either Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nobody Posted October 30, 2009 Report Share Posted October 30, 2009 Thanks for this post Jay, it's helped me a little bit. Some of my flashbacks are from more recent times though and won't go away. How come sometimes you can deal with what's happened to you, other times it makes you feel sick to the core? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elke Posted November 2, 2009 Report Share Posted November 2, 2009 (edited) I just read an article on BPD yesterday. It said that talking through traumatic experiences in therapy with Borderliners doesnt help them forget the experiences, rather intensify the feelings. Dont know if it is true ... The suggestions Jay wrote are really worth giving a try. Thanks Jay, Elke Edited November 2, 2009 by Elke Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dice Posted November 10, 2009 Report Share Posted November 10, 2009 Hmmmm I get flash back a lot sometimes and other times its not to bad but when I try and tell my doc's she doesn't listen to me and ignores it, Plus I tryed to tell my ex Psy but again he didn't listen so I am going to tell my new Psy I get to see at the end of the month... And I was just wondering do you get flashbacks with having BPD or not???... As I do have BPD but i've not see any thing to say you get flashbacks with BPD its just with PTSD o.0... Sorry if that makes no sense but I get what I am trying to say ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feistymiss Posted November 15, 2009 Report Share Posted November 15, 2009 I just read an article on BPD yesterday. It said that talking through traumatic experiences in therapy with Borderliners doesnt help them forget the experiences, rather intensify the feelings. Dont know if it is true ... The suggestions Jay wrote are really worth giving a try. Thanks Jay, Elke i just found this comment and i agree. i have BPD and i find when i talk then i become agitated, unsettled, angry, as i am reliving it, alone. i dont believe talking therapy has helped to date and this makes me feel more apart from life and others. i cant take medication and i feel ive been doubly cursed, by first having BPD and now having no way to cope with it. i feel when i talk about it, then im even more vulnerable, as im sharing something no one else really cares enough about. in any case no one can take it away, maybe thats what im saying and so far i havent found a way of helping myself Elke 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts