Why do flashbacks happen

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How to cope with emotional flashbacks Identify your triggers Once you begin to recognise the things that trigger you people, situations, relationship dynamics etc you can take steps to reassure yourself when you start to become triggered. Take deep breaths Breathing deeply from below the naval into your abdomen over a couple of minutes will bring you back into your body and back into the here and now. Soothe your senses Sensory information around you from your sight, sound, taste, touch or smell may be triggering the scared part of your brain and the flashback response.

Think about therapy Working on an open-ended basis with an experienced therapist will enable you to identify coping strategies for your day-to-day challenges, as well as working with the wounded inner child and helping it to process what happened way back when. Karen Dempsey With a year career in print and online publishing and an MA in creative writing, Karen Dempsey has worked as a journalist, editor and copywriter and has managed large editorial teams. Leave new K male. Karen Dempsey. Michelle Smith.

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These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience. Necessary Necessary. Non-necessary Non-necessary. Many people seek counselling because they are experiencing constant reminders of a traumatic event in the form of flashbacks and nightmares.

These reminders can be incredibly intrusive and can contribute to the development of anxiety problems, sleep disturbance and feelings of being out of control.

Some people feel that they are going crazy. Some people believe they should not be affected so greatly by the event. Flashbacks occur when we are triggered to remember what has happened. A flashback can be a terribly frightening experience, involving all of the senses. Many people say that they can see, hear, smell and feel everything that happened to them during a flashback.

Some people feel as if they are reliving the trauma. A lot of people experience nightmares. The nightmare can be a replay of the trauma or may be quite bizarre and seemingly unrelated. People often experience difficulties with sleeping. Find out about what you can do to get a better night's sleep. They may have trouble falling asleep. This may be because they are worried about having nightmares or they feel unsafe. Others wake during the night after nightmares or hearing noises and have trouble getting back to sleep.

This publication is provided for education and information purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional medical care. Information about a therapy, service, product or treatment does not imply endorsement and is not intended to replace advice from your healthcare professional.

Readers should note that over time currency and completeness of the information may change. All users should seek advice from a qualified healthcare professional for a diagnosis and answers to their medical questions. Our brain has plasticity, which enables it to survive and adapt.

This plasticity allows our brain to adapt to different situations, whether they involve rainbows and unicorns or war and assault. Two vital parts in our brain play a big role in PTSD, the amygdala and the hippocampus. The amygdala is the brain region involved in identifying threats and danger.

The sensitivity of the amygdala makes it over-active to the cues of trauma. The hippocampus, on the other hand, is mostly objective.

This region of the brain is not nearly as interested in emotion-related stimuli. It is mostly responsible for the documentation of what happened. Researchers have found that there is a decreased hippocampal volume in PTSD cases.

One common explanation for this is the fight-or-flight mechanism of our body. Our blood is diverted to our legs and arms so we can run or fight harder, our pupils dilate to get better light, our heart rate accelerates, and our breathing gets quicker to receive more oxygen. In that situation, our mind and body work as one. While the amygdala becomes the first priority to detect the threat, the hippocampus and building up meaningful memories take second place. After all, we cannot build up memories unless we survive.

Flashbacks cause you to re-experience the traumatic event. This feeling can lead to the activation of the fight-or-flight mechanism again. These flashbacks can be accompanied by increased heart rate, sweating, fear, and in severe cases, panic attacks. If you know or if you are someone who suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and flashbacks, the one thing I want you to remember is that you are not a victim.

You have a tough but treatable condition. The aftermath of the event might still be on you, making you remember that you were in a situation where all your control and sense of trust were shattered. Give yourself, your mind, and your body the time to heal and look for professional support.

You are a survivor. So, go and seek help.