Flashbacks

[Struggling]

Hi, I'm new to this forum. I'm a year into recovery from my most recent crisis, been clean and sober for a year now too. I struggle daily with flashbacks. They bring with them intense feelings of guilt/shame and embarrassment and cause physical reactions as well. I'm looking for coping skills for flashbacks. I'm open to try anything.

[paul m]

Hello Struggling and welcome to the forum. Congrats for being clean and sober for a yr. My examples below are what work for me and may not work for anyone else . You may find the links that I put at the end of more help as they cover the problem in a better way than I have.

You probably already know this but flashbacks covers are very large field, have a variety of causes and can be of varying intensities. For me, control is about containing my stress levels and feeling good about myself as well as trying to manage the flashbacks themselves. I can't and won't say that I'm always successful and I often have problems controlling stress and/or maintaining a good image of myself.

I try and control my stress levels by A) not allowing them to build too high before I take action and B) by bleeding off stress in variety of ways , such as exercise, relaxation time, proper diet and good sleep patterns. Ironically, while I have pretty good control during the day, when sleeping my flashbacks can be devastating, but I'm working on them.

I try and control how I feel about myself by simply telling myself (on a regular basis)that I'm a good person with some bad problems and that is better than being a bad person with good excuses. I also try and do things that make me feel good about myself, such as trying to help others.

I try to avoid my triggers. Triggers are just items or actions that may trigger a flashback.

Whenever I do have problems I try to remind myself that they are memories and not real, I try and touch base somehow with reality and I try very hard not to get down on myself because I cannot always control these unwanted intrusions. Good Luck and please feel free to post your own suggestions and/or ask more questions. Take Care. paul m

http://trauma-recovery.ca/impact-effects-of-trauma/flashbacks/

http://www.livingwell.org.au/managing-difficulties/dealing-with-flashbacks/

http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/post-traumatic-stress-disorder/basics/definition/con-20022540

[AJ]

Welcome to the forums Struggling. Congratulations on your year of recovery.

Flashbacks can take me back in an instant to something traumatic from my past. I try to do what I can to bring me back to the present. Sometimes the only thing that will ground me is to focus on slow deep breaths.

[Struggling]

Thank you for the suggestions. It's comforting to know I am not the only one dealing with these.

[dave]

Trauma therapy was, early in my recovery, the first intervention that made a significant impact, stress reduction is very important. When I am stressed there are more frequent flashbacks and they are harder to dismiss. When I am more well they happen occassional so I acknowledge them and dismiss them and they dissipate more readily. When I show them that they are less relevant they "know" they are not worth my time or attention so they go away. I don't get angry and I don't question why past events happened I just remind myself that I am safe now and I am strong now I am no longer afraid and need not be fearful.

[Luna Bella]

Dave, love love what you wrote! Very helpful to me. ;-)