Are Emotional Flashbacks Gender Specific?

[WillyKat]

Just so you know, your posts can be read by anyone, forum member or not. They can also be searched via google. I say this because your profile lists city and your name is easy to ID. If you want privacy, I'd close down some of that.

Just FYI.

 

[arfie]

Russ, I have found that they become easier to manage and even useful as I have relaxed with them. I used to react as though they were a threat. I reacted to them like a jack-a-lope in car headlights. Full F3. Freeze-flight-fight. As I have developed my acceptance of them, I am beginning to see them as a natural alert system. They clue me on elements in my environment that weren't covered in my engineering classes.

 

[Abstract]

have been trying to read up on this, and it seemed every article I found dealt with females and emotional flashbacks.

I keep feeling really curious about this so am just going to ask. Are the articles you talk about specifically saying it is for women or did the example they mention happen to be a woman? In other words was it you that were looking for a mention of a man? Can you link an example of what you have read?

I wondered if it is possible that you grew up in an environment where you were told it was not masculine to have strong emotions. ?

 

[RussH]

Can you link an example of what you have read?

I wondered if it is possible that you grew up in an environment where you were told it was not masculine to have strong emotions. ?

I was raised in an enviroment that stressed you had to be a man, but in regards to the articles; the only ones I read use females as examples, and I did not see any that reference males and emotional flashbacks.

 

[Abstract]

Russ, I think the fact that it even occurred to you that you needed to see them mention a man for it to be possible for it to happen to men says a lot about how you were brought up. I think a lot of material on trauma uses women (other than if it refers to combat trauma) but the reasons for that have nothing to do with it being gender specific and probably has a lot more to do with other factors.

 

[Hopp]

I have got an article for you to read:

http://www.psychotherapy.net/article/complex-ptsd

Read and you will have a lot of information about emotional Flashbacks and you can also read about a man.

 

[Pietro]

To the same extent that Real Men don't cry

They do?! ;) I remember learning this little nugget of joy. :shifty:

 

[Quin79]

In this context: Oh to be abnormal:)

I know exactly what you mean Russ. Some days I would give just about anything not to be like this. :)

But, if I'm honest, this is better than how I was before, which can sound odd at first. But I lived for almost 20 years being totally dissociated and now I can feel. Actual emotions! The bad ones suck. But the good ones are really amazing and I'm learning how to just feel them, all the way through so that I have the complete experience and can use that to find a sense of balance.

Just remember, all emotions are temporary states of being. They don't last forever. If you stay in the current moment you will move along with them and not get stuck in some dark place with old ones.

That is however, much easier said than done sometimes. I'm still learning how to do it. But, I keep trying to remind myself how far I have come already.

If nothing else you've come to a good place here, I've only very recently been posting, but been lurking for quite a while and it's full of good, supportive people.

 

[RussH]

I know exactly what you mean Russ.
Some days I would give just about anything not to be like this. :)

But, if I'm honest, this is better than how I was before, which can sound odd at first. But I lived for almost 20 years being totally dissociated and now I can feel. Actual emotions!

For me, it's better knowing now what I know. I did not understand why I would have these sudden eruptions of painful emotions, and I did not understand the self-loathing, and not being able to discern if people liked me, or not. It really helps knowing what is going on, and another think I realized this morning, which is huge, I am no longer ashamed, and will not be ashamed that I was subjected to prolonged bullying. I did not do it. I was the vicitim, and I will no longer feel guilty for what I did not do. I also realize that some of my pain is because I did nothing to stop it. Well I recognize I could not do anything, and I have decided to forgive myself for not stopping it.

 

[Hopp]

@RussH, That is incredible!:) I wish I could feel that for myself too... My head almost gets it, but not my heart. :oops:

 

[WillyKat]

Understanding it rationally, like we're ready for a college exam, but not really feeling it emotionally is a common theme for us with PTSD. I'm still struggling with it.

 

[BlueOcean]

Sometimes I re-live emotions from when I was a teen due to trauma. I use to try to push the feelings away, but recently I've been able to let it come and disappear. I don't feel gripped by the emotions any more.