Flashbacks That Really Do Come Out Of Nowhere.

[Jen93]

Okay, here's the thing. I have flashbacks that really DO come out of nowhere. There's no recognizable trigger for it. It leads to me feeling trapped, and I see stuff on my arms/ they go numb, and there's no trigger for it. It's happened in the hallway at school, it happens when I'm in my bed, it happens when I'm with my family watching T.V. It's really, really odd. If I don't have triggers.. Then how can it be a flashback? I know it is though. How can I figure out the triggers? It happens sporadically, suddenly and I can't track it. That's another part of the reason why it's so frightening. Can someone explain it to me? How I can figure out what triggers it or if I'm just doomed to flashbacks which appear out of nowhere?

 

[The Albatross]

Jen this sounds like a great "Ask Anthony" question if you ask me. I know for myself, when I really put some brain power into it. That some of my triggers were smells, sounds, even "shiney tile" of a hospital or doctor's office among other things. I tracked down some weird ones. But if you're saying they come out of nowhere, I believe you. I hope you'll either ask Anthony or someone else here can come along and help you out. :O_o:

 

[Meadowsweet]

I have intrusive images, thoughts/emotion and body memories that occur when there are stressers in my life.

I think the best explanation for this is the ptsd cup explanation, and there is a good thread somewhere that differentiates between stressers and triggers that might help too.

I get quite confused about intrusive images etc and flashbacks. So I tend to use flashback to descrobe the times when I am in a memory, but have no awareness that thats what is happening. They are quite rare, but the intrusions are very common for me.

 

[Jen93]

I think I might have a little bit of an answer.

The trauma is so interconnected- like almost MIRRORING another to a degree that the two traumas actually share some of the same triggers. I've been just dismissing them because I thought that it couldn't possibly be the same trigger because it's not the exact same event.