Flashbacks?

[Healing Reins]

I was wondering what to do for flashbacks. I've been having really bad flashbacks and i was wondering what you guys do for them. Also this might sound weird, but because i was raped i notice that when i have a flashback ALL the sensations are there again...is there anyway i can stop this? Also how do you control your breathing during a flashback? Sorry for all the questions! Hope all is well!! Xoxo

 

[Justmehere]

I used to have flashbacks even as often as multiple times a day. Then I learned how to do various grounding skills, and I did them over and over again throughout the day. I did them regardless if I was having flashbacks or not. Eventually the flashbacks have become fewer and far between. By practicing the grounding skills when I have not been triggered, it's been easier to do them when triggered. I also discovered that I was being triggered less and less.

This is a good article that explains grounding much better than I can:
Link Removed

I too get all the sensations of when I was raped... but when that has changed. Now when I have a flashback, instead of feeling everything, it tends to be just one or two aspects of the trauma.

PTSD is miserable and frightening to experience - and we already had the trauma to live through! I hope you find what will work for you, and I hope the flashbacks get better soon.

 

[Meadowsweet]

Like justmehere, regular grounding can help. If you feel the anxiety come on before hand, then I've found that saying names of the everyday things around me helps to get a grip of where I am - so literally, just saying 'cup, table, shoe, carpet, TV, window, tree' I add in things like ;I'm here now, everything's ok' too. It's more difficult when we dissociate rather than feel the panic, because, for me, I can do little else but lie there.

Body memories are very upsetting, and I don't quite know what to do about those, other than try to distract my mind from them. But, over time and with therapy to help me process trauma, they have got significantly better (even rare). So some things take time, but keep hope.

 

[Healing Reins]

I guess it's really hard to focus on grounding myself and focus on breathing when it happens..Does that happen to you guys too? Or is that just something that I am struggling with?

 

[Justmehere]

@Taia12896 No, you are not alone in that at all. It has been really hard to ground and especially to slow down my breathing. It has taken a lot of practice, but now, much of the time, I can stop a panic attack or flashback mid-way through it, even when it feels like I am hyperventilating so fast I am about to pass out.

Flashbacks are a way of the body trying to protect itself. It's geared up to fight off a danger that isn't there anymore. It's good that the body has the ability to breathe super fast so we have the energy and oxygen we need to run very fast (or fight really hard) if there is a real danger. It absolutely is horrible to endure it over and over when the danger is over.

It is very hard to do at first, because our body and mind is gearing up to fight off what it thinks is a life or death danger. It is very difficult to stop and hold some ice or do deep breathing when the body and mind is re-living trauma. It can get a lot easier to do and a lot better. As you work on processing and integrating the trauma, then the flashbacks will get better and eventually you won't need the grounding skills so much.

Something that helps me with breathing slower is doing something grounding that is outside of myself. I have tried a lot of deep breathing techniques and not many work for me if that is all I do. So I will grab things that are around me that are physically grounding and bring me right to the present moment. The more I am connected to the present moment, the quicker my body stops re-living the past. I will grab ice in one hand and a cup of warm tea in the other (this just works for me, I know some people who just hold ice or cold water). I sometimes will wrap tight in a blanket. Sometimes I will push into a wall. Sometimes I will start touching everything in a room that is the same color. (Some people just name those things, I seem to need to do something physical.) I have no idea why these things work for me.

 

[joeylittle]

@Taia12896 , the one thing that helps me with my breath is to first get my exhale under control. My therapist suggested it, and it really helped me; it feels "easier" to hold that breath back and really blow it out very very slowly, even if its not much air. Then I do my best to slow my inhale, but even if its a mess I commit to a slowed down exhale again. Usually around the third or fourth slow exhale I can grab ahold of something, and that helps me get better control of my inhale, and after that's gotten solid I can start releasing tension.

But the big thing for me was slowing down my exhale first. I just make my mouth really small, and it happens almost by itself.