Post Flashback Effects On You Possible Trigger Alert.

[RussH]

I am not sure if this is the right forum, and I am not sure how to frame the question, but here it goes.

I have not been triggered to often, and most of the time I would be ok after a couple of days. However this last time, in october, I had an extremely difficult time, and was not sure I would survive it. This was, without a doubt, the worst time I have had as an adult, and it is how I finally learned I have PTSD. So there are a lot of things I still don't understand, so I am asking you.

I was triggered as work, and for the next 3-5 days I was in a severe flashback that was followed by a period of significant anxiety that lasted for a couple of months. I finally got put on an antianxiety medication that helped.

I am now off the meds and don't have anxiety, but I am very emotional.

What is it like for you after you have been triggered? Do you have a period of time before you can readjust?
Do the affects of being triggered linger, and so affect you for long periods of time?

 

[KwanYingirl]

I dissociate upon being triggered. I can still work and act normal but I am still split from my consciousness. Slowly I come aware and feel very anxious for 3-4 days. Anxious and irritable. Still able to work. There have only been a couple of days I've had to cancel due to flashbacks.

I have recently begun energy work yoga and Reiki. I don't know what to say about the Reiki I think it is awakening me. I used to be dead inside-a deep soul dead and I am becoming aware of my insides. Yoga teaches relaxation and mindfulness. I am dissociating less and sleeping much better. I guess you could say that I believe in a mind/body connection that gets severed by trauma.

 

[Seasounds]

.Do the affects of being triggered linger, and so affect you for long periods of time?

Yes, my major trigger episodes have behaved similarly.

In fact, two days ago, at work, such a trigger occurred. Now I'm living with heightened anxiety. My hope is that, this time, with the skills and support I've accumulated since the last episode of this trigger (5 years agor), that it will linger less.

I have a few major triggers/trauma events that get restimulated due to the similiarities in the present, to the past. One such trigger strongly affected me, (lingered, and dwindled) for one year.
(That was a tough year.) The category of my current trigger is less severe; in the past it has lingered a month or two.

I think the more support, of various kinds, that you can engage, the better off you will be. For me this has included taking myself into nature, only spending time with people who are absolutely empathetic and peaceful-by thei nature, and vetoing regular help through counseling and/or psychiatry. And, when people were involved, it totally helped to avoid them. I have even asked my manager to make changes in our work stations. It helped!

Good luck!

 

[Meadowsweet]

Before I was diagnosed, I didn't know that I was triggered, I was in the nightmare, and so it would last a very long time.

When I separated myself from the people who triggered me due to them knowing my attacker, flashbacks carried on,but because they didn't make sense, after the full on part of the flashback, the anxiety that I was losing my mind lasted a long time and made everything worse.

With treatment, I have flashbacks much less often, because I keep often manage to keep on top of my anxiety before it gets to that. However, I also avoid triggers as much as possible. But with education about flashbacks and intrusions, I'm able to recover much more quickly.