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Nevertheless, flashbacks are a common distressing symptom people experience in the aftermath of surviving a traumatic event. Traumatic events emotionally overwhelmed the survivor and involve. Posted December 21, There is relatively little empirical research into the flashback phenomenon.
Understanding Emotional Flashbacks: Signs You Might Be Having One
Nevertheless, flashbacks are a common distressing symptom people experience in the aftermath of surviving a traumatic event. Traumatic events emotionally overwhelmed the survivor and involve danger of loss of life or limb or witnessing others being harmed. Indeed, flashbacks, nightmares and sleep disturbance might be considered the trifecta of post-traumatic stress disorder. David J. This triggered a flashback; he dissociated and found himself in the lobby of the theater where his perplexed girlfriend intervened.
Understanding and Managing Flashbacks
From my clinical experience, trauma-related flashbacks typically involve emotional states of overwhelming anxiety , panic or terror and constitute an emotional crisis. In earlier wars there were few references to such a phenomenon so some believe the flashback symptom may be culturally determined, as all cultures dictate in broad strokes how emotional distress from trauma is expressed, i. A book by Harvard psychology professor and hallucinogenic drug researcher Timothy Leary entitled Flashbacks described the drug-related phenomenon.
Leary wrote, "The glimpse of a maple tree flaming yellow and red reminded me vividly of the drug state. The phenomenon was later called a 'flashback'—a brief but intense reliving of a memory, a sudden re-entry into highly charged rooms in the brain. To me the flashbacks were a positive indication that once new circuits of the brain were accessed by drugs, one could learn to re-activate the experience without drugs.
In recent years, interest in hallucinogenic drug therapy as an adjunct to psychotherapy for trauma has resurfaced. MDMA is known to elicit feelings of trust and compassion for many people who ingest the drug. Note: MDMA is not the same as the street drug Ecstasy or molly which frequently contain other dangerous additives. Active areas of the brain process glucose at higher rates than inactive ones. The right visual cortex showed heightened activity.
Van der Kolk interpreted these findings as consistent with the speechless terror trauma survivors experience while in flashback states. Van der Kolk and Caruth discussed how often other forms of therapy that involve physical movement rather than relying only on speech is required to move the trauma survivor out of these involuntary memory systems and to re-orient to the present. Psychodrama, theater, sandplay, dance, yoga, Pilates, and others physical movement methods can facilitate this transition.
Dance is rated as one of the most enjoyable of all human activities. From personal experience with dance, I know it releases mood enhancing neurochemicals and creates a sense of physical and emotional well-being. Mythologist Michael J. Mead has said that when tribal societies experienced collective trauma, their first line of healing involves community dancing rituals. I recently talked with Dr. Mark Gordon in a telephone discussion about his revolutionary work treating veterans who have sustained traumatic brain injuries.
I asked if his hormone replenishment protocols are effective in reducing flashbacks and trauma-related nightmares. He indicated they are. He stated when normal hormone levels are restored, these symptoms typically melt away. When proper hormone levels are reached, brain repair is facilitated and symptoms abate. The time frame for improvement in functioning can be rapid or can take months, but for many, improvement is rapid.
From my clinical experience, flashbacks generally diminish in frequency and intensity with time. However, at anniversary times or at times of high stress, flashbacks can return but typically quickly subside. Psychotherapy can be extremely helpful by way of psychoeducation and support with respect to normalization and expectation. I first learned about Dr. The testimonials talk about how Dr. As mental health professionals, we need to get up to speed on these important developments in the areas of traumatic brain injuries and chronic stress exposure.
More work needs to be done to learn how trauma can impact the body, particularly the brain, by way of chronic inflammatory responses which disrupt normal emotional and cognitive functioning. Flashbacks may be the result of a neuroinflammatory response that blocks normal memory processing of the trauma experience. James F. Zender, Ph. A diagnosis often brings relief, but it can also come with as many questions as answers.
Zender Ph. The New Normal.