PTSD: Coping with Flashbacks

Lately, I've had several members reach out to me and ask about coping with flashbacks. As someone personally diagnosed with PTSD who has experienced flashbacks, I can attest to their terror and upset. That said, I would like to share a simplified list on how to ground yourself in reality and cope effectively when these do ocurr.

For those of you who are not familiar with what a flashback is or what they feel like, here is some insight. It is my hope that this will help others either a.) not feel so alone and/or b.) realize what they are experiencing are in fact flashbacks and begin to seek counsel from a professional:

" The truth is, in the original experience of that moment during my trauma, I didnt want to come back. I wanted to keep going into the tunnel and abandon my body forever. Later, then, it was a strange flashback in which to be stuck. Non-violent and peaceful, the memory stole over me at odd moments without a definitive trigger and the next thing I knew, I was back in that place, hovering way between my physical body and a black tunnel, reliving the panic and fear of the moments prior to my escape, and then lingering in the peace of that ultimate disconnection from the world around me. Suspended there, my mind shut down and I sank into the deep, despondent wish that I could get back to the tunnel and leave behind the rest of the PTSD hell in which I lived. "

Meandering Micheles Mind: 18 Tips For Coping With A Flashback @ healmyptsd.com

1. Count 1 – 10 slowly; repeat until the flashback ends.

2. Practice breathing techniques to reconnect the body to the mind.

3. Focus on one of the five senses, i.e. slowly look at whats around you and notice the details; take a deep breath and smell the air; chew a piece of gum and taste the fresh flavor; put your hands together and feel the skin; listen to the sound of traffic.

4. Let the flashback flow and view it as you would a movie, as if you are removed from it and it is appearing on a screen. You are in the present moment; the flashback is a separate event.

5. Snap an elastic band around your wrist.

6. Hold onto an ice cube.

7. Put a squeeze of toothpaste into your mouth (very unique texture/taste/smell).

8. Take a swig of vanilla extract.

9. Stomp your feet.

10. Say the alphabet backwards.
11. Journal. Put it in a box and put the box away.

12. Smelling peppermint oil (helps with head-aches, nausea, and jolts the senses).

13. Reach out. Talk with someone.

14. Surround yourself with things that help ground you (clocks, calendars, music).

15. Develop a channel for safe venting if/when necessary. In the words of one survivor: I used to take old jars from the fridge and smash them against a brick wall several blocks from my home, slamming a door, or screaming at the top of my lungs when no-one could hear me.

16. Stretching, Yoga, biking, running, walking, or working out.

17. Counting without limit – begin counting when it starts and dont stop until the memory recedes.

18. For this last tip, Im going to post the words of a vet, but any civilian can use the technique, too, by substituting his/her triggering sound: The sound of a huey chopper would set off a flashback, so the therapist had me install a huey sound file on my computer and listen to it over and over. My anxiety still goes high at the sound but now no flashbacks.

Hope this helps.