Glossary Section for Emotional Flashbacks

[Kizzie]

Here's a section on EFs I wrote for the glossary.  Thought it might spur some conversation about EFs, but also if you have some suggestions (add, edit, resource, whatever), please let me know.

EMOTIONAL FLASHBACKS

Definition: An emotional flashback is the re-experiencing of mild to intense emotions that were experienced during past trauma and which may be of short to long duration. The person may or may not connect these feelings to the original trauma.

Description: Emotional flashbacks (EFs) involve mild to intense feeling states (e.g., anger, shame, fear) that were felt in past trauma, but which not processed and integrated into the person's psyche.  EFs are triggered by present day situations which engage past emotions and layer them on top of current emotions. For example, a person who grew up with a parent who was angry and abusive may react with sudden intense fear to a minor conflict at work and not understand what is happening or why because often people with CPTSD do not connect these feelings to past trauma.  Emotional flashbacks are contrasted by the visual flashbacks experienced with  PTSD where sufferer sees the traumatic event replayed in their mind's eye.

What It Feels Like:  A person experiencing an EF may have sudden emotions ranging from mild and being somewhat unsettled to intense and being overwhelmed by feelings which rise up (and sometimes seemingly out of nowhere) in response to a present day situation or trigger.  Emotionally they may include anger, fear, shame, and powerlessness. Physically, breathing may quicken and become shallow, heart rate may increase, muscles may tighten and they may feel anxious and jittery (adrenalized). Cognitively, they may feel foggy and have difficulty thinking clearly.  Things may seem a bit unreal or surreal and off kilter as though the ground is shifting under their feet (derealisation). Internally there may be a sense of being fractured or not feeling like oneself or being detached (depersonalization). They may have an intense need to hide so that no-one will see what is going on.

What NOT to Do

•   Don't think that you must be crazy or broken; an EF is a response to a psychological injury rather than a defect of character
•   Don't listen to your Inner Critic if it tells you that you are weak or 'bad' for having an EF, or that you deserve to feel the way you do
•   Don't self-medicate with alcohol or drugs. Although it is tempting to numb oneself this can lead to addiction.
•   Don't isolate yourself.  You may feel safer in the short term, but longer term you will not learn that although in the past no-one was there for you, in the present others can and will help you
•   Don't dissociate if possible. Again, while this may help in the short term in the longer term it is difficult to remember and process past trauma.     

What TO Do

• Recognize that you are having an EF and reassure yourself that what you are feeling is made more intense because feelings from the past of being abused or abandoned are layered over your current emotions.
• Give yourself time to soothe yourself and grieve the remembered pain of your past trauma.
• Tell yourself that what you are feeling is due to a psychological injury and not a defect of character (e.g., you are not weak or broken)
• Use grounding and self-soothing strategies such as Pete Walker's "13 Steps for Managing Emotional Flashbacks" to bring yourself into the present moment and calm yourself
• Seek support - Tell your physician/therapist and trusted family members/friends about your EFs, and allow them to support and care for you.

Resources

•   Cat's Meow. "Emotional Flashbacks"
•   Villines, Z. (2013). "Complex PTSD: Response to Prolonged Trauma"
•   Walker, P. "13 Steps for Managing Emotional Flashbacks"

[schrödinger's cat]

•   Tell yourself that what you are feeling is due to a psychological injury and not a defect of character (e.g., you are weak or broken)

Or maybe: "(e.g., you are not weak or broken)"?

Do you think that it's helpful to add something about giving ourselves enough time? We're most of us enculturated to "move on" as quickly as we can, and to feel alarmed when we have negative feelings. But sometimes, if it's at all possible, it's good to take our time and use an EF as an opportunity to grieve the injuries of our past. It's late here, and I can't for the life of me decide how to put that in one short snazzy sentence. Maybe under "What to do": "Give yourself time to soothe yourself and grieve the remembered pain of your past trauma"?

[Kizzie]

Tks Cat, that sentence does make more sense now, and I've added in the other - good point.  We are going to a shorter format as we've discussed but I will be saving these longer versions and once the basic Glossary is in place perhaps the sections can grow into this longer format.