Have you ever had flashbacks from terrible events or a traumatic event that happened to you in the past? Even as a child, but now you are an adult? Or as an adult, the flashbacks just keep you almost paralyzed as if you were re-living the entire tragic event again.
It’s a trembling cold experience. As if it happens all over again. How do you stop it? You wake up and you finally realize it is not happening, even so, your heart is racing. It is scary. You’re breathing heavily. It is a great feeling when you realize it was a flashback. I wish it would stop!
A flashback can be controlled with hypnosis, relaxing, and getting something, like a stone, an aroma, keeping something in your hand to touch as you start to feel a flashback starting to come into your space. It affects your mind because it is a memory. That is why I suggested hypnotherapy.
- Telling yourself that you are now safe, the traumatic event is over, you are now safe and in a safe place.
- Look all around you and memorize a certain picture frame, furniture, the color of your drapes, in your living room or bedroom.
- Tell yourself, that when you see these things, depending on where you are “you are safe.”.
- Using something you can touch as a grounding tool. Especially if you are not at home.
- If going out of your home take someone you trust with you. Your friend, a significant other who knows what you went through.
- Ask for help, professional help is best.
Carry something in your hand, your pocket, around your wrist to bring you back again and feel safe. You can also use your senses to bring you back. You look around you until your senses tell you where you are, as you look around you will see something familiar, or know just where you are at and tell yourself you are safe.
All this will become easier and easier and the flashback will ease or will only last a couple of seconds and then they will disappear altogether.
It becomes easier if you get professional help. Here are some of my own tips and that worked for me.
- Identify your triggers. When I smelled cigarettes smoke, when I passed by someone smoking, was a trigger.
- Talk to yourself, letting yourself, know that you are safe.
- Take deep breaths.
- Do not get upset with yourself. Or feel embarrassed.
- Carry peppermint candy or something smelling like peppermint. This smell is very soothing.
- Get professional help.
Remember the old saying” If at first, you don’t succeed, “Try try again.” It doesn’t mean beat yourself up, and try the same old way again…It means recognizing your error and try again another way until you get it and do it the correct way. Right?
We sometimes do not accept the idea that we “don’t deserve” to be well, happy, joyous. There is an inexhaustible supply in the universe. Our own belief in lack and limitation is the only thing that is limiting us.
What belief is limiting you?
You are not alone. You may feel alone, but you are not. Join a support group and then you will see how many of us are survivors. Of all that we are going through. Please, get help. Join others who have survived our traumas and have moved on to help others survive their pain and sufferings.
May our higher source, give you courage and strength, to get healing because it’s necessary in order to be a survivor to get above all of your pain. God bless.