Emotional Flashbacks & Grounding Techniques

 

Someone raises their voice, or you sense a mood shift, when suddenly, your heart starts pounding, intense fear takes over, and you just want to run and hide. You feel alone, shameful, and now your inner critic takes over to tell you what a terrible person you are.

An emotional flashback is similar to a typical flashback in the sense that it is usually unwanted and very intrusive. Normally, there are no images or particular memories involved though, just an overwhelming rush of negative emotions like fear, panic, toxic shame, or even suicidal thoughts.

Triggers are different for everyone and will be centered around the unique circumstances each individual underwent during childhood. For example, if someone subconsciously associates the sound of a slammed door with previous abuse they endured, hearing that sound can send their body into great distress. This is because our bodies respond to traumatic triggers as if they are reliving the past threatening event.

For the most part, these flashbacks leave me in a dissociated and numb state, since that was my go-to escape mechanism at the time. Just one little mishap or conflict can withdraw me back into my child self and leave me feeling trapped and powerless all over again. Finally, though, I’ve begun to discover healthier ways to cope, and I’d like to share one with you. Surely by now, everyone has heard of grounding techniques, but what are they?

Grounding Techniques

Grounding techniques help people cope through flashbacks, dissociation, panic attacks, or any distressing thoughts and feelings really. These tools can help interrupt those unwanted thoughts/feelings and bring you back into the present moment. I’ll cover the 5-4-3-2-1 technique, which is pretty easy to remember.

• 5 things you can see. What color is the wall? Are there any interesting patterns around you? Any funny images?

• 4 things you can feel. One of my favorite things to do is dig my feet into the dirt, or brush my hand across some moss or grass.

• 3 things you can hear. Maybe some birds, wind, rain, traffic. The sound of office chatter, or simply the sound of the air conditioner.

• 2 things you can smell. Mmm, warm baked chocolate chip cookies. No? That's okay. This is where you might have to get creative.

• 1 thing you can taste. If you don't have a drink or snack nearby, it might help to just imagine the taste of your favorite meal.

This simple and relatively quick technique can ease your distress and help get you back into your body. If you relate to any of this I suggest you read Pete Walker’s book, Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving, or even just do some research on emotional flashbacks. Dealing with these triggers can be so tough, but it helps to know that you’re not alone. Educating myself on healthy coping mechanisms has been a lifesaver, and I'm hoping they become easier to implement as time goes on.