Intro [0:00]
Hello my dears! I am Johanna Draconis and I welcome you to “The Deconstruction Of C-PTSD” podcast.
In this episode we will talk about flashbacks - the most known symptom of PTSD -  and wrongly assumed to be a central requirement for having any form of PTSD. We haven’t covered this topic in quite a while and it’s time we clear things up.
So let us talk about it.

Prelude [0:26]
Flashbacks are often referred to something along the lines of “having flashbacks like I have PTSD”. But unlike what many think it is only a severe symptom and not a requirement for PTSD. It is a sign that PTSD is in its more severe stages and needs to be addressed NOW.
They can get so bad that you loose sense over what is happening now and what is a projection of your brain. Which enters a very dangerous territory. Most people with mental health issues are pretty regular people and probably almost the whole population.
The insane person people imagine when they hear mental health and how it was presented in old movies, shows and the like - is actually a person that has lost the connection to the here and now. Which almost any mental health problem can escalate to.
Similar how an infected cut can lead to an amputation if you ignore it. Lost connection means the person doesn’t know when, where and sometimes who they are. That is why it is SO important to have always a connection to reality and take it VERY seriously.
We first talk about what are flashbacks, then what causes them, then when do they appear, then what can we do about them and then how can we use them.

What are flashbacks? [1:52]
So what are flashbacks? One can describe them as involuntarily remembering or reliving caused by a trigger - be it a word, object, phrase or anything really. Sometimes the trigger seems to be completely unrelated to the flashback and the memories.
Your brain can trick you and alter the things you see in a flashback - therefor take it with a grain of salt. They can appear as sort of day dreams, regular dreams or a forced remembering sequence. Alternatively you can say it’s a way of your brain to ask for help.
And by providing the memories it exactly shows you where the issue is that is causing you harm and it can’t solve. Our brains are miracle workers and rarely require our help, but if we see flash backs - then our intervention is needed.
That doesn’t necessarily mean you have to actively control your brain, but that you give the brain the tools, information, perspective, knowledge, experience or whatever it needs. Though that only applies if you keep having the same or very similar flashback.
If the flashback keeps changing that just shows you the brain is processing the memory and where it is - at that moment. Which is a good sign and shows you are progressing in your healing and processing what happened to you.

What causes them? [3:20]
Now as I mentioned before it is triggers that causes them - under the right circumstances. Usually it means you must have crossed a certain line in the severity of your PTSD - which we get into in a moment - and your defenses or energies must be low enough.
I’m sure all of you were once so tired, that you hadn’t the mental energy to deal with anything and you were easily ticked off. That is because it requires energy to remain in control of your emotions and behavior - which you naturally don’t have when you’re tired .
The trigger is the connection the brain made with the event - the bigger it has grown the more disconnected the connection seems. Sometimes the trauma awakens a dormant trauma and you get 2 traumas going in very different directions and adding a lot of confusion.

When do they appear? [4:14]
And when do they appear? Like I just mentioned you need to cross a certain line in the severity of your PTSD. I am sure you all have seen line graphs, be it weather, stock prices and so on - with a wonky line going up and down.
And this wonky line usually passes horizontal lines along the way. Now the wonky line is your PTSD progress and the horizontal lines are the severity. Every time you cross a line you get more severe symptoms. It also works the other way around with loosing symptoms.
And since the line is wonky you don’t fully switch to the different severity level immediately, but get a warning shot - or hopeful sign - depending if it goes up or down. Your wonky line is pushed up by stress, added negative experiences, low energy and the like.
Either way - worse symptoms are a sign you are heading in the wrong direction and need to adjust your path and change what you are doing - if you can.

What can we do about them? [5:19]
Which leads us to - what can we do about them? We can take preventive measures to reduce the stress, like sports, games, breathing exercises, meditation and whatever helps you reduce your stress and gives you happy hormones.
Best of course is not even reaching the point by addressing the trauma and teaching our brain how it can take care of the trauma - our brains are extremely good at that. But in that moment we can only do our best to ground ourselves and reduce stress immediately.
The breathing and grounding techniques are usually the most effective in this scenario. Also creating an anchor like the thought “It will pass” to get you through it. If it was disorientating then make yourself aware with where, with whom and when you are.
Grounding yourself and actively acknowledging what reality is and that you are safe.

How can we use them? [6:17]
And finally we talk about how we can use them, because they have their uses and help us tremendously. Like I said the brain shows us this as a way to ask for help as the chunk is too big and it needs to be broken down into smaller bits.
Because those flashbacks can become a way to show you where the problem is hiding - as the brain is a great scout. But how do we use them to our advantage? By paying close attention to WHAT we are seeing. I mean this literally.
Yes we often know what it is about - but what is our brain EXACTLY showing us in this moment? What is it trying to get our focus on? What aspect of the trauma? Who is there with us? What are we feeling? Is something missing or added?
Similar to Sherlock Holmes you must find the clues and evidence to solve this mystery. You will notice you are on the right path when the flashbacks start to change - even if its ever so slightly - and show that your brain is now stuck somewhere else.
Like I said many times - the more you learn to read your body signs on how it feels and your brains messages of what is going on - the faster and more effective and better you get. And that remains very useful for the rest of your life.

Outro [7:41]
That was it for todays episode, I hope you found it helpful and that you are safe and well. And as always, if you have any questions or feedback and the like, please let me know at contactme@johannadraconis.com.
More information and transcript you can find as usually under johannadraconis.com and links are in the description. You can also find me under @johannadraconis on Youtube, twitter and instagram.
I hope to see you next time. Watch yourselves and have a wonderful time.