That's how my flashbacks are. It's as if I am back in time, reliving it. I've found that it usually has to run its course if I'm alone. That rarely happens because my triggers tend to involve interaction with another person. It helps if they keep reminding me where I am, who they are, and that I'm safe.

I'm not sure if it was in here or another group, but I wrote a reply to someone's post and in it I mentioned how I'm trying to diminish and eventually do away with flashbacks.

Here's what I wrote before. I hope it's helpful.

What helps me during: It helps if someone can calmly talk to me, remind me where I am, who I'm with, and that I'm safe. Often it takes repeating that over and over to bring me back to the present. Touching me sometimes helps, but it can also make things worse.

What is helping me in general:

In the book "Resurrection After Rape", Matt Atkinson writes, "Flasbacks feel like hell, but they're not dangerous. A flashback occurs when the subconscious mind is trying to resolve some conflict or painful detail about your trauma." This was hugely helpful to me.

I decided that it wasn't enough to try to avoid triggers. I wanted to get at the root. Matt recommends journaling about each flashback with as much detail as possible, so that the trauma behind the flashback can be processed. This isn't easy. But I've started seeing my recurring flashbacks as a way of identifying the parts of my trauma that cause me the most shame and the most pain. I've been working through that in therapy.

A word about trauma therapy: after I started, my flashbacks increased and became the worst they had been in years. This is a temporary result for some people of examine trauma, and especially the emotions associated with it. I had a real fear of having a flashback in front of my therapist; I didn't want him to see me "go crazy". It turns out my therapist's office is a very safe place to have a flashback. His description of what I was like during it, and the things I said, were actually helpful in removing some of my self-blame and in facing the truth of what I experienced.

yes, that makes sense...i think your experience was a quite common one for people like us...i try to avoid places with bad memories but that's not always possible and sometimes (especially if i'm a bit stressed up) i'll literally see things as they were twenty years ago...but i know it's only my mind playing up and so i'll think of work or else say a prayer...