1. Yes
2. Yes
3. Yes

What a relief to have someone else put this into words so I know I'm not the only one. Thanks for that, seriously. I would add a question, too. Do you ever experience flashbacks as coming and going in waves? I do.

mine can last minutes to hours to all day long. i might not even know i'm having it though. i'll be in the midst of a flashback triggered panic attack and not realize it. didn't know bout that till i ended up in the ER with so little oxygen in my blood i was paralyzed.

i actually found trying to rush them makes it worse. the moment i recognize them i find a way stop and work through it. i prefer to attempt to find the source trigger in the safest way possible so i can understand the behavior behind the trigger. i call it the programming. I must state here that this is NOT the same as working through the trauma!!! i seek only to find the singular event that starts the flashbacks so i can note it for future reference during actual therapeutic healing. to reiterate- i take note of the trigger event NOT the trauma event/programming.

that being said through that i have over time been able to find and process a lot of those old pushed down memories and work through them.

i did learn through a lot of trial and error. i do say this- please if you try this make sure you have a lot of caring support right there with you. this is my/our way. flashbacks are not fun for anybody. and we can't say they ever completely go away. however, you should never be ashamed for having them. trauma is not a personal choice. healing our trauma, that is! and we are all very brave for doing so.

1) How long do my flashbacks last?
I might describe mine as more of a haunting. Time is not very real to me when I am stuck in the past with flashbacks. I can't give times or lengths of individual flashes very well. The general haunting will last until I resolve the blahs behind the yaddahs.

2) Sometimes hyper-vigilant, sometimes just out-of-control, sometimes dissociated, sometimes just plain nuts. I don't expect much intelligence out of myself when I am in episode.

3) I started with full Trauma Induced Amnesia and considered that amnesia a gift for the first decade or so that I knew about it, despite the horrific leakage. It took another 2 decades or so to restore free flow of my memory functions. My memory has improved across the board since I stopped treating forgettance like a solution.

For me flashbacks are me reliving prior court cases. Since I'm frequently rewinding the case throught the day I don't know I'm having a flashback until something makes me notice that a lot of time has passed.

I think almost everything makes me hyper vigilant. My son asking the same question repeatedly causes me to become that way. So yes flashbacks cause it as well.

Until now I had completely forgotten that I had a flashback when I worked with the circus. That is the only time I can't remember what happened. I was told that I was found next to the tent in the mud crying about not getting any Xmas presents. All I remember was the boss clown walking me back to our sleeping trailer asking me if I'd ever dropped acid.

Muji: Yup, I know that as well, though I only get it when I'm under a lot of emotional stress. I really, really hate it. When that happens it usually lasts for 3-5 days and I barely sleep or eat and afterwards I get ill. Every bloody time.

Gypsy: I actually have a small notebook for triggers, their strength, the kind of flashback I get mostly and the event(s) they're connected to.
Trial and error was pretty much all I've done until recently, though without any support whatsoever. Not one of my smarter ideas, I admit. I once deliberately exposed myself to my triggers and similar things to gain more information about them, which was stupid and ended with me being sick for a couple of days afterwards. As they say, curiosity killed the cat.

arfie: I probably expect a little much of myself. I just hate being on edge all the time and it's often quite inconvenient.
I'd like to have my memories back even if they're really bad ones. It's frustrating. But then again, likely expecting too much too soon here again.

Dropping acid? That's one odd memory. Did you ever remember the rest?

No I never remembered any of it until now. I honestly forgot about it/ repressed it all this time. That was like 28 years ago.( ugh I'm old) I sent my therapist a txt about it just now. I don't want to steal your thread so enough about that. Lol

I've realized something I'm sure other people here have realized about themselves, too. I have flashbacks so often and so long that I would say I am in flashbacks mode most of the time in one way or another. Like right now I have a high pitched ringing in my ears from an earlier flashback I had today.

Like others, I'm sure, I've just learned to function with the symptoms going on. Some of that is guts, but a lot of it is acting. I've learned to have some weird sensations going on--not just thoughts, but physical sensations from flashbacks--and yet know how to "act normal" and go about my business. Especially at work. Other people multi task talking on their cell phone while typing away on their computer. That's nothing. I can teach a class while re-living a car bombing I was in at age 9.

Are you with me? I'm sure I'm not the only one who knows how to be an Oscar-winning actor of normalcy while a flashback is running through me, right?

and they wondered why i was in theatre AND psychology in college. yep muji. i can usually carry on like there's nothing wrong. only recently have i started making it a point to take care of me. sad thing is that i tend to only do that when convenient.