write it down sometimes helps, and drawing!!!
i hope you can find some way to cope better with these flashbacks

I talk about it with someone, I know it's hard, but it's like squeezing pus out of an infection, the more you do it the easier and less painful it becomes, and hopefully eventually it will heal. Talk to a good friend or a trusted family member, I find when I talk about it candidly with someone my flashbacks aren't as bad or as frequent.

~Wendi~

Flashbacks sometimes seem to have a life all their own. It seems that certain things seem to trigger them, but, mainly they affect me when I am depressed already. So, for me, it is all about treating my depression, handling things that swarm in on me in a positive way.

You mention exercise....great! Physical activity is definitely one way of confronting depression and in so doing, lessening the chance of flashbacks occuring. But, the most effective way I have found is simply through confronting my pain and my issues with my therapist.

I do journal. When I have had an issue like flashbacks or night terrors, I journal about it, the emotions I have at the time, everything that comes to my mind I pour onto the page. I don't read as I write...I just write, and write, and write. Then, I walk away. I watch a show on TV, or I call a friend and talk about nothing of importance...or I come here and find someone who needs comfort - and I do my best. Then, when I am not an emotional wreck, I go back to the journal and I read what I wrote and I try to evaluate what caused me to have those thoughts at that time, in that way....sometimes I can actually come up with a trigger. Other times, I flounder for the cause. Always I take my journaling to therapy, and we read it and we try to see how i can alter the effect the event has on me. I hope this helps you. If you like to draw, that too is a great exercise to take your mind away from the terror.