Flashbacks of non-traumatic events?

CrackedGirl wrote:Those are good points Ghost and something to think about - thank you

Cracked

thanks c.g. and sorry for hijacking the thread son. flashbacks can be seen as a driver error which iskeeping the computer cpu from processing information correctly. like in the analogy the resulting glitches can be varied in effect and severity... and both require expert help to figure out and repair.

Onebravegirl wrote:Omni, what you mention reminds me of an illustration.
Traumas are like things that are hidden in a dark room. With out a light, we stumble and fall over them. But with the help of a Therapist it is possible to shine a light on each obstacle and examine it carefully, until it hold no fear any more. Then we can move onto another corner or area and after a while, we know what all is in that place.
Before I was diagnosed, I had this habit. Any place I moved into I had to pain the walls. I needed to know every crack and flaw in the walls of the house for myself. I think subconsciously that is what my mind wanted to do with my traumas. Examine them all so that they didnt hold me in terror anymore.
Therapy was the best investment I ever made in myself. It was so scary and ugly and painful so much of the time but now I look back at it all as the most worthwhile thing I ever could have done for myself.
Keep up the good work Omni.
PTSD isn't an enemy it is the bodies way of getting your attention on very painful wounds that need care.
One

I really liked the illustration you used here. I use a lot of drawing in my work with T because it helps me tell her things that I can't find the words for. I have done a series of pictures that involve considering stepping into a dark room some alone some with T and some with my IC. It's been helpful for me to think of it like this, but I really like the idea of therapy slowly bringing light to different places of the darkness ... eliminating it in a way, memory by memory. Thank you for sharing this!

I have experienced this somewhat. I have very vivid memory of some things but almost complete amnesia of others. I entirely forgot that I went to the YMCA until one day I began to remember the interior of the basement and the sound of the pool and feel of the showers. It seems pretty benign, just some gym, but the smell of the hallway will hit me in the middle of the day and I'll begin to panic. Or I'll remember plastic food toys from the day care for no reason. They could be nothing, they could be something. Without the other pieces, the puzzle won't make much sense. I don't know specifically what it is you are recalling, but maybe there is something there. If you are having a reaction to it, then there might be something there that you just can't tell because it is out of context now. Maybe these seemingly innocuous memories are events that happened before or after something traumatic. Maybe it is something you were focusing on instead of the trauma while it happened? There is also the possibility of confabulation; sometimes false memories can be pried out mixed in with real ones. It's hard to tell though, so you might want to just focus on remaining in the moment, doing grounding techniques. Whether the memory is real or has some deeper meaning or not is in a way, inconsequential. You are still here now in the moment and hopefully safe. Some people never recover their memories fully, some wait decades. You'll recall what you're meant to recall when you're ready to receive it.

Also, my psychiatrist suggested an exercise for moments like those. He said to write with your non-dominant hand because (supposedly) it is more linked to your subconscious. You could maybe try to recount those "innocuous" memories with your non-dominant hand and see if something comes.