Two,
The short answer is "sort of", maybe not what you wanted to hear and I really wish I could have said "yes" but the truth is it doesn't end but it can improve to the point where it is a non-issue for most people.
You may always be troubled by flashbacks and nightmares when you get triggered by something that reminds you of the trauma, but as you deal with the traumas in therapy and identify and deal with each of your triggers things will improve. My own experience is from childhood sexual abuse and I have been coping now for quite a while. Each year things seem to improve. This year I was triggered worse than I have been in some time but I managed fairly well and was able to get through it without any major problems.
As for triggering events like the show you watched - those will always have an effect on you, but the next time you watch such a show the impact will be slightly less than it was this time.
Now for the Xanax... take it when you truly need it, but try taking half a pill. If that is effective, then the next time you need one take a quarter pill. Often that will be eough for your body to react. Some of this reaction will be the Placebo effect but you know what... who gives a $#%^ as long as it works!
Now for the flashbacks... the following link is an article I wrote with tips I collected about coping with my own flashbacks, hopefully some of these ideas will help you as well.
http://www.mental-health-matters.com/ar ... ?artID=154
Remember that the flashbacks are your mind's way of working out the trauma and if they are minor ones and you can cope you should try and allow them to happen. I really believe this allows us to get through the trauma and move ahead. The big ones though you can take some action to stop or slow... whatever you need to do.
I find that after a flashback I am often so exhausted I want to go right to sleep. I fight this for as long as I can and sometimes the exhaustion wears off, if it does not I will take a hot shower and make myself as relaxed as possible before I do fall asleep so I can avoid any follow-up nightmares. This helps most of the time and has made things much easier for me.
I hope some of this has been helpful.