Emotional flashbacks are a hallmark symptom of C-PTSD (C stands for complex, meaning that the trauma(s) involved have been encountered continually over a period of time, rather than existing as a single incident). They can also occur for anyone who is experiencing a response to high stress from the past.
Imagine that you enter a scenario in your everyday life, and in a way that is not easily explainable, you suddenly feel a need to flee, or you’re instantly irritable, or you’re overcome with a sense of guilt or shame, and you don’t know why you would want to run, or become angry, or feel badly about yourself. These are a few examples of what emotional flashbacks can feel like, and if you don’t know that that’s what’s happening — that is, you’re unaware that you’re being triggered in the present back to an experience from the past — you can easily look for clues in your present environment to make sense of such an experience. You might make up narratives to explain the present moment:
“She must be mad at me.”
“[Problem] is insurmountable.”
“I’ll never be good enough for this job.”
“I have to get away.”
“He hates my guts.”
“I’m so sorry for [tiny thing that happened.]”
But maybe this sudden rush of emotion isn’t primarily about the present moment or about any of these narratives. Maybe the rush of emotion is rooted in a past set of experiences.
The first step is recognizing this fact. It changes things greatly to be aware. “This is an emotional flashback.” Then we are in a position to care for it.
Here’s a great video from Heidi Priebe. Referencing Pete Walker, she helps us put language to emotional flashbacks so we can identify them and then care for them.
Smuggling Grace 