How do you handle flashbacks?

[HisSparkPlug]

hi folks,
As someone who helps abuse survivors (and who is one myself), I'd like to hear from those of you who have flashbacks. As most people know, a flashback is simply a memory of something you'd forgotten.

Do you permit them to run their course or do you run away from them?

Do you believe you're suppose to stop them?

or

Do you believe you're suppose to work through them?

When you have flashbacks, do they repeat themselves over and over?

What does your therapist tell you to do? - And is your therapist a Christian?

Do you know scriptures which give information on how to handle such things?

Thank you to all who participate

 

[the.Sheepdog]

Hello SparkPlug dear. I am a VietNam veteran and on my 18th birthday saw combat in a hard way. My friend died in my arms and I didnt even know I was wounded also. I killed a young man just a second before he would have killed me 20ft away.

Add to that I felt guilty for surviving and couldnt get back to my friends and was not able to go see my dead friends folks or his burial as I was in the hospital in Japan and then The US. They didnt call it PTSD back then. They just called it combat stress like it would go away after a rest. The VA back home was useless so I never got real treatment. I was born again in the 80's and all seemed ok.

On the night of Desert Storm I had a monster of a flash back and thru myself off the bed and was on the floor panicked as I couldnt find a rifle. I was saved by my wife who came to me around the bed and I recognized her. I was spooked for days and then saw a civilian Dr.

Diagnosis PTSD even after 25 yrs (in the 90's). To handle it I dont. I ask God to handle it for me. I cant take xanax all the time I would be goofy. Do I still have issues? yes. Its now 2014 and I am sleeping at night mostly but do wake up at almost anything. I have to give the issue to God and trust and believe He will help me and he always has. Why I am not healed I dont know but that isnt my job.

Forgive where you can, including yourself. That helped me a lot. I wish you well sister.

 

[Willie T]

I have known a number of people who actually invited Jesus right into the flashback, and together, they brought it out of the shadows, and often took it to a satisfactory conclusion.

 

[Morning Star Royal]

For me, this happens automatically. The Father is not kept out of anything. He's not going to say that you have no right to feel pain and to sweep it under a rug so you can get back to work (which could make any work less than great). You are more important than all work, first of all. So there is lots of time for your healing though the world may not think so. Next, He is likely to allow you to see things from a progressively deepening perspective each time you "flash" on a painful memory which may happen a few dozen or more times over decades. New details of that memory are brought into light and clarified.

Why can't we see things all at once as a norm? Because much contamination has happened to the mind of man due to everything from being steeped in heavy propaganda in education and media to toxins in the environment. The brain's perceptional capabilities are compromised to begin with and then add the prevalent anti-God thinking of the times so that processing of information becomes faulty and you have a seriously compromised view of what was happening and why.

We like to feel that someone somewhere around us cares or would care if they knew all the facts, facts that are often buried under tons of denial from others and especially from the government and religion. Neither of the two institutions mentioned actually care much at all. Those higher up would just as soon see you gone. And the people at the pinnacles of power enjoy seeing you suffer, your money taken, and in seeing your destruction. But the people of God's Kingdom truly care and that's why they are members. They care, in fact, even more than the angels because they have been so lovingly made over many lifetimes like flawless diamonds and have seen their share of oppression and have helped many who have suffered and are suffering very effectively. Otherwise, no one from any generation could ever receive power above the angels to judge with God. The reason the last come first is their refinement and finishing.

Whether any here will make sense of this, many who have crossed my path have been illuminated with God's light despite my own serious pain. People have been uplifted out of their doldrums by the music God gave me as a two year old. Kids who were about to die from multiple terminal illnesses were healed completely and made radiant. People who have heard me speak at international conferences have been transformed and have a whole new mission in life. What's my secret? I keep God and Christ out of Nothing and run everything by the highest quality benchmark of not only scripture, but God's very heart. This saves wasting time on fruitless prayer and makes each prayer a quality moment with God filled with power and newness of creation and direction.

"Wait, how does this benefit me?" you might ask in a blurred panic understandably. Simple, Care and Include God in Everything and God will care for you. Being a sly Christian capitalist may squeak you past the door, May, but that's about it. God has immense love for his faithful who care and such are more important to Him than anything including scripture and law.

Hugs for your hurts,

Jeffrey

 

[christiansoul]

 

[christiansoul]

I don't have any special Scripture in particular, just all of them.

 

[christiansoul]

 

[christiansoul]

 

[christiansoul]

 

[HisSparkPlug]

'Work through them'? In other words, do I face the unfaceable and unerasable?
Good heavens, no. That's what my alters are for. When an oyster gets a sand grain irritant inside, if it cannot expell the irritant, it forms a pearl to defend against the irritation; in the same way, my alters don't expel the flashback, they block it off for me.

Hi ChristianSoul, I appreciate your replies (along with everyone else's responses!) thank you.
What you said above bothers me a little.
Dissociation is given to us for protection from trauma we cannot deal with at the time of the horrors happening. However, once we are in a place of safety, it is the Lord's will for us to learn to deal with the trauma in healthier ways. The bible says "when I was a child I thought as a child but now that I've grown I put away childish things"..

I don't know "when" exactly the Lord requires us to cease dissociating (on whatever level one dissociates as there's a broad spectrum = the most severe being DID/dissociative identity disorder).. but I do know that once enough healing takes place Abba does ask us to not use the protective function of dissociating any longer and to rely on Him as protector, not on our dissociative abilities. Dissociation from flashbacks is a protective measure we take to keep from feeling pain.. but the truth is that some other area of the heart is taking the pain so that you, the host, don't have to feel it.

What I'm trying to get at here is that your analogy about the formation of pearls is correct, but there's more to it. If a pearl is not removed from the shell of an oyster, it will break open the shell or at the very least, grow to be so large that the shell cannot close around the pearl. when that happens, all sorts of other irritants get in and wreak havoc and the oyster is left vulnerable to it's prey.
This is why dissociation is indeed a God given defence, but it should not be embraced for the entirety of one's life. The Lord wants to be our protector HimSelf.

I hope that made some sense and encourage you to pray on it.
Thanks too for your thoughts on flashbacks
God bless & keep you

 

[HisSparkPlug]

I have known a number of people who actually invited Jesus right into the flashback, and together, they brought it out of the shadows, and often took it to a satisfactory conclusion.

This is great. I wondered how many do this - It's much needed. I believe we are to work through our flashbacks and deal with them, inviting the Lord in to help us through them.

 

[SaltwaterHeart]

I struggle with PTSD. My trauma mainly involves abuse, hospital stays, injuries and surgeries.

To answer your questions...

Do you permit them to run their course or do you run away from them?
I tend to run away from them. I ground myself by biting into something sour, smelling peppermint oil, or listening to loud music. This will, usually, stop the flashback. After that, I will talk with someone about what I saw, felt, or smelled in the flashback.

Do you believe you're suppose to stop them?
Temporarily, yes. If I didn't stop the flashback, I would continue to be "stuck" in it.

Do you believe you're suppose to work through them?
Absolutely. But you need to have the right professional help and coping skills to do so.

When you have flashbacks, do they repeat themselves over and over?
It depends on what the flashback is, but sometimes they are repeated, and sometimes they aren't.

What does your therapist tell you to do? - And is your therapist a Christian?
I go to Eye Movement Desensitization And Reprocessing (EMDR) sessions, which is a specific type of therapy for treating PTSD and trauma. My therapist has taught me many grounding techniques, calming and relaxation techniques, and has told me to recognize that what I am experiencing is not real, but a triggered memory.
My therapist is not Christian, as far as I know. I don't know what her spirituality is.

Do you know scriptures which give information on how to handle such things?
I have been told that King David may have had PTSD, but I can't remember any specific verses.

 

[HisSparkPlug]

Hi SaltWaterHeart

Thank you for your thoughts! In contemplating what you wrote about King David I took a look at it and found this website about that topic. It's certainly interesting and I'll be looking at that further: PTSD Prayers from King David | Excellent or Praiseworthy | A devotional for military families

 

[LittleH]

Hey

It really depends on the situation as to whether I let the flashbacks run their course or try to stop them. If I am at home, then I tend to let them happen. If nothing else, I learn more about what has happened to me. If I am somewhere public, I will do pretty much anything to ground myself and stop the flashback! Flashbacks can be distressing to those who witness someone having one, especially as they don't usually know what is happening.

I suppose where I stand in terms of stopping flashbacks or working through them is somewhere in the middle. It is certainly the healthier option to work through flashbacks but I couldn't do that without the support of my therapist and a couple of very close friends, who know what they are talking about. Saying that, there have been a few times when I've just not been ready to even describe what I have remembered through a flashback. I think there is definitely an argument for working through flashbacks at a suitable pace, which will be different for everyone.

It can be hard to say whether the flashbacks I have repeat over and over. Once I have had a flashback, it is very easy to go over and over it in my mind, which just triggers the flashback. Also, when I have nightmares, which are just memories, I tend to have the same one repeatedly unless I am able to think about something else for long enough before trying to sleep again.

I don't think my therapist is a Christian and I'm okay with that. I am seeing her on the NHS, so my options are limited. I did ask to go on to her list, though, as she is very experienced and I am comfortable with her. My therapist has told me that it isn't healthy to ruminate, so there are times when not stopping the flashback is the right thing to do and there are times when it is better to stop a flashback. Personally I agree with her! If a flashback is causing huge levels of distress, then grounding yourself really is the only sensible option.

I don't believe there are any Scriptures that are about flashbacks. However, there are verses that are comforting - those which focus on God's everlasting love and the fact that He won't ever leave.

I don't know if any of that is useful but I hope so.

 

[RuthD]

I can't stop my flashbacks so I take medication and that stops them from happening so much. I see a counselor and don't know if she is Christian or not.

 

[christiansoul]

Hi ChristianSoul, I appreciate your replies (along with everyone else's responses!) thank you.
God bless & keep you

No worries HisSparkPlug,

You are in my prayers and please keep me in yours!

I am happy that you are finding the Christian Forums a good place to discuss and participate in different forums.

Blessings,
ChristianSoul

 

[RedRose333]

I have a lot of flashbacks. Just today had a lot of them and it was very painful to deal with. I've had them all my life. In the past, the Lord has done surgery inside my mind to remove them. I can't sense the Lord in the past 2 years...He is hiding so I need to other methods to cope. Today I have use distractions to help me. Chatting to people online, listening to music, playing games, reading things online, anything to distract from the flashbacks. Most of the flashbacks from child abuse have left. Those flashbacks are from things that happened recently. I know they will leave too, sometimes time helps.

 

[Johnnz]

Jesus does not hide. Whatever the reason you cannot sense Him now has hasn't and won't move away from you. Just go on speaking to Jesus as if her was there, right in front of you.

John
NZ

 

[RedRose333]

Johnnz, I already do that. I talk to the Lord everyday as if He is there eventhough I cannot sense Him. I still pray and read the Bible. I worship and pray in tongues and I talk to God as a friend. Worshipping is very hard at times so I just stay in silence.
It's hard to describe what I'm going through, unless you've been through it yourself.

When you say that me not sensing God won't move away from me, I have to disagree with that. I will be able to sense God again very soon. God has told this to me Himself.

Thanks for your advice and be blessed

 

[mjmcmillan]

I ride it out. Fortunately, I don't get the ones that make you think you're reliving it, but-- yesterday, a song came up on the radio and triggered a memory. It was a song about a guy doing things that please his woman, and the trigger came when he was singing about adding silly words to favorite songs.

That triggered the memory of the time my then-wife had the radio playing in the kitchen. There was a tune on with toe-tapping music, so I danced a bit to it. She told me to stop because she hates hypocrisy. I don't think she understood what hypocrisy is, but--- by then anything I did seemed to be cause for aggravation. I never danced to a tune on the radio again in that apartment.

It took the longest time before I ever could dance at all to another tune, to this day-- five years after the divorce-- I have to make myself do it because I remember those words. I had to turn off the radio yesterday, thing of it was the guy on the radio was singing a happy song-- but that particular phrase brought up memories of a time considerably less happy.