Trauma Therapy: How To Address Triggers And Flashbacks

What then can be done to address triggers and flashbacks?  Following, I suggest getting therapeutic support and applying self-care as primary strategies.  However, please note that this is general advice and that each persons experience will vary, and so too will the treatment approach.  Therefore, getting personalised advice is always advised, especially so if symptoms are severe.   

1. Flashbacks can be highly terrifying and leave you feeling very distressed, to the point where you feel like you’ve lost your mind.  Therefore, the best way to address your reaction to triggers and the effects is to get therapeutic support immediately.  A phase-based treatment approach is  recommended for healing unaddressed trauma, especially Complex-PTSD symptoms.  This can include working with a compassionate and supportive therapist, and the application of mindfulness-based approaches such as somatic therapy, EFT, CBT, and EMDR, at different stages.    

2. Practice body awareness.  Trauma is an embodied experience, meaning the distress is also a felt sense in the body.  Whilst altering negative cognitions is of utmost importance for healing traumatic symptoms, learning to tolerate negative emotions and sensations in the body will increase your ability to remain calm.  You can practice this in steps.  For example, depending on your tolerance level, you may start with awareness of sensations for a few seconds, then minutes, gradually increasing the time you can stay present of the sensation without reacting to it.  You may even try moving your body gently and being aware of these sensations.  A great way to do this is to start a Hatha yoga class, practice Qigong or even practice the Buddhist body scan exercise, which will increase your awareness of body sensations.  Essentially, what you are trying to achieve here is to focus on the body, acknowledge and feel sensations, without reacting to them, so that with time, you are less affected by them.  

3. If therapy is done well then you need not avoid your triggers unless they are harmful.  However, if you haven’t yet started treatment or are in the midst treatment, identifying your triggers and temporarily avoiding them may help.  For this purpose, try to keep a record of all the experiences that trigger you, or where the thought of being exposed to these experiences causes you distress.  Here you are keeping a log of your experiences so you can identify patterns that cause distress.  

4. There are numerous types of grounding techniques you can apply to feel more present and calm.  Some of the more general techniques I outline in the following article here However, depending on your symptoms, these may not work for you and so it may require a process of trial and error to find a technique that actually works.  PTSDUK also share some tips about grounding methods that PTSD sufferers have found useful here. 

5. Whilst experiencing chronic post-traumatic stress can impair one’s ability to function in daily life, try your best to look after yourself.  This can include maintaining a regular routine of exercise, which can be a walk in the park to practicing the previously mentioned body based exercises.  Where possible, avoid sedentary behaviour, especially sitting and watching junk on Netflix for hours at a time.  Eating healthy food is also important.  Consuming mostly junk will negatively affect your mood, and so too will smoking and drinking alcohol.  Also, reach out for social support.  This can be chatting to friends, family, or attending community gatherings.  If you are an animal lover, then you may even consider getting a pet, studies have shown this to boost mood.  

I hope you found these suggestions useful.  Remember, PTSD symptoms can be highly distressing and result in disability, therefore don’t delay getting yourself the right treatment that can help you live a happy and fulfilling life.  

With best wishes,

Sadaf