Comments on: The Living Hell of Emotional Flashbacks https://cptsdfoundation.org/2019/07/01/the-living-hell-of-emotional-flashbacks/ The Foundation for Post-Traumatic Healing and Complex Trauma Research Fri, 06 Feb 2026 02:13:54 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 By: Tatiana Santiago https://cptsdfoundation.org/2019/07/01/the-living-hell-of-emotional-flashbacks/#comment-48917 Fri, 06 Feb 2026 02:13:54 +0000 https://cptsdfoundation.org/?p=2345#comment-48917 In reply to NANETTE HOOGSTEEN.

I don’t know if anyone still comments here, but thank you all for sharing your stories. I was diagnosed with Cptsd at the age of 17. I grew up in an abusive, traumatic environment. My step dad sexually abused me, he was on drugs and although he never hit us, he was extremely mentally and verbally abusive. As a young teen, He used to tell me I was too big to find anyone and no one would ever love me. Then he’d go behind my back and confess to my mother that he thought I was beautiful. My mom was no better at the time. She didn’t believe me when I told her what he had done to me. She would have us pack our bags and stay in a hotel or with family for the weekend and pretend she was leaving him, then she’d be right back with him a few days later. It was an unending cycle of hell. Even writing this now I feel my head getting foggy like my brain wants to disassociate from all we went through. Not to mention we were extremely poor, sometimes not even having canned foods in the house or getting our heat and electricity shut off for months. There’s so much more that happened that I can’t write, because I’d run out of time. But thank you for showing me I’m not the only one. I wish all of you healing and peace!

]]> By: Izzy https://cptsdfoundation.org/2019/07/01/the-living-hell-of-emotional-flashbacks/#comment-34370 Thu, 29 May 2025 11:09:51 +0000 https://cptsdfoundation.org/?p=2345#comment-34370 In reply to Siyanda.

hey, also a queer south african with cptsd here, your not alone and im so proud of you for surviving the statistics against you

]]> By: Suzanne https://cptsdfoundation.org/2019/07/01/the-living-hell-of-emotional-flashbacks/#comment-34009 Wed, 14 May 2025 23:38:27 +0000 https://cptsdfoundation.org/?p=2345#comment-34009 In reply to NANETTE HOOGSTEEN.

I think leaving would be apprpriate! You deserve better.

]]> By: Suzanne https://cptsdfoundation.org/2019/07/01/the-living-hell-of-emotional-flashbacks/#comment-34008 Wed, 14 May 2025 23:34:51 +0000 https://cptsdfoundation.org/?p=2345#comment-34008 In reply to Karen.

Just the fact that it is swept under the rug tells you something happened that people want kept quiet. So it must be pretty bad. Also,if you are having flashbacks, there’s got to be a reason for it. Sounds like it would be worth finding a therapist.

]]> By: Hope Spencer https://cptsdfoundation.org/2019/07/01/the-living-hell-of-emotional-flashbacks/#comment-30441 Sun, 29 Dec 2024 18:14:52 +0000 https://cptsdfoundation.org/?p=2345#comment-30441 In reply to Siyanda.

I struggle because the person who sexually abused me and assaulted me at 6 years old is a minister.
I can’t understand how he can stand up and share the word of God having never come to me and asked for forgiveness.

]]> By: NANETTE HOOGSTEEN https://cptsdfoundation.org/2019/07/01/the-living-hell-of-emotional-flashbacks/#comment-28058 Wed, 25 Sep 2024 15:45:04 +0000 https://cptsdfoundation.org/?p=2345#comment-28058 My husband has had multiple affairs. He has apologised but I am still getting emotional flashbacks. He isn’t sure he wants to keep apologizing for the trauma he caused. I have CPTSD from other sources as well as from this. Is asking for apologies again during flashbacks appropriate?

]]> By: Fiona https://cptsdfoundation.org/2019/07/01/the-living-hell-of-emotional-flashbacks/#comment-26863 Fri, 02 Aug 2024 08:44:12 +0000 https://cptsdfoundation.org/?p=2345#comment-26863 I know I’m going to return to this article and the resources and links again and again. For the moment, I want to say an enormous THANK YOU. I’m coming up for 50 but had a traumatic childhood with a depressed, alcoholic, drug-abusing mother who, after numerous attempts, eventually committed suicide. My outer life is mostly great (though I’ve never managed to form a lasting intimate relationship) but my inner life can be hell. I’m just at the end of a particularly nasty two-week anxiety episode. I’ve now realised that I probably have CPTSD and the hellish episodes that I experience after setbacks in my work or personal relationships are probably emotional flashbacks. I can’t tell you how relieved I am to find that my emotional state isn’t my fault; my family and other people have tended to blame and shame me for who and how I am, which just makes me feel worse.

I had realised that many of my reactions come from trauma.I am already working with a psychotherapist (I think it’s thanks to her that I’m still here and doing as well as I am) and I’ve also tried various somatic approaches that I’ve found useful. But still, it’s a massive relief to realise that I’m not alone and that I’m not deliberately being “bad” by being how I am. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

]]> By: Siyanda https://cptsdfoundation.org/2019/07/01/the-living-hell-of-emotional-flashbacks/#comment-25696 Wed, 22 May 2024 12:06:18 +0000 https://cptsdfoundation.org/?p=2345#comment-25696 I am a 28 year old from South Africa, I was raised by narcissists my entire family structure is narcissistic and after years of abuse I finally decided to go no contact with them. More than that I am also black, queer and a survivor of bullying and childhood sexual abuse. I have a great job as a teacher and the conditions of my life are great but I struggle to enjoy and live in this moment, I usually have what I believe to be emotional flashbacks often. I struggle to relax in my body even when I am alone. I’ve worked so hard to be here because I wanted to give myself the opportunity to experience a life I never had but I am struggling sometimes I cannot do my work because I am too dissociated. I need help. And to everyone who has gone through this, I am so sorry. I even doubt I have because I don’t trust my inner voice anymore. We are going to make it. I promise.

]]> By: Unraveling the Threads: How Childhood Trauma Affects Memory - Portal Wellness Collective https://cptsdfoundation.org/2019/07/01/the-living-hell-of-emotional-flashbacks/#comment-23723 Mon, 19 Feb 2024 20:05:01 +0000 https://cptsdfoundation.org/?p=2345#comment-23723 […] responses without clear recollections of the traumatic event itself. This would be called an emotional […]

]]> By: Shirley Davis https://cptsdfoundation.org/2019/07/01/the-living-hell-of-emotional-flashbacks/#comment-22136 Sat, 09 Dec 2023 09:15:04 +0000 https://cptsdfoundation.org/?p=2345#comment-22136 In reply to Lauren.

Thank you. I’m so glad I could help!
Shirley

]]>