Overview
The term “emotional flashback” was popularized by Pete Walker in 2005:
“Emotional flashbacks are sudden and often prolonged regressions (‘amygdala hijackings’) to the frightening circumstances of childhood. They are typically experienced as intense and confusing episodes of fear and/or despair - or as sorrowful and/or enraged reactions to this fear and despair. Emotional flashbacks are especially painful because the inner critic typically overlays them with toxic shame, inhibiting the individual from seeking comfort and support, isolating him in an overwhelming and humiliating sense of defectiveness.”
Notably, “emotional flashback” has not been incorporated into official medical guidelines or classification systems. There are related terms, such as affect dysregulation, somatic re-experiencing, affective re-experiencing, state-dependent memory, implicit memory activation, etc., but “emotional flashback” itself isn’t a term you’d find often in academic or scientific literature. Walker doesn’t pretend otherwise; his writings repeatedly refer to the clinical experiences he has had that, in his perspective, validate the concept:
“Numerous clients tell me that the concept of an emotional flashback brings them a great sense of relief. They report that for the first time they are able to make some sense of their extremely troubled lives. Some get that their addictions are misguided attempts to self-medicate. Some understand the inefficacy of the myriad psychological and spiritual answers they pursued, and are in turn feel liberated from a shaming plethora of misdiagnoses. Some can now frame their extreme episodes of risk taking and self-destructiveness as desperate attempts to distract themselves from their pain. Many experience hope that they can rid themselves of the habit of amassing evidence of defectiveness or craziness. Many report a budding recognition that they can challenge the self-hate and self-disgust that typically thwarts their progress in therapy.”
The term “emotional flashback” evidently invites comparisons to the “flashbacks” of PTSD. A quick browse through Reddit forums about trauma and CPTSD reveals extremely strong support for the concept, as well as the exact type of catharsis at having the vocabulary to discuss the intense emotional experiences that Walker discussed seeing in his clients. Walker’s website lists steps for managing these flashbacks:
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Say to yourself: “I am having a flashback”
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Remind yourself: “I feel afraid but I am not in danger! I am safe now, here in the present.”
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Own your right/need to have boundaries.
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Speak reassuringly to the Inner Child
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Deconstruct eternity thinking.
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Remind yourself that you are in an adult body with allies, skills and resources to protect you that you never had as a child.
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Ease back into your body through progressive muscle relaxation, breathwork, and safe spaces.
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Resist the Inner Critic’s Drasticizing and Catastrophizing
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Allow yourself to grieve.
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Cultivate safe relationships and seek support.
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Learn to identify the types of triggers that lead to flashbacks.
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Figure out what you are flashing back to.
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Be patient with a slow recovery process: it takes time in the present to become un-adrenalized