Emotional Flashback/ee-MO-shun-al FLASH-back/
A sudden, intense emotional state (fear, shame, panic) triggered by past trauma rather than present reality, often without clear images.
Andy says:
Your body hits “danger now” even when the room is safe.
Detailed Explanation
Flashbacks are state shifts driven by past learning. They can bring racing thoughts, body symptoms, and urges to flee, please, or freeze. Immediate support is safety and grounding, not analysis.
Community Context
Discussed in trauma‑informed ND spaces. Many benefit from co‑regulation, predictable routines, and accommodations that reduce surprise.
Quick Tips
- Ground: name five things you see; feel feet; slow breath
- Choose a safety cue (object, phrase) in advance
- Step outside/opt out briefly if needed
Do / Don't
- Do: validate; lower input; offer options
- Don't: debate the story mid‑flashback
Scripts (Examples)
- "You’re safe. Let’s breathe and feel the chair."
- "Would you like water, outside, or quiet?"
Scientific Context
Trauma research links triggers to amygdala/insula networks; grounding and safety cues help recalibrate.
Language Notes
Overlaps with anxiety, shutdowns; trauma‑informed care is key.
Related Terms
Emotional Dysregulation
Neurological differences in how emotions are experienced, processed, and expressed. Characterized by intense feelings that may seem disproportionate to triggers and difficulty returning to emotional baseline—not a character flaw, but brain-based variation.
Co-regulation
When one nervous system helps stabilize another through presence and connection. Not talking someone through their emotions—literally sharing your calm until their system remembers how to regulate. Like emotional jumper cables: you can't charge a dead battery by yelling at it, but you can share power from a working one.
Interoception
Your internal body sense—the ability to feel hunger, thirst, heartbeat, temperature, pain, and other signals from inside your body. Many neurodivergent people experience this "eighth sense" differently, making basic needs harder to recognize.
Accommodations
Changes to environment, tools, timing, or expectations that remove barriers so people can participate equally. Not special treatment or lowered standards—just different paths to the same destination.
Community Contributions
Your contributions help make definitions more accurate and accessible.