How to Stop a Flashback (and What to Do When You Can’t)
Updated: Oct 2
Written and clinically reviewed by Stephanie Post, PsyD
If you’re having a flashback right now 1. Say to yourself, out loud if you can: “This is a flashback. It’s a memory. I’m in [where you are], and it's [today’s day].” 2. Press your feet firmly into the floor. Feel the floor under your heels. 3. Look around slowly and name five things you can see. 4. If you feel numb or far away, stand up and move. Come back to the rest of this when you’re ready
Key takeaways
A flashback is a memory that feels like it’s happening now. It can show up as images, body sensations or emotions.
During a flashback, the goal isn’t to fight the memory. It’s to help your body find the present.
Some flashbacks leave you revved up. Others leave you shut down. Each needs a different kind of help.
Grounding skills work best when you practise them while you’re calm.
Grounding helps you get through a flashback. Trauma-focused therapy can reduce how often they happen.
What is a flashback?
A flashback is a trauma memory that feels like it’s happening in the present, not something you’re remembering from the past.
When you remember something painful, you know it’s in the past. You might feel upset, but part of you stays in the present. In a flashback, the past feels like it’s happening now. Researchers see this sense of “nowness” as what sets flashbacks apart from other painful memories.
Flashbacks sit on a range. At one end is a brief flash of an image, sound or sensation, while you still know where you are. At the other, a person can lose awareness of their surroundings entirely. Most fall somewhere in between.
What does a flashback feel like?
Flashbacks feel different for different people. You might notice:
a sudden wave of fear, panic or dread that seems to come from nowhere
your heart racing, your breathing going shallow, or your body freezing
images, sounds, smells or physical sensations from the past
a strong sense that something is happening now, not then
confusion about where you are or what time it is
feeling numb or blank, or cut off from your body
feeling as though the things around you aren’t quite real
Afterwards, many people feel exhausted, shaky or embarrassed. None of this means something is wrong with you. It’s a well-recognized trauma response.
How long do flashbacks last?
It varies a lot. Flashbacks can last anywhere from a few seconds to several hours, and occasionally even days. The aftermath, like tiredness, can last longer than the flashback itself.
Why do flashbacks happen?
One leading explanation focuses on how traumatic memories are stored. During an overwhelming event, the brain may hold on to sensory fragments, like images, sounds and sensations, without the context that tells you when and where it happened. When something later resembles those fragments, the memory can surface as though it’s happening now.
In my work, I think of it this way: your nervous system learned to protect you during a time of real threat, and it may still be running on those rules.
What sets off a flashback is called a trigger. Triggers are reminders, outside you or inside you, that resemble some part of the original experience.
Sensory: a smell, sound, texture, taste or something you see.
A certain cologne might remind someone of the person who hurt them. Fireworks or a car backfiring might remind a veteran of gunfire.
Situational: places, dates or situations that echo the past.
That might be the anniversary of what happened, a room that looks similar, a raised voice, someone standing too close or harsh criticism at work.
Internal: things happening inside you. Like being tired, ill or stressed.
Sometimes you won’t know what the trigger was. That’s common and it doesn’t mean you’re doing anything wrong.
How to stop a flashback: what to do in the moment
When a flashback hits, it’s natural to try to shove the memory away, or argue with yourself:
“This is ridiculous. Why am I reacting like this?”
Neither tends to help much. Pushing a memory away can keep it coming back, and reasoning is hard when your body is convinced you’re in danger. A more useful goal is to help your body notice that it’s here, now, and not back then.
1. Name it and orient
Say it plainly, out loud if you can:
“This is a flashback. It’s a memory. It’s not happening now.”
Then anchor yourself in the present:
“I’m in [place]. It’s [day and date]. I’m [your age].”
This reminds the part of you that’s reliving the past that another part of you knows exactly where you are.
2. Notice which way your body has gone
Flashbacks don’t all feel the same in the body. A flashback tends to push you in one of two directions, which you can think of as revved up or shutdown.
Revved up. This is the more common one. You relive the event and your heart races, you feel panicky and your thoughts speed up.
Shutdown. You feel numb, heavy or blank. Things around you seem unreal, or you feel disconnected from your body and your voice may go quiet.
Many people move between the two, sometimes within the same flashback.
Between revved up and shutdown is the middle zone called the window of tolerance. This is where you can think clearly and feel your emotions without being overwhelmed by them. The goal during a flashback is to get back into the window of tolerance.
Which way you need to go depends on where you are. If you’re revved up, you need to calm down. If you’ve shut down, calming tools can leave you feeling even more numb, so you need gentle ways to wake your body up instead.
If you’re revved up: bring it down
Make your out-breath longer than your in-breath. Breathe in through your nose, then let the air out slowly, as if you’re sighing. If focusing on your breath makes things worse, skip it. That’s common after trauma.
Let the ground and the chair hold you. Press your feet into the floor. Lean back and let your back rest against the chair. Drop your shoulders.
Use cool water. Run cool (not icy) water over your hands or wrists, or splash your face.
Orient slowly. Turn your head and let your eyes land on ordinary things around you. Name them: “Lamp. Window. Blue mug.”
Hum. A low hum on the out-breath gives you something steady to hear and feel.
If you’ve shutdown: bring yourself back up
Move. Stand up. Shift your weight from foot to foot. Stamp your feet, or walk around the room.
Push. Press your palms together firmly, or push against a wall, and notice the strength in your arms.
Wake up your senses. Open your eyes if they are closed and turn on a light. Smell something strong and pleasant, like peppermint or coffee. Chew mint gum. Run your fingers over something with a clear texture, like a rough stone, the ridged edge of a coin or a woven fabric and notice how it feels.
Use your voice. Describe what you see out loud. Call or talk to someone. Sing.
Try 5-4-3-2-1. Name 5 things you can see, 4 you can touch, 3 you can hear, 2 you can smell and 1 you can taste.
What to avoid
Don’t breathe into a paper bag.
It used to be common advice for panicky breathing, but it’s no longer recommended, partly because it can lower your oxygen levels. Fast breathing actually blows off too much carbon dioxide, while oxygen levels usually stay close to 100%. That’s why slowing your out-breath helps more than gulping air.
Skip anything that relies on pain.
You may see advice to snap a rubber band against your wrist. I don’t recommend it. Strong, gentle signals do the same job without teaching your body that coming back has to hurt.
Avoid senses tied to the memory.
If a smell set off the flashback, don’t reach for scent. Use touch, sound or movement instead. And choose grounding objects from your life now, not from the time of the trauma.
Don’t dig into the memory.
A flashback isn’t the time to work out what happened or why. That work belongs in therapy, at a pace your nervous system can handle.
What to do after a flashback
Flashbacks take a lot out of you. It’s common to feel drained, shaky or low afterwards.
Rest if you can. Drink some water. Eat something. Get warm.
Be gentle with yourself. You didn’t cause this and it isn’t a sign of weakness.
Meet the part of you that’s still scared. Once you’re fully back in the present, the “I Love You Anyway” tapping from my post on how to stop overthinking without fighting yourself can help you offer a frightened or ashamed part of you some kindness.
Notice the pattern. Jot down what might have triggered it, what helped and what didn’t. You don’t need to write about the memory itself. Rate how intense it felt from 0-10 at its worst, and again afterwards. Over time, this becomes your map.
Tell someone you trust, if that feels right. You don’t have to share details to say, “I had a hard moment today”
How to prepare for your next flashback
Grounding is a skill and it takes practice to work well. Trying a technique for the first time in the middle of a flashback is like learning to swim in a storm.
Practise while you’re calm. Pick two or three tools and try each one for a minute or two a day.
Learn your early signs. Notice what tends to come first: a change in your breathing, a sudden mood shift, tension in a particular spot.
Carry a grounding object from the present. A smooth stone, a small bottle of a scent you like. Choose something you didn’t have at the time of the trauma.
Write a grounding phrase you believe. Keep it short and true, like:
“That was then. This is now. I got through it.”
Tell the people close to you what helps, including whether you want to be touched during a flashback. Many people don’t.
Download my flashback plan.
This is a printable PDF that has space for your early signs, your go-to-tools for revved-up and shut-down moments and who to contact.
How to help someone having a flashback
Someone having a flashback may go very still or very agitated. They might stare, breathe fast, seem not to hear you, or react to something you can’t see.
Your calm can help them come back.
Stay calm. Keep your voice low and steady, and avoid sudden movements.
Tell them what’s happening. Let them know they are having a flashback and that, although it feels real, it isn’t happening again. Name the day and where you both are.
Invite them to look around and name what they see.
Ask before you touch them. Touch can be triggering for some people, so wait until they’ve recovered enough to give you permission.
Don’t push them to talk. Afterwards, ask what they need. Some people want company. Others want space.
Look after yourself too. Watching someone you love go through this can be frightening.
Can therapy help with flashbacks?
Yes. Grounding helps you get through a flashback. Trauma-focused therapy works on the memories driving them.
In my practice, I combine 3 approaches:
1) Sensorimotor Psychotherapy which uses breathing, grounding and movement to help you reconnect with your body and widen your ability to stay present with difficult emotions and sensations.
2) EMDR Therapy which helps you process distressing memories while drawing on your inner strengths
3) Parts work from Internal Family Systems which helps you relate to protective and hurting parts of yourself with compassion
You can read more about how these fit together in Beyond Talk Therapy.
When to get help right away
Reach out for support now if:
you have thoughts of hurting yourself or ending your life
you can’t tell past from present for long stretches
flashbacks are putting you in danger, for example while driving
you’re relying on alcohol or drugs to get through them
flashbacks are happening often and making it hard to sleep, work or connect with people
You can call or text 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org, to reach a trained crisis counselor. Veterans can press 1 after dialing 988, or text 838255. If you’re in immediate danger, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room.
Frequently asked questions
Can you stop a flashback once it starts?
Not always on command. But naming it, orienting to the present and matching your tools to your state can make it more manageable. Practice makes a real difference.
Are flashbacks always a sign of PTSD?
No. Stress reactions are common after a traumatic event. If they don’t ease over time and they start to disrupt your life, it’s worth talking to a professional. A single flashback isn’t a diagnosis.
Do flashbacks ever go away?
For many people, they become less frequent and less intense over time, especially with trauma-focused treatment.
What is the 3-3-3 rule?
A quick grounding exercise: name 3 things you can see, 3 sounds you can hear then move 3 parts of your body. It’s a simpler version of 5-4-3-2-1
Can you have a flashback without a clear memory?
Yes. Some flashbacks show up mainly as body sensations or emotions, without images. It’s also important to know that a strong reaction without a memory doesn’t, by itself, mean something happened that you’ve forgotten. A trauma-informed therapist can help you make sense of what you’re experiencing without pushing you to “find” memories.
You can come back to the present
Flashbacks can make it feel as if the past still has a hold on you. It doesn’t have to stay that way. Each time you name a flashback, find your feet and come back to the room, you’re teaching your nervous system something new: that was then, and this is now.
If flashbacks are shaping your days, you don’t have to manage them alone. I offer online trauma therapy for adults across California. Reach out here
Stephanie Post, PsyD, is a licensed psychologist based in the San Francisco Bay Area who specializes in trauma-informed somatic therapy. She is an EMDRIA-certified EMDR therapist and a certified Sensorimotor Psychotherapist, and she is IFS trained. She works online with adults across California who are facing trauma, anxiety, low self-esteem, and depression, and want to live more authentic, embodied lives. Reach out to her here.
Related: [Trauma therapy] . [What is PTSD?]
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