I have had auditory (hear things that aren't here in present time), visual (see things that aren't here in present time), and olfactory (smell things that aren't here in present time) flashbacks. I have also experienced them through dreams, nightmares & night terrors.

I used to not know or understand them and was totally bewildered by what was happening. It has taken years of therapy to understand their source(s) and to learn some effective grounding techniques. The good news is they have lessened over time.

Of course, they still come up from time to time and probably will for the rest of my life, but now whenever I'm triggered and start to dissociate or have flashbacks, I start working on grounding myself back in the present which helps me to not feel so swept away by them anymore.

I kinda treat them like a familiar old friend now, after all they still have their stories to tell, and even if they aren't the best coping mechanism in the present, they most certainly helped me to survive some rather horrific stuff in the past.

,
Pfrog