[lizardlady]

a bit of background - my father was an abusive alcoholic. I'm not diagnosed with PTSD. My pdoc did not want that diagnosis on my written record. Instead he says I "exhibit many of the symptoms of PTSD."

I had the weirdest thing happen this week. I was listening to an audiobook. In the book the character speaking was drunk as he spoke to another character. The actor reading the part did an awesome job of portraying drunken speech. He sounded just like my father used to sound. As I listened I could smell my father's beer breath. It wasn't like a memory. I could actually smell the odor. Weird, huh?

Could this have been a flashback? I never had anything like this happen as a flashback before. For me, flashbacks are like a movie projected over whatever is currently happening in my life.

At the time this happened I thought it was weird and tried to ignore it, telling myself it wasn't real. The fact it is still bothering me days later tells me I should pay attention to it.

Ideas anyone?

[Werewoman]

There's no doubt in my mind that the book triggered a flashback because you could smell an odor that wasn't there. It's the very definition.

Flashbacks are nothing like they are portrayed in movies. There's no way to do it accurately that I've seen.

[amandalouise]

Originally Posted by lizardlady

a bit of background - my father was an abusive alcoholic. I'm not diagnosed with PTSD. My pdoc did not want that diagnosis on my written record. Instead he says I "exhibit many of the symptoms of PTSD."

I had the weirdest thing happen this week. I was listening to an audiobook. In the book the character speaking was drunk as he spoke to another character. The actor reading the part did an awesome job of portraying drunken speech. He sounded just like my father used to sound. As I listened I could smell my father's beer breath. It wasn't like a memory. I could actually smell the odor. Weird, huh?

Could this have been a flashback? I never had anything like this happen as a flashback before. For me, flashbacks are like a movie projected over whatever is currently happening in my life.

At the time this happened I thought it was weird and tried to ignore it, telling myself it wasn't real. The fact it is still bothering me days later tells me I should pay attention to it.

Ideas anyone?

here where I am if this was me my treatment providers would call it an olfactory hallucination if it only happened once, but would be called a flashback if it happened many times triggered by something.

the reason why is because here where I am a flashback is reliving an involuntary recurrent memory where as an olfactory hallucination smelling things that are not there...

example

an olfactory hallucination in me is smelling someones cigarette once, my mind could reproduce the smell because I know people who smoke, no one at the present moment is smoking but while watching a tv show where someone was smoking I could smell smoke that reminded me of a relative. not reliving the moment of the person smoking just being able to smell smoke when no one was in the immediate area smoking.

a flashback in me would be smelling someones cigarette every time I looked at a particular picture because the picture triggered the memory of my great aunt standing on a porch smoking a cigarette.

my suggestion is if listening to this audio book is triggering you to relive traumatic memories maybe now would not be the time to listen to this particular audio book. maybe listen to one that doesnt have any drunken characters until you get the chance to work with your or a treatment provider on why this is triggering you to either have a flashback or an olfactory hallucination