Flashbacks are involuntary, intrusive re-experiences of the traumatic event that feel as if they are happening now, not as a memory of the past. The traumatized brain does not file the event as history: it keeps it active as a present threat. During a flashback, the nervous system responds with the same intensity as during the original trauma.
Concept origin
The difference between flashbacks and normal memories was explained by van der Kolk from the 1990s: traumatic memories are fragmented (without coherent temporal narrative) and stored as images, sensations, and emotions without temporal context. Narrative processing is what converts them into past memories.
How it manifests
- ▸ Images, sounds, or physical sensations of the trauma that intrude without warning
- ▸ Feeling of being "back there again," not of remembering
- ▸ Intense physiological response (racing heart, sweating, freezing)
Therapeutic approach
Present-moment orientation techniques ("grounding") interrupt flashbacks: naming 5 things you can see, describing the texture of what you're touching, placing feet on the floor. EMDR is the most effective treatment for reducing the intensity and frequency of flashbacks by processing unintegrated traumatic material.
Related concepts
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