Why do we get flashbacks of traumatic memories?

Flashbacks are a common characteristic of unresolved trauma. During traumatic events, memory  networks in the brain are impacted, and rather than an integrated narrative laid down in explicit memory and mediated by the hippocampus, instead the event is stored as unintegrated sensory fragments in implicit memory and mediated by the amygdala. Later on, flashbacks – triggered by reminders of the original danger – act as a warning alarm, activating the fight-flight-freeze response and urging us to get to safety and do something about the threat.

In this video, I share my personal experience of feeling unsafe after trauma and how taking some simple steps, such as installing security cameras, helped me to to reassure my back brain that I was indeed safe again. As a result, it stopped signalling to me with flashbacks to take action to get to safety.

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I’m Carolyn Spring and I’m an author, trainer, consultant and Founder of the Trauma Recovery Community. I help counsellors and therapists help their clients recover from complex trauma. Over 40,000 people have accessed my live or online training , and I’ve provided hundreds of hours of 1:1 consultations with therapists to unpick the really tricky aspects of working with complex trauma.

I combine perspectives from both the clinical literature and research with the first-person insight of someone who’s actually been there, and I make the complex simple … but without ever being simplistic. I believe in hope for recovery from even the most appalling suffering … but only with the right support. I support the supporters.

Learn more about me and my work here: https://linktr.ee/carolynspring

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'Guide for Therapists: A Three Phase Approach to Trauma Treatment' (50+ pages). A must-read for anyone working therapeutically with trauma.
'Trauma Survivors’ Resource Guide' (100+ pages). Neurobiology-based, practical advice to help with flashbacks, triggers, and managing our mental health after trauma.

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If you’re interested in healing from trauma yourself or want to know more about my story, you can find resources including my blog, podcast, books and online courses here: https://www.carolynspring.com/books/

If you’re a counsellor, therapist, other mental health professional or counselling student in training, please consider joining my 'Trauma Recovery Community', a training and CPD platform where you get to interact live with me 1-2 times a week, bringing your questions and digging deep into how to actually work with complex trauma in practice, not just theory: https://www.carolynspring.com/community/

I’ve delivered live training to over 17,000 delegates and now over 40,000 online learners can access all of my courses from the comfort of their own home or office: https://www.carolynspring.com/online-...

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