I am crying in my car. It happened again.

One minute everything is fine. The next, I am folded in on myself, sobbing like the world is coming to an end. Suicidal thoughts whisper. My chest aches and feels impossibly heavy. My thoughts race with everything I did wrong. I feel nauseous. Ashamed. Small.

It started with something simple — my son talking about a shirt. They said I overreacted. And then I overreacted again.

Yes, my reaction was bigger than the moment.

But my feelings were real.

What was happening?

This is an example of an emotional flashback.

What Is an Emotional Flashback?

Psychotherapist Pete Walker describes emotional flashbacks in his book Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving as:

“Intensely disturbing regressions to the overwhelming feeling-states of childhood abandonment.”

Unlike visual flashbacks, emotional flashbacks do not necessarily come with images or clear memories. Instead, they flood you with the feelings of the past — helplessness, fear, shame, despair — as if they are happening right now.

You are not remembering with your mind.

You are reliving with your body.

How to Recognize an Emotional Flashback

You might notice:

• You feel little, fragile, and helpless

• Everything feels too hard

• Life feels too scary

• Being seen feels excruciatingly vulnerable

• Your energy feels completely drained

• A sense of impending doom — like an apocalypse is imminent

• Overwhelming confusion or despair

When you are in a flashback, you are reliving some of the worst emotional states of your childhood. Everything feels urgent and catastrophic.

It is not weakness.

It is a nervous system remembering.

Other Signs You May Be in a Flashback

• Your reaction feels out of proportion to the trigger

• A minor upset feels like a devastating betrayal

• You become overly critical of yourself or others

• You feel strong urges to use substances to numb the pain

• You spiral into catastrophic health fears

• You neglect yourself because old self-abandonment pain resurfaces

You may logically know that what just happened was “small.”
But emotionally, it feels enormous.

Why Does This Happen?

This experience is often referred to as an amygdala hijack.

The amygdala is the emotional memory center of the brain. When it perceives threat — even subtle threat — it overrides the rational thinking part of the brain.

For those who grew up in chronic stress or trauma, the nervous system may default into one of the 4F survival responses:

• Fight

• Flight

• Freeze

• Fawn

If these responses were activated repeatedly in childhood, even minor events can now trigger panic in adulthood.

A trigger can be:

• A tone of voice

• A facial expression

• A look of contempt

• A dream

• A memory

• Even your own thoughts

Flashbacks make us forget that we are safe now. They make us forget that our current relationships are not the ones from our past.

How to Manage an Emotional Flashback

The goal is not to shame yourself for having one.

The goal is to gently come back to the present.

Here are supportive tools:

1. Name It

Say to yourself:
“I am having an emotional flashback. I am not in danger.”

Naming it begins to re-engage your rational brain.

2. Remind Yourself You Are an Adult

You are no longer the child in the original situation.
You are in an adult body with resources.

3. Speak to the Inner Child

Offer reassurance:
“I see you. You’re scared. But we’re safe.”

4. Deconstruct “Eternity Thinking”

Flashbacks often tell us:

• “This will never change.”

• “It will always be this way.”

Gently remind yourself:
“This feeling is temporary.”

5. Regulate the Body

Your body is activated. It needs safety signals.

• Slow your breathing

• Lengthen the exhale

• Gently relax your jaw, shoulders, belly

• Place your feet firmly on the ground

• Find a physically safe space

Feel the fear in your body without reacting to it. Let it crest and fall like a wave.

6. Interrupt the Inner Critic

Flashbacks awaken a harsh internal voice that catastrophizes and exaggerates danger.

Use:

• Thought stopping

• Thought substitution

• Thought correction

Replace “I ruined everything” with “I had a reaction. I can repair.”

(We intentionally incorporate thought correction into our somatic practices at The Well.)

7. Grieve What Was Lost

Many of us were not allowed to feel our feelings as children. Flashbacks can be delayed grief surfacing.

Allow the tears.

They are not weakness.
They are release.

8. Cultivate Safe Relationships

Healing does not happen in isolation.

Community helps regulate the nervous system.

How Yoga Helps with Emotional Flashbacks

Emotional flashbacks are stored in the body.

Yoga and somatic practices gently teach the body:

You are safe.
You can soften.
You can breathe.

Over time, postures and breathwork become familiar anchors. The mat becomes a place your nervous system recognizes as safe.

Slow Yin postures.
Grounding shapes.
Long exhales.
Gentle awareness of sensation.

The more you practice mindfulness — at The Well or anywhere — the more you build capacity to ride the wave of activation without drowning in it.

Your body learns new endings.

You Are Not Broken

If you find yourself crying in your car…
If your reactions sometimes feel confusing or overwhelming…
If your body feels hijacked by something you cannot logically explain…

You are not dramatic.
You are not crazy.
You are not weak.

You may be experiencing emotional flashbacks.

With awareness, compassion, safe community, and nervous system regulation practices, they become more manageable.

At The Well Yoga Dubuque, we create space for this kind of healing — through gentle yoga, somatic practices, breathwork, and community that understands.

You do not have to do this alone.

And if you are currently experiencing suicidal thoughts or feel unsafe, please seek immediate professional support or contact a crisis line in your area. You deserve care beyond a blog post.

Healing is possible.

And it often begins by simply recognizing what is happening.