Panic Attacks, Flashbacks and Triggers

This article written by Kaz

Many survivors of sexual trauma suffer from panic attacks, often attended by flashbacks.

Panic attacks and flashbacks can be triggered by anything and everything. Common triggers are seeing or hearing about someone else's rape or abuse, seeing an abuser or someone who resembles an abuser, being touched in a sensitive place, hearing a phrase used by the abuser, the survivor's children reaching the age the survivor was when the abuse started, particular calendar dates... unfortunately there are as many potential triggers as there are survivors.

Panic attacks usually include the following symptoms: hyperventilation, accelerated heartbeat, dizziness, acute anxiety and sometimes a feeling of impending death. Unfortunately these symptoms in themselves are likely to increase the anxiety.

Hyperventilation is the main cause of other symptoms during a panic attack: dizziness, nausea and tingling in the hands and feet. By changing and calming your breathing, you can help the panic attack to finish more quickly. Take slow, deep breaths and try to breathe from the stomach instead of the upper chest. Exhale easily. Concentrate on your breathing. This should minimise other symptoms. Practise this method of breathing when you are calm, so that it comes naturally when you need to apply it during an attack.

Remember that the panic attack will end by itself, it won't carry on forever.

For more help with panic attacks, I recommend anxiety.com http://www.anxieties.com/home.htm. They also have good information about Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and PTSD.

Flashbacks are when the survivor has a period of intense recall of the abuse situation. They may feel trapped inside the memory, that it is actually happening in the present.

In the past I have tried many things to get control of flashbacks, including self-harming and massive intake of alcohol and drugs. However these methods not only don't work, they add to the harm we have already suffered.

Try the breathing exercise outlined above.

Open your eyes and really look at your surroundings. Remind yourself that you are in a safe place.

Picture the memory as being a film, of which you have control. Pan the camera back and let the screen fade to grey.

Try to take control of the memory - break a window to escape, imagine a weapon in your hand that you can use.

Remember that the flashback will pass and that the frequency of flashbacks will decrease and their power over you will lessen as your healing moves forward.

Talking with other survivors can help you feel less alone with the burden. It's reassuring to know that other people understand your symptoms. The most positive move I made in my healing was reaching out to other people in my position, through message boards and forums.

If you have methods of coping that have worked for you with panic attacks and/or flashbacks, please contact us and I can add them here.

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