Emotional Flashbacks - 13 Strategies for Childhood Trauma from Pete Walker's book on CPTSD

Aug 22, 2025

Discover how emotional flashbacks, stemming from childhood trauma, can trigger overwhelming feelings of fear and shame. Explore 13 effective strategies inspired by Pete Walker to navigate these intense emotional responses. Learn transformative skills to process emotions proactively and promote healing. The discussion emphasizes the importance of grounding techniques, self-compassion, and building resilience, proving that recovery from CPTSD is within reach through compassionate steps.

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INSIGHT

Emotional Flashbacks Are Felt, Not Seen

Emotional flashbacks are felt states rather than visual memories and hijack the nervous system.
They trigger intense fear, shame, or despair without an obvious present danger.

ADVICE

Name The Flashback To Regain Control

Say to yourself, "I am having a flashback" to create distance and witness it.
Add reminders like "I'm not in danger right now" to ground your thinking.

ADVICE

Use Sensory Grounding And Safety Statements

Use sensory grounding: look around, feel the floor, notice temperature and sounds.
Speak safety to your nervous system with statements like "I'm safe right now."

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Learn to manage emotional flashbacks, a key symptom of PTSD and Complex PTSD CPTSD, or Childhood Trauma with these tools from Pete Walker. Learn the skills to Regulate your Emotions, join the membership: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/membership

Check out the FREE Grounding Skills course here: https://courses.therapyinanutshell.com/grounding-skills-for-anxiety-stress-and-ptsd

https://www.pete-walker.com/pdf/13strategies_flashbacks_management.pdf

Childhood trauma can trigger a different type of flashbacks from other types of trauma. Emotional flashbacks are intense waves of fear, shame, or hopelessness that can overwhelm you without warning. Unlike typical PTSD flashbacks, they’re not visual memories—they’re emotional states triggered by past trauma. In this video, we explore 13 powerful tools from Pete Walker to help you manage emotional flashbacks, calm your nervous system, and reconnect with the present moment. Learn how to ground yourself, speak kindly to your inner child, and build resilience. Healing from CPTSD is possible—one compassionate step at a time.

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Therapy in a Nutshell and the information provided by Emma McAdam are solely intended for informational and entertainment purposes and are not a substitute for advice, diagnosis, or treatment regarding medical or mental health conditions. Although Emma McAdam is a licensed marriage and family therapist, the views expressed on this site or any related content should not be taken for medical or psychiatric advice. Always consult your physician before making any decisions related to your physical or mental health. In therapy I use a combination of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Systems Theory, positive psychology, and a bio-psycho-social approach to treating mental illness and other challenges we all face in life. The ideas from my videos are frequently adapted from multiple sources. Many of them come from Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, especially the work of Steven Hayes, Jason Luoma, and Russ Harris. The sections on stress and the mind-body connection derive from the work of Stephen Porges (the Polyvagal theory), Peter Levine (Somatic Experiencing) Francine Shapiro (EMDR), and Bessel Van Der Kolk. I also rely heavily on the work of the Arbinger Institute for my overall understanding of our ability to choose our life's direction.

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