Understanding Trauma Flashbacks with Dr Kate Truitt

In this psychoeducation, Dr. Kate Truitt begins by explaining that if we’ve ever had a flashback, we know how awful and terrifying they can be. A flashback can mean reliving one of the scariest moments of life, reliving many of those moments, or re-emerging in the trauma of the past. Why is this something that our brain creates? How is it supposed to help us?

In a traumatic encoding, our brain remembers all of the contextual cues and complex content elements of the moment, and any of those experiences in the future can trigger us into a flashback. In the moment of a flashback, our brain is being taken over by the trauma stimuli. The past can feel like it’s always present.

How do we help ourselves get back into the present moment? If we’re being hijacked into a state of threat or our timekeeper is offline, this can be an important question. So, how do we engage our sensory system in a different way? Dr. Kate explains that it’s similar to how we ground ourselves out of dissociation: we can use ice cubes or sour candy. Our body and brain remember things all the time, and if we’ve survived really big things, that data will get priority processing. This causes other things to go offline, but sensory interaction helps bring us into the present moment.

We can come back to self and remember that we’re here in the present. When our amygdala runs the show there is no sense of time. Anything we can use to redirect and bring us back to the present will help, and then we can bring in CPR for the Amygdala.

In this video Dr. Kate mentions the CPR for the Amygdala technique. Please find the complete playlist here:    • CPR for the Amygdala - How to's and G...  

#cprfortheamygdala #healinginyourhands #traumahealing

Want to learn more and dive deep into your personal healing journey? Dr. Kate's book Healing in Your Hands: Self-Havening Exercises to Harness Neuroplasticity, Heal Traumatic Stress, and Build Resilience" is now available! Order your copy today! https://amzn.to/3TrAfaZ

For more information and blogs visit DrTruitt.com, find inspiration on Instagram @Dr.KateTruitt, ask Dr. Kate your questions and get video replies at her TikTok channel @Dr.KateTruitt, join Dr. Kate live on Clubhouse @DrKateTruitt, and subscribe to us here for weekly videos!

Want to learn more? Dr. Kate hosts live virtual workshops teaching self-healing in your hands tools and techniques. Join her and the Viva Excellence team to build your at home brain care program! Register here: https://www.vivaexcellence.com/self-h...

Dr. Kate Truitt is a clinical psychologist, neuroscientist, as well as holds a MBA in Healthcare Administration. She is the CEO of the Trauma Counseling Center of Los Angeles, Chairman of the Board of the Amy Research Foundation, and leads her flagship organization Dr. Kate Truitt & Associates located in Pasadena, CA. Her teams of expert psychologists and psychotherapists provide individual therapy, group therapy, executive coaching, and neurofeedback throughout California via telehealth.

Contact us today to learn more or to begin your healing journey with one of our expert team members: 626-524-5525 or https://www.drtruitt.com

© 2023 by Dr. Kate Truitt All rights reserved. No part of this video may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without the written permission of the copyright holder.