I'm an extremely visual person.

That's why it's weird — or perhaps logical? — that, while I have had Flashbacks, most of what I experience when I'm Triggered isn't visual.

Instead, what I experience the most are memories of what it felt, not what it looked like.

Feelback

Feelback: a sudden and disturbing vivid recollection of the feelings associated with an event in the past, typically as the result of psychological trauma.

I was first introduced to the concept of an Emotional Flashback a few years ago, and it instantly resonated with me because it helped me understand what was happening to me.

It helped to explain a number of unexplained things I have felt over the years but didn't know what they are. Feelings of...

• Losing track of myself
• Floating free of myself
• Getting unstuck in time

Feelbacks are kind of like Deja Vu.

Confusion is part of them.

The difference is that they are also, at least in my case, both terrifying, sickening, and painful.

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy

I was first introduced to Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) fairly early on in graduate school. I had been living in Texas, and returning to live in St. Louis created major problems for me, starting with depression.

While CBT works for negative thoughts, it doesn't work for feelings.

How do you CBT a feeling?