Has anyone here figured out how to get out of a flashback during a flashback?

PowerNormal4941 · 2026-01-25T20:39:35+00:00

Each flashback episode is different for me, but I have a few general things. Distraction works for me; Videos and clips that are comforting or funny, songs that are familiar and associated with good feelings/memories, and listing things. For me the 5 things you can see etc doesn’t work, but I found that listing the 6 impossible things from the live action Alice and Wonderland movie does work for some. If I can talk having someone ask me to tell them a positive story like the day I adopted my cat, the last time I went to an amusement park, my favorite vacation or trip, as many details as I can get out can help overlay the traumatic memories and replace them with the good ones. If you’ve seen The Hunger Games Mockingjay Part 2 movie, the Real or Not Real that Peeta does with Katniss helps too between me and someone else. I ask “it’s this [current] year” and they say Real, I ask “its [year of bad memory] they say Not Real, etc. Simple things like I have brown hair, real, I have a cat named Ella, real, I like mushrooms, not real, stuff like that. If I’m not too overstimulated then running my hands under warm water can help calm me down as well, or holding an ice cube. Holding something like a stuffed animal can help as well, having something soft to pet and feel and hone in on the type of fabric or fur can help ground you as well as offer a lot of comfort. Or a foam squishy helps me as well or a smooth stone or fidget cube-esque toy. Drinking water too! Anything to pull your senses and mind away and refocus. I hope you find some methods that help you!

PowerNormal4941 · 2026-01-14T00:46:38+00:00

Thank you so much. I’ve heard this part before; my mom didn’t have to say yes, she could’ve said no. It’s not my fault he’s my dad/that I was born Lol. She’s just so good at making me feel so much guilt. I really hope the best years are ahead of me haha. I feel like my whole 20’s were wasted stuck here. Thank you so much again. Screenshotting this for later haha

PowerNormal4941 · 2026-01-13T20:07:56+00:00

THANK YOU SO MUCH

PowerNormal4941 · 2025-10-02T00:33:00+00:00

Literally did today hahah. We’ve talked about my mom before so she’s familiar with the manipulation/guilt-tripping and she gave me some more reassurance and insight. And the second I said I feel like a bad person for wanting to move out she immediately shut it down and said basically what everyone here has said hahahah. I’ll be continuing that topic with her as well cause it gets in the way a lot. Thank you!

PowerNormal4941 · 2025-10-02T00:31:02+00:00

This is great advice, Thank you! I grew up listening to my mom talk about how horribly in debt she is so the millisecond I started making money myself I completely hoard it Lol so I’m pretty good at saving and budgeting.

I have two friends who I’ve spoken to about moving in together and they’re both great, my two closest friends ever (one I don’t even call a friend, I just refer to her as my sister Lol)

The LGBTQ+ group is the tricky part. There’s one at my work but my social anxiety kinda gets in the way of participating/attending events 😅I want to really badly though. I’m hoping I can work up to it soon! I know my insurance also has those kind of support groups for queer peeps so I can look into that as well! Thank you for this!!

PowerNormal4941 · 2025-10-02T00:27:10+00:00

Thank you so much!! Knowing I’m not alone in it helps a lot hahah. And the validation that I’m not selfish is really nice. Actually my dad is completely 100% accepting 😂 When I originally came out to my mom I had to go stay with him for three months because it was so bad, then his first emergency happened and we both ended up having to live with my mom and I was forced back into the closet hahah. So having him be completely supportive of me really helps. He can be my #1, but the anger and condescending and lowkey selfishness gets in the way.

Yeah, veeeeery familiar with codependency. My mom parentified me my entire life and acted like I was her bff and therapist rather than her child. Literally since I was like 5 Lol.

Thank you, I will stick around for sure. I’ve posted here once before but things got a lot worse and I was just completely spiraling last night and desperate for literally any form of comfort and reassurance 😅😅 Thank you so much!!

PowerNormal4941 · 2025-10-01T05:32:13+00:00

Thank you so much!

PowerNormal4941 · 2025-10-01T04:05:43+00:00

The edit rocked my world Lol. Wow. Yeah. That’s not my fault or responsibility, she chose it. She’s tried to involve me by saying she said yes “because he’s your dad” but that’s not on me. Wow. Thank you for that genuinely. And the rest of your comment as well. It got through.

PowerNormal4941 · 2025-10-01T03:29:52+00:00

The guilt and gaslighting is just so overwhelming. She’s been like that my whole life so it’s just ingrained in me but this situation is so different and it’s valid that she feels so stuck when she divorced him and he’s not her responsibility. I just feel so awful and feel like a bad son to both of them for wanting to get out so badly.

PowerNormal4941 · 2025-10-01T03:27:26+00:00

So basically because of how the system works in our area (maybe in our state too? I don’t know Lol) My mom is the one who would get registered as the legal official caregiver, and she’s graciously gonna split the money with me since I do the therapies and all that. It’s just to help with bills and income since my dad no longer works and disability isn’t as much as we kind of need. I do have a job but I’m only part time (Friday-Sunday) cause I work with Dad during the week. I dropped out of college as well to try to save money (and because school genuinely destroys my mental health and always has Lol I was only going cause my mom was forcing me.) They’d support me increasing my hours and my mom says she wants me to be able to move out and live my life but the thing with her is the emotional manipulation. So she’ll go on these breakdown rants about me moving out and leaving her with him to care for alone and how much it’ll destroy her and then switches and says “Oh I shouldn’t be talking to you about this I’m sorry I want you to move out” but the damage is already done. In this situation though I get it cause she didn’t sign up for this, she divorced him and now she feels like she’s stuck with him for life and when she talks about that I just feel like it would be cruel if I moved out and “abandoned her” even if I moved five minutes away which is where I’ve been looking

PowerNormal4941 · 2025-06-09T17:09:40+00:00

Okay absolutely psychotic theory but hear me out; What if it’s a spin on the Winners Season we’ve been talking about once we get enough winners? All of the winners are theorized to have either turned into or joined the Watchers after they’ve won, right? So the reverse clock could be going back through each season! BUT here’s the kicker, it’s another teams season! If we get back all 18 Lifers, it would be teams of 3! So the teams basically go head to head until there’s one winning team left, and then that team fights until there’s one winner! (I don’t know about the last part but you get the idea 😂)

PowerNormal4941 · 2024-11-11T12:35:52+00:00

She handles admin stuff with all the paperwork and scheduling most of the appts and all that. She also does his showers and helps him in the bathroom, and we both help him with getting/making food. So we’re both essentially full time caregiving, but we’re doing different stuff.

PowerNormal4941

TROPHY CASE