PTSD and Aphantasia: Am I Alone?

mine are like that! i also have aphantasia. i don't have visual flashbacks, but i usually smell/feel things from my trauma and believe everyone is out to get me and derealize hugely

I feel the same way. My flashbacks are rarely visual, it's usually depersonalization and dissociation. As a lot of people said above, there's no set way for a mental illness to be and no way is less valid than another

I talked to my therapist about this and it doesn't have to be visual. Flashbacks can also "just" Be body sensations like you felt during the event and that kind of thing

As someone with copious visual flashbacks, I also have the ones with smell and touch without visuals. Emotional flashbacks are also very much a thing and are probably the most debilitating for me. My body remembers more than I do. All of these are flashbacks just in different form and they will appear as such depending on the person. I too thought my PTSD was abnormal when it first came about since I didnt have visual flashbacks yet. Everyones different.

There’s nothing to fear here… what you’re describing is ptsd nonetheless… everyone displays it in their own ways and “flashbacks will feel different for everyone.” There’s no one correct way to have ptsd. Everyone’s “episodes” will look different. Sometimes I have flashbacks, sometimes I don’t. Sometimes I feel like I’m reliving the moment as if it we happening in the present, kind of like you described. I mean, that’s essentially what ptsd is. Don’t feel like your symptoms are any different or less than what your friends may be experiencing. It’s not a competition and not something you should feel you need to compare. Your symptoms are all valid however you experience them!