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Question:

Sometimes I will be doing something and a memory will flash through my mind. Something random. It stirs up so much emotion. It is EXACTLY as it actually happened. Every vivid detail i.e. I can see signs on a highway and what they say and I don't remember that stuff normally. This has really started since I have been going through a divorce. It is not just "memories". It's a picture of something that actually happened. Like a snapshot from a movie. Has anyone else had this happen?

Answers:
I think stress does that to people. I recall when I was going through my child custody battle, and I would lay in bed at night and was able to recall details from the past that I overlooked. All the sudden it seemed I was able to shed a different light on stuff. I could see other people's intentions in things they said and did that I overlooked at the time.

all the time, it means your normal, your mind likes to put things together, so it does that

dejavu!

I think you are thinking about your life, which way it will go, from here on, after your divorce.

When you're going to a hard in life you tend to have reoccurring memories i.e. pictures that you have suppressed. This usually happens when something dramatic occurs like a divorce. This is completely normal and it has happens to me many of times.

It is probably your emotions triggering past events, even if the event didn't seem significant. I can smell something, and am immediately taken back to a moment in my past where that smell was present. It is so bazaar, for it is so vivid, like it had just happened. It is funny, if I tell my mother of a memory that happened 20 years ago, and I go into detail about the color pattern of say a blanket, she freaks! She just can't believe that I can remember something so random, so well. I bet that you are experiencing this more, because of your divorce. I am not sure what emotions you are balancing right now, but you must be needing the comfort of these flash backs. Enjoy them, memories are great! Keep a journal, that way you can reflect on these images later!

It happens to me all the time. I'm so used to it that I dont really even notice it anymore. It might be a symptom of Post Traumatic Stress. Mine are more like flash backs to a dark place.

What are you doing when these memories appear? Something stressful?
Since you're going through a stressful period right now, this may be some form of an anxiety disorder, but I'm no expert. I'd go to a professional, I'll bet you're not the only one with this.
Good Luck!
-Jen

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