Complex Trauma & C-PTSD · 90 secs
Emotional Flashback & C-PTSD Somatic Trigger Screener
Assess sudden waves of timeless dread, toxic shame attacks, and child survival regression in Complex PTSD. 12-item clinical self-assessment based on Pete Walker's C-PTSD framework.
Scientific Overview
An emotional flashback is a sudden, intense regression into the terrifying feeling states of childhood abandonment, abuse, or neglect-occurring entirely without visual memory pictures. Sufferers experience overwhelming dread, helplessness, and brutal inner critic attacks.
What This Assessment Evaluates
- Measures Amygdala Hijack (timeless dread, visceral panic), Toxic Shame & Inner Critic (savage self-contempt), and Truncated Defense (fawn/freeze collapse, urge to disappear)
- Normalizes intense emotional storms as implicit memories of childhood overwhelm, not personal defects
- Pete Walker's 13-step emergency flashback management and somatic inner-child reparenting protocols
How to Take This Test
- Answer honestly based on your experience over the past 7 days.
- There are no right or wrong answers; trust your initial emotional reaction.
- Receive your personalized score breakdown, mascot insight, and custom journaling prompts immediately.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I tell if I am having an emotional flashback versus an anxiety attack?
In an anxiety attack, fear is usually focused on future catastrophic events ('What if I fail?'). In an emotional flashback, you feel an overwhelming sense of being small, powerless, fundamentally defective, or humiliated, as if you are a terrified child trapped in a dangerous past environment.
Medical Disclaimer
Start the Assessment
Takes just a minute. Free, anonymous, and no account required to see your initial results.
Start Test Now