When the traumatic experience is stored in your memory your brain stores more of the emotional and perceptional experience than it stores of the context. (E.g. fear and pain over what you were doing before)
The traumatic memory can get recalled at a later date. Since the context isnt stored, the person suddenly experiences mostly the emotions and perceptional experience again. Most of the context isnt stored, so cant be retrieved.
This can at times be called a hallucination. The person experiences the memory as if it is happening at this moment.
As for the second part of your question. Your sight doesnt allow anything. The brain perceives the hallucination which makes it reality for the person. It can be triggered by certain things and isnt voluntary.
For the curious 5+ yo
Ive only learned about hallucinations and trauma when related to psychoses, so im not sure whether non-psychotic people are able to have true hallucinations with trauma. But when psychotic, people might sooner experience the reliving of their trauma as being a thing that is actually happening right now.
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