Trauma – PTSD

Question:

I’d like to share this with the group… When I am at work, there are times [well ok, many times] when a person comes into my office and I nearly jump out of my chair.  Most people are apologetic for scaring me; others laugh sometimes.  To me, it is embarassing to startle like that at work.  I’m used to it at home, and home is safe enough.  But out in public it’s not cool. Today at the car parts store, I came out of the bathroom and a big, burly man came out of his bathroom on my heels.  I sucked in my breath loudly, accidentally knocked over a row of tires, and my heart thumped.  I stopped and let the man pass by.  Due to the noise of the tires, I don’t think he realized how scared I was.  

Response:

Hi AMe911! Your experiences are normal for someone with PTSD. Sane folks understand that hypervigilance is NOT their fault; after their apology, they forget about our response (except when I scream for 2 minutes non-stop .  We need to accept our responses as a normal part of our situation.  The safer we become inside ourselves, the more gentle become our startle responses. This getting safer inside can take some time.   I was given the following words on a small card to put in my wallet:                 Stop                 Breathe                 Think                 Decide When I realize that I am holding my breathe, I know that I am _not_ where I need to be in recovery.  My first two years in therapy, the constant mantra from the professionals was ‘breathe, Nancy’.  I heard it at least 5 times an hour. Keep working on safety and this symptom will gradually decrease, at least in my experience. Smile and there will be something to smile about! Nancy – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> I’d like to share this with the group… > When I am at work, there are times [well ok, many times] when a person comes > into my office and I nearly jump out of my chair.  Most people are apologetic > for scaring me; others laugh sometimes.  To me, it is embarassing to startle > like that at work.  I’m used to it at home, and home is safe enough.  But out > in public it’s not cool. > Today at the car parts store, I came out of the bathroom and a big, burly man > came out of his bathroom on my heels.  I sucked in my breath loudly, > accidentally knocked over a row of tires, and my heart thumped.  I stopped and > let the man pass by.  Due to the noise of the tires, I don’t think he realized > how scared I was.

Response:

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