General Physical Signs Of Being Triggered

[ashmarie]

Hi All.

I was wondering if any of you see physical changes when your sufferer is under additional amounts of stress or in the process of being triggered. By changes, I mean for example: increased figiting, lots of blinking, zoning out and staring off blankly, etc.

 

[amethist]

Hi ashmarie

It took me a while to spot the changes in my hubby, now it's like second nature.

If he is at home and wakes up from a dream, which can be quite often, I can tell immediately if he has been triggered. He has a habit of rolling his tongue round the front of his mouth, until he calms down.

When he used to go out, or tries now, he would go very quiet and into tunnel vision mode. By this I mean he would not see anything around him, would not be able to hear anything apart from traffic noise (louder than it actually was) and would just zone out completely. He would only see the way home, but if not watched would go through or over anything to get home.

There have been times where I have grabbed him and dragged him away from everything and got him home as soon as possible. It can be like dragging a child by the hand at times. One time I grabbed him by his coat collar and frog marched him away from where we were, it was the only way I could get him to move.

Luckily he has never been violent, more scared than anything else. But not knowing what of sometimes.

Amethist

 

[growingpains]

I am a "sufferer" but I know myself well...I have mild disassociation spells similar to "day dreaming" but I blink a lot and look like I am angry/upset and my eyes either are fixed or go back and forth trying to focus on listening to someone if they are speaking (I don't know why this is--but I would like to know). Then my breathing becomes more rapid and almost to a panic attack state...but I can control it beyond that. Hope this helps.

 

[TLight]

I'm a sufferer and I've been told that my eyes 'change'........I think it is the distrust of anyone and everyone. When I'm in that state, everyone is the enemy. Well, sometimes when I'm not too.

I shake and when I'm having a flashback, I twist and act like I"m fighting something or someone on top of me. It's horrible.

 

[CCurry]

For my sufferer his breathing pattern totally changes. It becomes much heavier.

 

[Cate]

Yeah. I shake, I have eye twitches, I stutter and I hyperventilate. I can also throw up if I have to talk about some of the stuff that happened to me....great party trick ;)

It's all part of ptsd...not fun but it is what it is.

:occasion:
Cate

 

[Nicolette]

I have seen the blinking and I find it very similar to watching an autistic child who is overloaded....the rapid eye blinking without focusing on anything.

Other changes are really bad breathe and sweating along with twitching incessantly.

 

[Shoka]

My sufferer most definetly has a change in the eyes. When they get red rimmed, I know he is well on his way to triggering or may already be there. The red rimmed thing is very frightening to me as it signals the potential for him to disassociate.

Other physical signs he cracks his knuckles in his hand. Nightmares, head aches all of these symptoms can be signs.

When he doesn't eat for several hours and or stay hydrated properly, this can tip the scales for him to be more likely to trigger. Obviously, most people are aware that sleep deprivation can be dangerous for someone who suffers from PTSD.

Hope this helps
Shoka

 

[JohnnyM53]

A year or two ago, I was with a group of people in a public bar. One guy who happened to tag along with us was drunk, aggressive, loud and obnoxious.

I was being triggered emotionally and had to get out of there, not knowing if he would become violent.

A close friend of mine was there and noticed something was wrong with me. I asked her yesterday to describe what she saw in me. She said:

"I didn't see the whole thing when it started, but at some point I noticed you became very withdrawn. You're normally extroverted, strong, smiling and engaged at social functions.

Your face and posture seemed very still, tight, ridged, frozen. Seemed as though you weren't there...or trying to make yourself disappear. When we talked, you seemed frightened and upset and wanted to leave immediately but I guess you were in conflict not wanting to cause a scene or take me away from my duties as I had organized the outing. But from the tone in your voice, words you expressed...it was clear that you had to get out of there."

 

[Grama-Herc]

I am a sufferer but know the changes in my body when triggered. I sweat profusely almost immediately when triggered or uncomfortable in any way. I know I have rapid eye movement---for checking my surroundings for safety and escape. I also feel the feeling of trying to make myself smaller

 

[kimmy]

Sleep deprivation IS the worst for us. I can recall that it was the number one problem for me when I started healing in the nineties. It has been the number one problem for me now too. The trazadone is helping. I could not sleep for many reasons the last few months. On December 6th I had my friend drive me to emerg. in CALI as I was in a full panic attack of porportions I have never known. Since than I have been afraid to sleep as I woke up in this panic attack. I do NOT want to have this happen again!!

 

[DontGiveUpOnMe]

If its mild trigger, my body tenses up and my back hurts and cramps. If its a big trigger I can barely hold my head up and I start reliving an event as if it were in "negative" like negatives of a picture...tunnel vision, whoever im talking to becomes far away and when i come back I remember close to nothing, and cant recall the day, or my name. I will try to talk but mostly i will just keep pursing my lips and nothing will come out. I forget aobut this all right after, but the day after i remember exactly what happened.