Does anyone else's hypervigilance not make sense?

Mine is the kind where I need to keep my back against the wall, really hate hate hate checkout queues because there are people on opposite sides of me at the same time, dislike noise because it gets in the way of hearing around corners, have to check sightlines at intervals, people and especially strangers make my threat sense light up like a christmas tree, and it also operates behind locked doors. So far, what you might expect for someone who's been assaulted.

Except... I haven't been assaulted.

Anyone else have a mismatch like that, or have a hypervigilance that didn't make any sense at the time but which does now? Please help my poor confused amygdala.

Not with hypervigilence but with triggers.
Running in the heat was/is a trigger. Made no direct sense as nothing about my trauma was about running in the heat. My T said it was likely the pressure my body felt when trauma happened. Which makes sense but I have no memory of what the trauma felt like. But I assume that's what is triggering it.

So, likely there is some vague link... Do you want to explore what that link might be?

gorgonzola said:

Except... I haven't been assaulted.

Click to expand...

No, but hypervigilance isn’t just for people who are assaulted, and irrespective of trauma, there’s very common patterns.

Triggers are predictable and clearly linked to trauma - like a car backfire being a trigger for someone who’s spent time in warzones. But that’s triggers.

Hypervigilance is just being dysfunctionally vigilant just because. Everything is a threat. The amygdala is set to rapid fire at every little stimulus. Exaggerated startle reflex happens for no other reason than when the rubber band in your brain is kept pulled that taut all the time? Any little thing can set it off.

It’s shit! But it can be improved. The amygdala is one of those areas of the brain that’s surprisingly plastic, and lowering your baseline stress level (think med-long term lifestyle changes - but start with just keeping track of your SUDS) can help really turn the tide on hypervigilance by changing the balance of hormones that have made this level of vigilance normalised for your system (less Sympathetic nervous system running the show, more time with the parasympathetic nervous system dominating).


TLDR: Triggers are linked to your trauma. Hypervigilance responds to any and every potential stimulus, trauma-related or otherwise.

I could’ve posted the OP myself. Totally. And I’m inclined to think along the lines MF and Sideways drew. Hypervigilance is such a nonspecific response. Comes from some deep-seated evolutionary stuff.

Thank you all for making me feel a bit less maddened.

Sideways said:

Triggers are predictable and clearly linked to trauma - like a car backfire being a trigger for someone who’s spent time in warzones. But that’s triggers.

Click to expand...

My worst one is, of all obscure things, beginning to have a specific grounding technique described to me (I have little idea what the second half is). Yet I can see how it's linked.

Yes, actually. For many years, fireworks. I have heard that can be a thing for veterans or I suppose if related to bombs makes sense... but for me for many years it made no sense. Anyway, funny thing is, I spend a year and a half making changes in my life that gradually pulled me out of at least the constant fight or flight mode I was locked in. (Didn't know the changes would get that result, it was just a life thing)- and then this last New Year- discovered the fireworks didn't quite bother me as much. I didn't enjoy them, but I wasn't getting locked into freeze mode because of them either... felt like such an accomplishment:)- because because that there were at least 5 years where fireworks were ... really horrible can't control my reaction thing. Didn't ever get ti dive too deep into how they became a problem. I do know that before I had PTSD I loved them so... year, our bodies can create interesting reactions. Good thing is, you never know when things might change again.

I feel fear similar to you out in public. Mine seems to connected to the moral compass breakdown in our society. I do believe this is real. The breakdown that concerns me is the apathy poverty drug use rising prices etc. How that affects people and maybe in a store something someone will do or say will trigger violence.

Be careful, a phone was snatched from my hand and my bodies reaction was to punch before i could think, now, 3500 attnorney, 800 new phone, got eviction letter today, and im generally screwed. Lesson i learned, be very very alert around poeple/avoid them because people suck, and/or, i dont want to be triggered again into assaulting someone.

Right now, guilty until proven innocent is more like it.

I understand. I am still working with myself on STOP PAUSE HALT. Plus since the situation in the US is dire- poverty fear stress etc - do I need to go to the store etc at all? Do I need to say that?