Being "flinchy"

[Melody coates]

i'm not sure if this is a general result of being abused or if it's related to PTSD but i'm extremely flinchy. it's as if my body is bracing itself for a hit. any suggestions on how to overcome this?

 

[edgarbedger]

Hypervigelance, always on gaurd, tencing up around others, protecting your space is all part of ptsd. It's hard for people with ptsd to trust others. When your brain goes through a trauma it gets on gaurd so to speak so it won't go through a trauma again. Trauma can mess with nervous system too, and make you have joint jerk reactions from time to time. Your flinching could mean your super sensitive to others reactions because subconsciously you think they are going to hurt you. I hear grounding, meditation, yoga, helps but not to sure on the solutions, need help on those as well.

 

[Bill Dickerson]

Hyper-vigilance is a result of PTSD. Been there DO that.... It's a protective measure your brain uses to keep you alive. It's an old deep part of the brain. For instance fear of heights. You know that feeling you get when you look over the edge of a tall building. That's your old deep instinctual part of the brain is screaming "look out Don't fall" over and over again. It prevents you from playing on the edges of tall building therefore keeps you alive.

The problem is a trauma has caused that deep old part of the brain to scream "look out" over and over again and it intrudes into daily life. For instance if you walked through your kitchen door and I hit you in the forehead with a baseball bat. Six months later when you walk through that doorway and you KNOW I'm not waiting with a baseball bat that deep old part of the brain still remembers and yells "DUCK". It will always remember and it will always yell "duck"!

There are triggers that will make your brain YELL "Duck". The triggers are different for every person. Sometimes it helps to know what those triggers are so your not surprised by them. This is something to discuss with your (T).

 

[Spiderallis]

Haven't yet learned a healthy way to handle that, but I did teach myself to replace 'flinch' with 'freeze'. It's not any improvement, it just prevents anyone from asking about it if I don't leap out of my skin over a sudden noise. I wouldn't recommend it, just want to let you know that it's a reasonable reaction to unreasonable circumstances.

 

[Weemie]

tbh i'm pretty open about myself in general. it's kind of a thing at work. we like to creep up behind people and scare the shit outta them. i got a couple people real good, but mine's hilarious because i literally shriek. that kind of open environment has gotten me used to it, and i'm even starting to notice my responses are getting a little less dramatic. although sometimes when i'm not in the mood i'll hunch myself inward and keep my guard. i get a kick outta the startle shit. people are always like "ey, bad nerves huh?" yup.