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Could this be the source of my anxiety and paranoia in public?

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Sweetleaf

MyPTSD Pro
The stuff that gave me PTSD is all basically domestic violence related. Physical abuse, sexual assault, emotional abuse and manipulation, all repeated for years. During the last year of that, for a few months I worked at a liquor store.

There were many incidents of harassment of various types, but one incident stands out - the incident which ultimately made me quit that job out of fear. One night I had to refuse sale to a group of people because they were drunk. They then insulted me a bunch, and one of them began to get really threatening. He got right up to the edge of the counter, saying he was going to kill me when I left, saying he was going to beat me up, etc. He was very threatening and I was really scared, I was afraid of so many things. I started dissociating during the event. They had actually visited the shop and been denied sale by me the previous night, for the same reason, and that pattern really made me worry about them coming back again. I felt extremely nervous downtown (where the shop was). Super paranoid that I'd see that guy and he'd attack me or do other bad things. My boss let me take the next few days off. They never came back, and I started going back to work.

I felt that anxiety and paranoia walking to work from my car and vice versa, and it was intense. Just driving there, as I got close, my heart would start beating insanely fast and start skipping beats and things, and I was super nervous. When drunks would come in (multiple times a day) I would get extremely anxious, because I was afraid they would freak out on me. After maybe a week or so after that incident, I quit. I couldn't stand going there anymore.

Do you think this might be the source of my paranoia and anxiety in public? My therapist thinks it's odd that I have anxiety and paranoia in public, when my abuse basically came from one person. So far I thought my PTSD was only related to the DV stuff. Seeing as this incident took place during the domestic violence, maybe it got stuck in there with the other things that are messing with me? I haven't thought of talking about this with my therapist yet but I plan to.
 
How long has your therapist been a therapist? I guess I’m just a little shocked that she doesn’t understand ptsd. Is she a trauma therapist? Or even know anything about anxiety?

Anxiety and paranoia in public may have nothing to do with your trauma.

Sometimes it just happens.

I used to have a horrific time leaving my home, yet nothing bad ever happened to me in public.
 
I agree with @EveHarrington in that hyper-vigilance and paranoia are just part of ptsd. (This is why so many of us hate the grocery store). Being threatened at work is just another trauma you will need to process. Once you process your triggers and past traumas, your symptoms should lessen.
 
@EveHarrington She seems to mainly be an EMDR therapist, though I think she might also do CBT if the books on her shelves are any indication (a lot of CBT ones). I think she mainly deals with trauma and addiction. I only see her for trauma related stuff. I'm not sure exactly how long she's been a therapist but she has been doing it at least since I was a kid (my mother knows her.)

She's talked a lot about PTSD often causing a higher general anxiety level, and tends to ask me at the beginning of sessions how my anxiety levels have been for the past week, along with other things of course. Maybe she was just probing to see if I had more traumas other than the stuff with my ex? It wouldn't be the first time she probed for other traumas.

It's obviously from PTSD seeing as I wasn't like this 4 years ago, before any of that bad stuff happened. I was just wondering if this specific set of events could be related to why I feel so much like I'm going to be attacked in public.
 
Maybe she was just probing to see if I had more traumas other than the stuff with my ex? It wouldn't be the first time she probed for other traumas.

I'm going to go with this. I would guess that incident pushed you over the edge for paranoia. Not only was your home life a place you had to be vigilant, but this just showed you that even outside wasn't safe. Maybe she is checking to see if there are more of those ??
 
So far I thought my PTSD was only related to the DV stuff. Seeing as this incident took place during the domestic violence, maybe it got stuck in there with the other things that are messing with me?
I found for myself that because I was abused mainly in the house I was okay in other situations. Until the abuse started to manifest outside of the house. Which is exactly what it sounds like is happening with you. You were threatened in public and perhaps because of that incident you are transfering your feelings from the DV into the public domain now. Makes perfect sense to me (if that is what is happening).
 
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