Dealing with hypervigilance

[wife of]

Fook mate i SOOOO GET THAT,iM CONSTANTLY HYPER AWARE MYSELF when i'm around the hubby these days,kind of crept up on me over the years I guess so I can give him the heads up and be ready to intervene if there is a loud noise to "Set him off",hadn't realised how bad it was affecting me til the last time we were checking him into hospital and I actualy found myself saying "Bin at nine o'clock" to him so he was prepeared for the clang of someone letting the lid drop.....I know instinct tells him loud sudden noises are shots and mortars,must be terrifying...

 

[Nate1]

Crash,
I know I am jumping in late on this conversation but I do know where you are coming from. Just as Boi said I have turned to something that I did before all my training. Still working within the forces on half days I can't get away from that uniform stress and I do find it is holding me in one place that I can't get away from. At the start of the new year I took a e-course on arrt journaling and started releasing my stresses of the day in to my art journal. I also keep a journal on my days but when I find I can't write because of being so worked up I can turn to my art journal and let it out.

Nate

 

[willis williams]

Koala, no sweat I've done a lot of it myself. Used to be if someone seen me I reacted bad just pissed. What the f*ck are you looking at type thing. Now when it happens as soon as my head clears I look around and try to laugh at how wigged out the people are that seen it happen. It has got better over the years but still happens.

 

[K-9 Al]

WOw! That was one of the best ways to explain why some days im alright. Having a good day and night. Then other days I am a mess. Flashbacks, depressive states, isolating states, no motivation, etc. Its crazy! What sucks for me is I cant drive anywhere on base without seeing a damn MRAP or humvee. I cant even stand outside and smoke without hearing gunfire. We bought our house shortly after getting here to New Jersey. I deployed to Baghdad (attached to the army) about a year later. So, before the ranges didnt bother me to much. Now they drive me crazy. Some nights i will stand and smoke and hear pop shots from the ranges and i will literally feel like im looking at the night sky from the streets of baghdad. It is insane.

 

[Leif Thor]

Landlord harassment has left me totally stressed out every time they enter the building to "show" it. For years they've been working on evicting us, and not having a place to call home, it's put me in classic Hypervigilance conditioning. I suppose this sounds stupid compared to what ever everyone here is dealing with.

 

[Zipperhead]

Mornin Leif. No ones situation is more important than anyone elses situation. Come on in. How about an introduction in the intro area?

 

[JarHed]

Hey Leif

As Zip says, every situation is important. If the one with your landlord causes you to be hyper than it does. I can understand your concerns. It's the underlying thing about hyper-vigilance that's at the cause. I don't think anyone would feel any different in your shoes.

Welcome to the forums.

JarHed

 

[vikingr12]

I need to go over this forum thoroughly. I just found this thread. I am always late to the party.

Anthony, your post is one of the most thoughtful and cogent posts I have read about the subject. So spot on. It is strange that I am excited by new situations but they always have an element of dread with them. I understand why. I did go through some EMDR but as you said, I have had multiple occurrences so I would have to go through a lot of sessions to get anywhere. As it was, I just covered the ones that sprang up from nowhere and could not process them without the EMDR. I am still so confused but no one would even know it to look at me.

I am still fascinated with how incidents, the small ones being the most overlooked and scary, come from nowhere. They are the ones that hang around for weeks afterwards, even years. And at times, they are innocent, for instance when I helped someone severely injured even if just to adjust a position to make him more comfortable after a long surgery and I had seen his internal organs shattered and pieced together. I knew he did not have long to live. Images like that linger for a while until you get busy and forget them, only to come up later at a time when you least expect them....

 

[Chin Strapped]

Thought I'd go to a local street party today, I've been feeling good lately so thought I'd amuse the Mrs and little boy. Spent about 20mins there and gradually became very hypervigilant, to the point I started getting a little angry.

I was ready to act upon anything towards the end of my short stay and got worse around certain individuals of the public; I can't help it. The murder of Fusilier Lee Rigby has had a lasting effect on my general state of hypervigilence, I was already hyper before that and I knew people at the camp during the time it happened; it was close to home.

Hypervigilence is a shit to handle sometimes still. Had a pop at crowds though. Almost as if I'm waiting to react to an absolute disaster:eek:

 

[JarHed]

Hey Dan

You at least went and stayed for a bit. That's a good start. It takes a while to get used to that stuff. Well done Mate. It will get better.

Jar

 

[Spock]

Good for you Mate and with the family too :)

 

[Fargo1]

Dan,

One of the keys for me is learning to identify when the hypervigilence is coming on. If you feel your neck hairs rising, retreat. Don't keep pushing and get yourself all worked up and traumatized again. Once you retreat, let it dissipate. Then you can try again. Wash-rinse-repeat. Eventually you will come to be able to last longer and not get so worked up.

It has taken me two years, but I can now eat dinner in a restaurant without freaking out. But I still can't go to big street fairs, concerts, and the like without the lizard on my shoulder.