Dissociation In Stores?

[BlackbirdSinging]

Years ago when I was still in an abusive relationship I started to hate going grocery shopping. Every time I went I noticed I'd feel foggy and spacy. I'd start to get nervous and I'd want to get out of the store as quickly as possible. I'd feel dizzy and disconnected. By the time I was in the checkout line my hands would be shaking so bad that I had a hard time writing the check to pay for the food. And by the time I'd get out of the store I'd be shaking. It got to the point that I'd only go grocery shopping at night when there were less people around. It happened at work. It happened when I drove.

I talked to my doctor about it. He thought it sounded like an issue with my blood sugar. I started carrying candy with me in case it happened. And when it did I'd eat the candy and get basically no relief. I even went out and bought a blood sugar machine. My blood sugar was almost always normal. Now I understand what the issue really is.

 

[gone]

@BlackbirdSinging I never understood my aversion to stores, crowds, going out, or anything until my Dx.

I get dizzy, things get foggy and start to swim around.

@eav And dizziness, that's my more or less constant companion these days: dizziness, a feeling like I'm falling backwards, and sometimes a lurch, the way an elevator sometimes drops a few inches once it's arrived. If it's bad enough I get nauseous too.

 

[JellyB]

I dissociate when I have tried to go to stores and it always leads to panic attacks. Alas, that is why I am currently stuck and unable to leave the house. My husband is frequently away for work for several weeks at a time and the last time it was for 9 weeks - unfortunately, that left me without food in the house but I managed with what was here - for the last few weeks he was gone, I only had juice and saltine crackers left...it was bad. But even that, did not make me go to the store.

 

[Promicarus]

At least you have someone...

 

[Ghostybear73]

@Promicarus,

Up until a year and a half ago, I did not have anyone either. It is very difficult to get through when you don't have any support, especially when you have a child to deal with (not sure if you have a child or not).

I hope you are finding some comfort in being here on this forum. At least in the cyber world, you are not alone. :)

 

[JustBe]

@eav That is exactly what happens to me! That is why my Service Dog is always with me. She grounds me and leads me to safety when things get too bad.

She also has my back. I don't worry so much about people getting too close or coming up behind me. If she notices me starting to "fade" she alerts and gets me back in the moment.

 

[Promicarus]

@[DLMURL="https://www.myptsd.com/c/members/ghostybear73.22818/"]Ghostybear73[/DLMURL]
Thanks!

 

[Spiderallis]

The 'vertigo' feeling was how my very first panic attack felt, it was very confusing. I was a teenager at the mall with mum. The mirrors in the store made it much, much worse. Now I avoid department stores, not like I can afford much there anyhow. Luckily the thrift and discount shops don't have many mirrors! I do okay if I stick with familiar stores, like the local grocery and pharmacy. Familiar faces make it a little easier.

 

[Mea]

EAV What you described sounds familiar to me. I too feel like this when I am out in a store. My vision seems to be restricted and beside the foggy like stuff I have a hard time seeing in general then. It is like my eyes can't focus. Once I leave the store this weird feeling / vision subsides and things get back somewhat to normal. Sometimes i have to recover in the car and sit there for a few minutes to relax again. If I don't do that, I can't really focus on driving and drift in and out of awareness. I hope I make sense. I am actually having a hard time explaining it.

 

[untiltoday]

Wow. I was thinking I've had low blood sugar/pressure all this time, but it only happens in public. The tunnel vision (or the opposite fish-eye feeling) and being seen as suspicious are the two things that bother me most. Crowds and rude people make things worse. I also get really frustrated when I'm trying to be so polite to people, but they look at me strangely if my eyes have "lost it" with tunnel vision, etc. I'm not sure how my eyes look, but I feel like I sometimes appear to be on drugs. :oops:

I also have a difficult time recognizing people I know (or believing I see them, when it is a similar looking person), so this adds to the stress. :O_o:Especially if you're always worried about running into someone, but you have either a paranoia (thinking you see them, when it's a different person) or you are worried about not having a warning (recognizing them before they see you). It's called prosopagnosia. :ninja:

 

[JustBe]

All of the above...*sigh*

 

[Wakemeupwenitsallova]

Wow I do this like ALL the time! Just the other day I walked around a small discount store for over an hour just to get a sprinkler for the kids as it was a hot day. I have vague memory of people around me but they didn't really have faces? Does that sound stupid? I also felt like they were watching me...does that mean I'm paranoid? I hope not