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Panic attacks that make you want to physically hide from everything?

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bellbird

MyPTSD Pro
So I just told my office mate a little bit about my PTSD (it went well, I think, though I'm still dissecting every part of the conversation in my head over and over...) but anyway. I decided to tell him about some of the symptoms I get from it as it's just the two of us in our office, and since I've been experiencing a flare up of panic attacks during the day time, I decided it best to give him a bit of information about it so that the first time he found out my PTSD wasn't him walking in on me having a full on panic attack.

I often get flashbacks of nightmare images during the day, and they are quite often what triggers the panic attacks. And often I will have a very strong instinct to hide - particularly under my desk or in the corner of the room, covering myself with a jersey if I have one.
I was trying to explain this to him, that I get those instincts to totally withdraw, because the flashbacks seem so real, though it would probably seem quite strange from the perspective of an on-looker when they couldn't see the images that were in my head.

Does anyone else experience similar things? Is it strange to have that kind of a reaction to flashback/panic attacks? I'm typically not a fan of enclosed spaces, I wouldn't say I have claustrophobia but they can make me uncomfortable. However, when I'm in that place where reality seems distorted and I'm panicking, physically hiding seems like the safest place to be.
 
Yes, I hide. I've gotten better about it, so now days it's a sign that I'm very unwell and doing badly (health-wise).

I don't know why I got better about it. But I did it from being a young toddler to being an adult woman (that feels weird to say? Adult human then, lol) and occasionally it still helps me. I even seek out hiding places when I go somewhere unfamiliar, just in case.

So, no, there are at least two people who do this :P
 
So, no, there are at least two people who do this :p
This part made me smile :) it's funny how knowing that even just one person experiences similar things can make you feel infinitely less alone.

The hiding is only something I've noticed in myself recently, and I have felt I've been doing relatively badly health-wise, so it seems like a similar indication for me. I've actually also been noticing myself scoping out hiding places when I go to different places. Definitely identified one in my supervisors office during my meeting with him today :p
Thanks for sharing @littleoc :happy:
 
This happened to me Sunday in front of a group of five church friends (acquintences) in a small apartment that I had never been in before. I had no where to hide so I "ran" out to the balcony even though it was cold and raining. One of the women followed me out there and got right next to me and said what is wrong. One of the men came out and looked at me. It so bad--I just somehow made up some sort of excuse, said I wasn't feeling well, I completely shut down and got out of there. Left the group scratching their heads. I really don't care-when that instinct to hide hits it HITS! So I guess that makes 4 of us..
 
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