Ptsd Fear Signals, Go Away

[cupfish]

I have a delicate professional matter that involves my boss and his boss. Naturally I fretted about this over the weekend, but pretty normally -- I was not freaking out, nor triggered. Thank God for Prozac. This morning I went over my boss' head, engaged the head of the company, he fully agreed with my work. Then all three parties -- myself (female) + the 2 male colleagues -- had a conference call. Even though the big boss supported me, even though I am an experienced pro, and even though I knew everything would be fine I STILL PANICKED right before the call. Heart racing, perspiring, adrenaline firing, all for nothing.

How do we stop assuming we are going to be punished/scolded/humiliated/harmed in normal, real interactions?

 

[EveHarrington]

Excellent question.

I fear those things constantly and it is the main reason I prefer to be away from the rest of the world as much as possible.

 

[anthony]

How do we stop assuming

It's called negative thinking, and is stopped through a process of countering the negative thoughts with facts and reality. CBT fundamentals... and you need to constantly do it until it becomes instinctual.

 

[cupfish]

It's called negative thinking, and is stopped through a process of countering the negative thoughts with fa...

Isn't that the truth?? There is no other way to reprogram ze brain.