what could be possibly be causing this very strange thing to happen to me?? someone please help me

[hope4us]

I had my shower running for a while just to warm up my room cause the heater wasnt working right. after about 30 minutes i went back in the bathroom to turn the shower off. the tub was pretty full of water (cause the drain has been clogged, but the water still drains down slowly). and i saw something slowly floating around in the tub, but i couldnt tell what it was because it was covered in soap bubbles. it freaked me out so bad before i even noticed what it was. than i noticed that it was just the roll of paper towels. it made me feel sick to see it floating around in the tub like that. i felt like puking and crying. i actually did cry a little bit, but i didnt throw up. i felt so agitated by it, and disgusted, and uneasy, and uncomfortable. i have NO IDEA WHY something so stupid and insignificant made me feel this way. i wish i could just block the sight out of my head. i feel like im losing my mind. and i feel like my bed is shaking as i sit here and type this. someone please help me, do you have ANY IDEA what could possibly be causing this? i feel like im going insane.

 

[Friday]

It could be as simple as it surprised you.

Jump scares don’t affect most people very much. Somehing surprises them, a microsecond of panic, and then they laugh. Because it’s silly/harmless. A fun little jolt to the system.

That little jolt, in people with PTSD? Can instead kick off a massively different response. Minor to Massive overreaction. Not a microsecond of panic, but an enduring one that is only the beginning.

Zap!-gone-Laugh?
Zap!-KABOOOOOM!-Rage/Fear/Panic/Life/Death-AdrenalineHangover (shaking, nausea, exhaustion, headache)

***
It could also, not knowing your trauma history, be in some way related to that.

 

[hope4us]

It could be as simple as it surprised you.

Jump scares don’t affect most people very much. Somehing surprises them, a microsecond of panic, and then they laugh. Because it’s silly/harmless. A fun little jolt to the system.

That little jolt, in people with PTSD? Can instead kick off a massively different response. Minor to Massive overreaction. Not a microsecond of panic, but an enduring one that is only the beginning.

Zap!-gone-Laugh?
Zap!-KABOOOOOM!-Rage/Fear/Panic/Life/Death-AdrenalineHangover (shaking, nausea, exhaustion, headache)

***
It could also, not knowing your trauma history, be in some way related to that.

but it didnt startle me though. i just happened to look in the tub and saw it floating around. it didnt jump me, is that what you thought i meant?

 

[Friday]

but it didnt startle me though. i just happened to look in the tub and saw it floating around. it didnt jump me, is that what you thought i meant?

Yes/No.

it freaked me out so bad before i even noticed what it was

When you said you freaked out, and then described shaking/puking afterwards? I took it to mean you reacted in a big way, to something you didn’t expect to see. IE you were surprised.

People react to surprise in different ways.

I used jump scares as an example because most people have seen montages of, say, a guy in a gorilla suit leaping out of a recycling bin. Most? Yelp/Jump. Microsecond of surprise. Some freeze or faint or run away or punch the guy. When you’ve gotten to THAT level of response? It’s not a microsecond that’s gone and they laugh. It’s an actual fight/flight/freeze response. For most people that goes away as soon as they rationally assess. For people with PTSD, sometimes automatic assessment is off the table because their whole system has been hijacked, so it’s either manually assessing/dismissing, or riding out the kaboom reaction until is calms down on its own.

It doesn’t have to be a guy in a gorilla suit leaping out of somewhere, though, to surprise. Catching a reflection in a mirror, a bird taking to wing, seein a glass of water on the table when you didn’t pour a glass of water... and a zillion other things... can all lead to rising panic / sinking cold fear.

To be clear, it just being as simple as you being surprised / caught off guard / seeing something you didn’t expect is just one possibility. I’m not saying that was what happened, it’s just a likely thing to have happened.

 

[hope4us]

i went to the mall with my friend and her boyfriend, her boyfriend was so loud and hyper and annoying, and getting in my face, bumping things into me and stuff, like just trying to joke around. i was trying to hard not to freak out and scream at him or have a panic attack. it was so overwhelming i couldn't handle it. i kept holding it back an trying to block it out but i couldnt. had to leave the store before i even got half way done shopping. i drove home speeding like 20 over the speed limit with the music on top volumn so i wouldt have to listen to him. they could tell i was agitated but he didnt even understand that he was the one bothering me, and i coudlnt think straight to even talk about it. by the time i got home i was so dizzy i felt like i was going to pass out when walking towards my room, ive been home for 2 hours now and i havent got anything done except for trying to calm the hell down. it was hours ago and im still so worked up from it. i feel like theres an earthquake, it feels like everything is vibrating and im shaking and sweating, and crying, and basically dying. i finally couldnt take it anymore so i did a xanax , i only do them when i absolutely have to. i tried talking to some people about how i felt and my body got extremely hot and i started to sweat and mixed up my words. I go to therapy once a week but i missed my last appointment because i thought it was a different day even though i thought i checked my phone to see what day it was at least 5 times the night before. i cant even halfway funtion anymore. i feel like a complete wreck. when i thought about the whole situation of why he made me feel so overwhelmed and i think its because in a way it reminded me of my ex screaming in my face and throwing stuff at me, and all the other horrible shit he did. why does it feel like everything feel like its shaking and vibrating? does anyone have something similiar where the way a person acts triggers you really bad? please tell me about it so i dont feel so lost and alone. what do you do to help yourself if you cant avoid them at the time?

 

[Sideways]

Sounds a lot like you've had a panic attack. And yes, they can feel a lot like you're literally dying, and people often call an ambulance during panic attacks for that reason.

To take your body out of that panic state? Turn everything down, and find a way to breathe. Whatever it is helps you breathe. Some ideas if you're new to this:

Warm bath, hot tea, a gentle walk, rubbing scented lotion into your feet, listening to calming music, doing a guided relaxation, doing a jigsaw puzzle, colouring in, cooking, washing the dishes, taking a long shower and washing your hair, doing a yoga session (hit up YouTube), cuddle your pet or a teddy if there's no pets, lying in the sun, snuggling under a blanket...and on and on.

And ask your T next time you see them to walk you through how to handle it next time.

Because yes, we get triggered. But our capacity to handle it? Improves infinitely with time and practice and help:)

 

[Friday]

does anyone have something similiar where the way a person acts triggers you really bad?

For sure. An important thing to remember is that they’re just being their normal selves. I’m the one whose Stress Cup is overflowing, or who has gotten triggered. They’re not the ones doing it to me. What they’re doing is completely innocent. It’s landing badly because of my past, not because of them.

he didnt even understand that he was the one bothering me

Exactly this. He was just being himself.

You’d reached your upper limit awhile back with the shopping and going out, getting more and more dysregulated as your stress cup filled, reacting and overreacting more and more strongly the longer you held on and held on ...until... you were wanting to scream and rushed out of the store, and drove home like a bat outta hell, music blasting, so focused on escaping that all of your lives were put at risk. Very near, if not already in, blind panic / fight or flight.

And he was clueless. Because he hadn’t done anything.

what do you do to help yourself if you cant avoid them at the time?

Whether it’s a Stressor filling up my cup, or a Trigger, or combination of both where my stress levels are so high I’m reactionary as f*ck and triggered by the passing breeze? The end result is typically the same... anxiety, panic, dysreg, lashing out or zoning out... but the best ways of handling things change up a bit.

If it’s my Stress Cup levels climbing? It’s like taking a tired hungry kid to the store. They’re going to get overwhelmed and have a meltdown. But let them have a nap & feed them before going to the store? They’re fine. It’s a very simple solution, just not a very convenient one. Over time, just like the kid, I become more and more capable of managing my stress levels and myself so it’s second nature more often than not... but in the beginning of the learning curve it often means a whole lotta meltdowns as I learn my own limits. Those limits aren’t forever, they move fairly easily once you know where they are, and aren’t 3 miles over the line before you know you’re even nearing it.

Triggers, on the other hand, I work on with exposure therapy, and trauma processing... and also have to very carefully mind my stress levels. Triggers and Stressors go hand in hand. The more room there is in my Stress Cup? The better I can handle Stressors & Triggers as they come up... and they also tend to come up less frequently. Sometimes there’s just no hope for it, can start off the day -or even be ending it- with miles of room in my cup, get triggered out of the blue, and that sets off a chain reaction where I’m more and more stressed out, and more reactionary, and more stressed, and more reactionary... anxiety, panic, rage, intrusive thoughts, flashbacks, all coming one after the other, as I get more and more dysregulated... and it’s not just backing away from the panic attack, but also having to sloooooooow everything down, get back in control, get on top of the self-care, & lower my overall stress levels.

 

[hope4us]

when im sitting on my bed every once in a while i would notice that it felt like the bed was shaking, than a few weeks would go by without it feeling like that, than it would randomly start up again. yesterday and last night ive pretty much felt it shaking constantly. its almost more like a vibration that wont stop. but other people have sat on my bed and they dont feel it shaking, so im convinced it must either be all in my head, or im just extremely sensitive to movement. but ive also noticed it when im standing on the floor in my room sometimes it feels like theres a very slight earthquake. i noticed it on my bed more than anywhere else, but im also on my bed most of the day and night. i dont recall feeling like this anywhere else... but i have a very poor memory... so i might just not remember. anyone have similiar issues? or have any idea what could possibly be causing this?? or how to stop it?

 

[Friday]

The shakes, shits, & pukes = anxiety.

The shakes can ALSO be... exhaustion, medication side effect (tremor), medication or drug withdrawal, rage, fear, and a bunch of other things. But since you had a panic attack earlier tonight, it’s probably anxiety.

Other symptoms of anxiety include feeling cold, cold with sudden flushes (like fever & chills), shivering, goosebumps, dry mouth, flop sweats, vision & hearing differences, being aware of the action of your heart, shallow breathing, pale skin, feeling shakey even when not shaking, tight chest, chest pain, cold in your belly, ice water for blood, a metallic taste in the back of your throat, feeling too keyed up to ______ (concentrate, sleep, speak, think), racing thoughts, blank thoughts, flickering thoughts that won’t settle or complete, sinking or cold dread, light headedness, restlessness, needing to pee more often than usual, tingling or pins and needles sensation.... and a whole lot of other things.

But, generally speaking? When your anxiety is running hot, shaking is a symptom of that.

 

[joeylittle]

but ive also noticed it when im standing on the floor in my room sometimes it feels like theres a very slight earthquake

Do you live near a train?
Or, anywhere there are earthquakes?

You've posted a lot of threads with the same question, asked different ways. You might notice that forum staff are merging them together - this one (about the shaking bed) has been merged into another one (about going to the mall), for example.

You'd find it more productive to add on to threads you've already started. I think members would be more likely to engage with your questions, as well. But more importantly, it might help YOU see the connections between the things you're wondering about.

Are you working with a therapist right now, on your anxiety?

 

[hope4us]

Do you live near a train?
Or, anywhere there are earthquakes?

You've posted a lot of threads with the same question, asked different ways. You might notice that forum staff are merging them together - this one (about the shaking bed) has been merged into another one (about going to the mall), for example.

You'd find it more productive to add on to threads you've already started. I think members would be more likely to engage with your questions, as well. But more importantly, it might help YOU see the connections between the things you're wondering about.

Are you working with a therapist right now, on your anxiety?

i dont even remember posting anything about the shaking bed before this one, but im sure i probably did, as my memory is basically non existent except for thing i dont want to remember. and yes i am seeing a therapist but missed 2 weeks, one was cause the holidays, and the other was cause i thought it was a different day, even tho i remembered checking to make sure it wasnt therapy day like 5 times the night before. i constanly ask the same questions in many different ways when talking to people, and i dont even realize im doing it, what could be causing me to do that? and no i dont live near train and no earthquakes. my bed isnt actually shaking, i know its all in my head, because no one else feels it shaking, only i do.

 

[Rex]

Sometimes balance issues caused by migraines or inner ear issues can cause one to feel movement when there is none.