What Is It With Crowds?

[RubyTaco]

I completely understand. Right now I can't handle crowds at all, even going to grocery shopping. I try to go very early in the morning so there is less people there. I feel the "spotlight". I think everyone is looking at me and knows that I am freaking out. It truly sucks. My husband is always trying to get me to go out. It's very hard for me. When I say yes, it always ends up in a panic attack. It takes me days to recover as well. Ugh. One day maybe I'll be able to handle it all again.

 

[Anna]

What is it with crowds?

When people are in herds (we are animals afterall) or crowds *coughs* hehe

Here is my list of what I hate about crowds:-

People behave differently in a crowd. They become like a gang and have the herd mentality where they are no longer responsible for their behaviour or actions, especially large groups of young men :P

Crowds are loud, rude they push you have little respect, when they panic they become hysterical, behave like lemmings, followers like sheep, will trample and kill people who fall over. Generally disgusting behaviour. Never follow the herd, or do if you are going to a concert and are unsure of the way :P

 

[angel2write]

It's partly the effort of behaving in ways which dont' come naturally to me an which therefore take a big mental and emotional effort.

You know, I hadn't realized this, but I think you're right. I'm so accustomed to faking "normal" behavior in public that I don't realize what a toll it takes on me. And it would explain why I get so exhausted even when I'm with people I trust. Even with people I trust, I have to concentrate pretty hard to keep my behavior in line. To control verbal outbursts. To keep my body still. To focus and make eye-contact. To not drift off into mini-flashbacks. When I come away a lot of time my legs and back ache like I had the flu because I've been keeping them so tense.

Hell, I don't know what else, only that it's like a pressure cooker that just builds and builds and builds until it becomes unbearable, in a pounding, aching kind of way that physically hurts and is as exhausting as having run a marathon.

Yeah. That's a really good description of what it feels like. Sorry Maddog. (sending comfort)

A