Orglethorp
Not Active
I'm sure I'm not the only one who experiences this, but it seems like whenever my personal relationships are going well, that's when my anxiety issues flare up in not-so-subtle ways.
I'm going on nearly 3 months now in my relationship with my boyfriend. He's a wonderful person, absolutely caring and selfless, and the rare sort who just puts me at ease. I've trusted him 100% since our first date, and that just simply doesn't happen for me. I've known since our third date that I love him. I know it's far too soon to make long term plans, but I can easily see a long and happy future with him.
I love and trust his whole family, and in the last 3 weeks I've spent far more time with him/them than at my own place. I think last night was only the 3rd time I've slept alone & in my own bed since I got back from seeing my family over Christmas.
He knows that I was abused & raped up until age 15, that I have PTSD, that I have some minor health issues related to PTSD that flares up when my stress level rises (IBS seems to be here to stay - diagnosed over a decade ago). I have 1 physical trigger that is always present, and a few more that only bother me when I'm already triggered. He's found them all, taken note, and knows when to avoid them. He started doing this even before I explained it. He has witnessed (and helped me get through) 3 lengthy panic attacks, and he insists every time I ask that he can handle this.
The thing is, I wasn't having long panic attacks that I couldn't stop on my own 3 months ago. Sure, anxiety rears its head every now and then. Sometimes I lost 5 minutes of a lecture because I suddenly felt the need to ground myself. Sometimes an unexpected touch or an unpleasant conversation sent a wave of pins and needles through my body. Sometimes I'd have a bad day when I just wanted to hide away in my room and cry over nothing. Those sort of things were still happening, but I hadn't had a real, full blown panic attack without encountering a very specific trigger since I moved out here in 2012. Suddenly in the last 2 1/2 months I've had 3 long panic attacks, all in his presence, and all would have been much longer without his support.
Thinking back, I did have more panic attacks during my last 3 relationships than compared to my time spent single. They were worse and more frequent in the past, but I'm still seeing a trend.
Does this happen to anyone else? What do you think is the reason? It wouldn't be so weird to me if I'd still been having long panic attacks while alone, but I wasn't lately.
I'm going on nearly 3 months now in my relationship with my boyfriend. He's a wonderful person, absolutely caring and selfless, and the rare sort who just puts me at ease. I've trusted him 100% since our first date, and that just simply doesn't happen for me. I've known since our third date that I love him. I know it's far too soon to make long term plans, but I can easily see a long and happy future with him.
I love and trust his whole family, and in the last 3 weeks I've spent far more time with him/them than at my own place. I think last night was only the 3rd time I've slept alone & in my own bed since I got back from seeing my family over Christmas.
He knows that I was abused & raped up until age 15, that I have PTSD, that I have some minor health issues related to PTSD that flares up when my stress level rises (IBS seems to be here to stay - diagnosed over a decade ago). I have 1 physical trigger that is always present, and a few more that only bother me when I'm already triggered. He's found them all, taken note, and knows when to avoid them. He started doing this even before I explained it. He has witnessed (and helped me get through) 3 lengthy panic attacks, and he insists every time I ask that he can handle this.
The thing is, I wasn't having long panic attacks that I couldn't stop on my own 3 months ago. Sure, anxiety rears its head every now and then. Sometimes I lost 5 minutes of a lecture because I suddenly felt the need to ground myself. Sometimes an unexpected touch or an unpleasant conversation sent a wave of pins and needles through my body. Sometimes I'd have a bad day when I just wanted to hide away in my room and cry over nothing. Those sort of things were still happening, but I hadn't had a real, full blown panic attack without encountering a very specific trigger since I moved out here in 2012. Suddenly in the last 2 1/2 months I've had 3 long panic attacks, all in his presence, and all would have been much longer without his support.
Thinking back, I did have more panic attacks during my last 3 relationships than compared to my time spent single. They were worse and more frequent in the past, but I'm still seeing a trend.
Does this happen to anyone else? What do you think is the reason? It wouldn't be so weird to me if I'd still been having long panic attacks while alone, but I wasn't lately.
