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Post Info TOPIC: the stupidest things trigger me...


Veteran Member

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the stupidest things trigger me...


Along with living with an AH for 20 yrs, he was also abusive mentally and emotionally.  I find that the stupidest things trigger me.  Today, the woman I live with said she was going to meet her husband for lunch and then go to the store.  I wasn't mad or anything, but I could feel my anxiety going up and started shaking.  This has been going on since I moved in here, and I don't have a clue why I respond this way.  It is so frustrating....



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~*Service Worker*~

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Marie, I have experienced the same. I reacted strongly to harmless things -- even smells.  One time, I was in a yoga class, and the instructor suggested, "How about if we all turn our mats in a different direction today?" And out of my mouth came "NO."  This was completely unlike me ... I was normally the most compliant person you could imagine.  But at that time, I could not tolerate even this tiny change in routine.  

I came to understand it was due to the trauma of having lived in the situation I was living in. My alcoholic didn't even have to be in the room or the building when these things triggered me.  But my brain had been affected.  I went to therapy, which helped, and to Alanon, which also helped. It was not a quick fix, but over time I no longer am bothered by these triggers.



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Veteran Member

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Thanks Freetime. I try not to get angry with myself about these triggers, but I do.

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Senior Member

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Moving can be so hard because we are changing the things that made us secure. Even if it is a bad thing we moved away from. Be patient with yourself and give yourself a pat on the back sometimes.

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Sharon 



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Thank you Shrnp.

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~*Service Worker*~

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PTSD is alive and well in all its forms. I did trauma therapy because of past present stuff. I find that acknowledging that yes I feel the way I do and that's ok .. Having a safe space to go to in my mind .. It's a moment not my entire life. It really is a feeling not a fact .. keeps me grounded I those moments of meltdown. They used to happen often .. You would have thought I was a war veteran based upon my responses to things. I never could sit with my back open I always had to face out and know where all my exists were .. There are specific smells that used to send my into anxiety attacks at the time I didn't even know that's what it was. I really encourage you to be gentle with yourself. This is a very psychology damaging disease to the people around it. The actual A's .. I can't imagine and it doesn't excuse the behavior on their part. After surviving the abuse for 20 years it's time to live .. That's the journey Of healing. Big hugs. :) it does get better ..

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Faith minus vulnerability and mystery equals extremism.  If you've got all the answers, then don't call what you do "faith". - Brene Brown

"Whatever truth you own doesn't own you" - Gary John Bishop



Veteran Member

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Thank you Serenity. I never sit with my back to the door. Even the cats fighting with each other will sometimes make me jump. I haven't mentioned it previously, don't really know why, but I am also an ACOA, both parents, so there was a lot of screaming and yelling and carrying on while I was growing up. I'm batting 1000 here when it comes to alcoholism.

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