are there small things you can’t do because of trauma?

[kasa]

because of PTSD, i find it hard to talk to people who are older than me—even if it's just a year or two. once, my cousin introduced my family to her husband (he's a foreigner), but i couldn't talk anything. Later I heard he said, when I wasn't around, that my personality is way too closed off.
I don't think I'll be able to get a job. This already takes up too much of my life.

 

[unluckysadness]

I have a lot of traumas and PTSD too. Permanent anxiety and chronic pain / disability. I must live like an hermit. Hopefully I will CTB soon if I have the guts

 

[Lady_V]

Have friends. I can't relate to anyone because of all my trauma. I'm too odd.

 

[MyShadow]

Dating and relationships are out for me. Love is a delusion that clouds judgement and is seems that everything is transactional. The lack of honesty, integrity, loyalty, honor or simple kindness has sealed the deal for me. I have lost too much and experienced too much trauma to walk into that trap again.

 

[prettyclam]

This is a dumb thing but it's hard for me to eat in front of others because of childhood trauma. Never ate lunch throughout school and I don't at work either. I make an effort eating with my girlfriend though, but it's still painful, as if I'll get judged for merely eating

 

[NearlyIrrelevantCake]

I struggle to shower, water terrifies me. Almost drowned twice as a kid.

If I get water on my face in the shower, I have to stop and reach for a towel and dry my face off.

 

[leviant123]

I can't feel normal when someone touches me, like i get a shock through my entire body and there's like a reflex to move away quickly. so i can't really hug people and whatnot

 

[mourningyesterday]

I can't feel normal when someone touches me, like i get a shock through my entire body and there's like a reflex to move away quickly. so i can't really hug people and whatnot

i get this sometimes but i never used to and no idea what caused it, i feel like shit when my mother wants to hug me but i don't like to anymore

 

[leviant123]

i get this sometimes but i never used to and no idea what caused it, i feel like shit when my mother wants to hug me but i don't like to anymore

if you ever find out why and you wanna get out of it still once you find out, don't rush the process or it'll feel even worse. i tried that once and it made the feeling x10 worse. but everyone is different

 

[CumbriaCTB]

My main "small thing" is putting anything over my nose and mouth; this includes COVID face masks and even putting my head underwater.

I know that this came about because my father tried to snuff me out with a pillow when I was an infant. Funnily enough, that specific memory was repressed until I was 17~18 and I could even swim underwater and hold my breath for at least 30 seconds prior to the memory resurfacing. Now I can't even told my breath for 2 seconds in the bathtub.

Sincerely,
CumbriaCTB.

 

[traumer]

i don't know whether it's small or not but i just can't touch anyone in any way not even my mom or sometimes even myself im concerned how am i gonna find a partner when touching someone or even their clothes makes me feel disgusted

 

[wet_towel]

The first thing that came to mind was the fact that I can't even turn on the light in my hallway. It's genuinely humiliating, but I can't bring myself to do it. My dad used to get so upset with me for it, start yelling and threatening me because I'd accidentally leave it on. He's been dead for a while now so logically I know I am able to, but I just can't.

 

[princexhhn]

I cant read anything without overthinking what they mean which leads to me never knowing if someone is joking or not and i end up looking dumb and dense because i dont want to assume things bec i keep thinking "idk what their real intentions are. Are they being nice to me out of decency only? What if theyre laughing behind my back all this time? I need to be careful, they can turn on me any moment."
I hold my breath thinking that people will switch and turn on me at any given time. I cant help but assume that i will be harmed if i make any wrong move

I also cant stand up for myself. Its not a conscious decision its literally just the instinct now, that i have to agree with everyone to protect myself. Because conflict will get me hurt. I have to keep the other person happy, dont agitate. I dont even realize that i do that until afterwards, its a survival instinct now

 

[Unknown21]

Have friends. I can't relate to anyone because of all my trauma. I'm too odd.

I've always been like this.

 

[Unsolved]

Finding people I think are my friends and then they leave or we grow apart. I'm so afraid of losing more potential friends that I don't really trust anyone anymore. Sometimes that leads to oversharing because of bottling it all up for so long, so that sucks. :/

 

[lawlietsph]

lots of things, yes.
there was a period (2-3 years) when i was not able to leave the house at all, not even to the backyard.
i am also very scared of men, so talking to them is just something i can't do, let alone looking into their eyes. it is the scariest shit ever.
basically everything... every social interaction is a torture, i am scared of people as hell
standing too close to someone is hard too, because i always feel like they can, and they will hit me any second

 

[vampire2002]

i suppose many things and i could write a whole exhaustive list of them, but one main thing that comes to mind is my avoidance of tight pants / tight pantyhose.
i'm less bad about it than i used to be, but i used to only exclusively wear skirts and dresses because i could not stand the feeling of anything touching me between the legs. it would trigger me and give me sensory issues all day long to the point i would cry sometimes. i have torn tights off of myself that felt too tight. i am not a large person and have been underweight for most of my life, it's just the feeling of pressure on my body in those places i cannot stand. nowadays i can wear some shorts and loose pants, but i don't own a single pair of jeans because they are so awful.

 

[woofwag]

I can't have the door to my room open when I'm in there. I also can't be in common spaces for too long if other people are there, although I am getting better at that with my current amazing roomates who I am close with. I also can't practice mindfulness by being aware of my body or I freak out and panic.

 

[TwilightSylph]

I struggle to shower, water terrifies me. Almost drowned twice as a kid.

If I get water on my face in the shower, I have to stop and reach for a towel and dry my face off.

I struggle with this so much too. Someone tried to drown me in a swimming pool when I was about 8/9, then when my neurological disorder came on 3 years ago, the intensity of the trauma became extreme with crippling flashbacks, even though I coped okay enough for a decade.
It's weird, I can handle baths most of the time (I say most of the time because on bad days water is an absolute no) but as soon as water starts moving too much or a shower head is turned on, my panic response kicks in and its impossible to manage.

I can't let water splash on my face or have running water on my body, I'm glad I'm not the only one

 

[biggestburden]

I cant talk to people my age or teenagers. just reminds me of how bad the abuse at school was and I go into a panic attack. I go into panic attacks when people around me talk about school and how fun/good it was for them too.