A Child Abuse Survivors Group Community Group
We survived child abuse, but the pain still remains and so do the other effects which can last a lifetime. We are often unable to find adequate help, and we are seeking answers that can help us understand what happened so that we can go on to lead normal lives. (Please note that this is a group for child abuse survivors only. If you are a professional in the mental health...
Flinch is defined as to make a quick involuntary motion of the body, moving away out of surprise or fear.
I flinch when someone around me makes any sudden movement.
It's a leftover reaction from the abuse I endured as a child, particularly the physical abuse, which involved being punched, hit, and shoved daily by my parents. When either of my parents were having a bad day or just wanted to feel powerful, they could always physically strike me to inflict pain, and it seemed to make them feel better.
Flinching is something I need to do more work on not doing now. When I am in public places, people often making jerking movements for no apparent discernible reason, causing me to flinch. I have noticed this is a problem for me when I am aboard public transportation or standing in a line. People tend to make a lot of jerky movements when they are in public places. I don't really know why they do this.
Do you flinch?
I flinch when someone around me makes any sudden movement.
It's a leftover reaction from the abuse I endured as a child, particularly the physical abuse, which involved being punched, hit, and shoved daily by my parents. When either of my parents were having a bad day or just wanted to feel powerful, they could always physically strike me to inflict pain, and it seemed to make them feel better.
Flinching is something I need to do more work on not doing now. When I am in public places, people often making jerking movements for no apparent discernible reason, causing me to flinch. I have noticed this is a problem for me when I am aboard public transportation or standing in a line. People tend to make a lot of jerky movements when they are in public places. I don't really know why they do this.
Do you flinch?
Perhaps I should say TRIGGER WARNING now, but I'll do my best to make it "light".
Growing up if I flinched that meant more and more punishment until he was satisfied with my reaction, which was no reaction at all. My "lesson" being was to stay focused no matter what was coming at me and to also stay above the fear and terror. I often had to stand in front of dad, until he was winded taking punch after punch to the head, fighting the darkness of unconsciousness that attempted to pull me under, with no reaction at all.
Today I do flinch but only inside and it truly bothers me since with it comes intense rage and I'm ready to attack. I become a "loose canon" in those moments and really have to keep a very tight "rein" on myself. There's a lot of work I need to do in this area, yet I feel that this is one I may just never overcome, Blaine
I think it's normal to be this way if you've had bad experiences in life. It seems to me that it's a defense mechanism built into us to protect us after we've experienced trauma...because of the likelihood that danger could return to us. We are bio-engineered to survive no matter what.
We're not sick, we're normal human beings who have experienced bad things. PTSD is not a sickness, it's a response to what happened to us.
I actually started a Discussion Topic late last night before going to bed. I live near the street in my building; I am the FRONT apartment. So I get to hear EVERY thing from children running in hallway on way out of the building as the entrance door is right next to my exterior wall in living room. I just shutter to think of what the HELL I have been going thru living here. I sometimes jump if the entrance door slams. or at any noise. ;not to mention seeing bugs out of corner of my eye. I really need to move!!!
And like ryverrat, I have found that not paying attention to it, it gets better. Thanks ryverrat!! ...that will help me as I seem to forget every coping skill I learn. I need like Massive REPETITION.