Maybe a nice long warm shower? Something physically soothing and gentle.

I hope this passes soon.

Done.

Ab-so-LUTE-ly not a bad idea.

Thanks.

Wow the confusion of all the noise and lights would be enough to trigger anyone with PTSD, never mind the flashback to the SWAT thing you actually experienced. I can certainly understand why you are on high alert.
Deep breathing helps. Refocusing the mind to a visual of your favourite place that is calming and save. Talking wtih a friend may also help.
Hey, I would be a lair if I said I had not taken meds and drank alot. However, it really is not a good idea. For people with PTSD drinking only makes the problems worse. I got tagged with PTSD, Obessive Complusive personality disorder and an alcohol abuse problem when I was first diagnosed. Oh, and yes, I am a bad perosn and still drink to cope at times. Don't start using alcohol as a crutch.
PS. You will have to practice whatever method you decide to use to ground yourself. It will take time.

"In the oven." I like it and hate it, at the same time ;-)

I guess there are a whole heap of expressions that we could come up with, each of which we would readily relate to.

I agree with you, CC. I'm not a big drinker, and have made a concerted effort to never allow alcohol to serve as a "solution to problems."

But ... yeah ... yesterday, I made an exception ;-)

When the adrenaline went away, I conked out -- something I needed.

When I woke up, this morning, there was an empty Chinese food container and a dirty plate on my counter.

Two glasses of red didn't cause me to black out. I guess .... my brain was just protecting me.

Luckily, I can see the Chinese place out the window, and know I didn't drive there :-)

Back to the deep breathing, yoga, and long walks.

I think I want to go rent a dog for a few hours. What a business model, huh ? Like being a grandparent -- all the fun, and almost none of the responsibility LOL !

Thanks for the direction, all. Helpful, as always.

That's horrible, 51 percent. :( I feel for you! It makes me want to cry.

Oh, God, Jenny.

I learn of stories like yours, and become ever more hopeful ... that I will survive, and get some of "me" back.

I'm so sorry.

Most of my triggers are words. Someone saying that was stupid of you to do, or you are an idiot. I come from a very long history of every form of abuse, and my worst triggers have always been words.
I have never been able to find something that would not make them trigger, but I have not given up on not letting them get to me.

Andiee: I'm so sorry.

My grandparents had five kids who lived, but my grandfather -- life hadn't treated him well -- used to berate and belittle a couple of the kids more than the others.

To this day, those kids have a HUGE amount of difficulty with setting their boundaries, getting their needs met, or "being heard."

After all ... "You're an idiot" was a very early and important message, in their lives.

You're HERE, so ... you obviously have a high emotional IQ, meaning ... enough smarts and enough introspection to want to improve your life.

You're a genius, in my book. I've met lots of people who take their misery, and beat others about the head and shoulders with it.

There've been too many bullies in my life, so ... both words AND 'tone of voice' can be triggers for me, too.

And I wish I could take the power away from those things, too, but ... more often than not, I treat it like an allergy: it would be nice to NOT BE allergic to pollen, but ... it's easier to stay inside, some days :-)

Take good care.

The smell of huny suckle is one of my most intense and surprising triggers. It is quickly followed by the smell of decomposing flesh and then everyone I see for a time looks like the walking dead. Hasn't been that bad lately now that it is not surprising I can ground myself and move on. But goodness if I was ever to just continually walk into the smell or not be able to get away from it... I feel for you glad to hear you have been able to relax

I just had one Friday. Not the worst but a recent example. I attract psychopaths like there's no tomorrow and am constantly have to battle several psychopaths at once. Either sexual predators, financial predators/con artists, etc. It never ends.

So I recently applied for a refinance of my home w/ a mortgage broker whom I used when I bought my house and had a good experience with then. Well now he's a total con artist. He has changed his story so many times, changed the amount I have to pay 3x, change the billing method twice, just lie upon lie upon lie. I've jumped through all these hoops and finally had enough. He started demanding that I give him the money that day. That I leave work immediately to get it to him. I decided there was no way I'm doing business with him and ignored his next couple calls. He started bombing me with emails and even a text (this is a big mortgage company, not a one man show or anything, to get a text from a business was pretty crazy). He then left a vm threatening to bill me $400 and send it to collections if I don't go with him, basically to ruin my credit and prevent me from going elsewhere. Mortgage brokers work on commission and get paid at the close of the sale. Billing me $400 is illegal if I chose not to go with him. But he's pulling every sleezy tactic he can think of to scare me into paying him.

Anyway, it became clear that I was dealing with another psychopath. And this guy is huge, 6'5" probably. The bombardment of contact and trying every way to get this control of me was a huge trigger of when i was stalked by a registered sex offender/psychopath. I had an anxiety attack and was scared he was going to come to my house next. I pulled the curtains closed and hid in my house, shaking. I even brought my gun down to the living room from my bedroom.

I'm not sure what the best method is to deal with it. I have no meds so that wasn't an option. And I don't drink. But I called friends to vent about it. I called my psychologist's office to see if he was in but he had taken the day off. So I just had to suffer through it I guess. I got some xanax that night but I don't think they do anything for me. I'd like to try something stronger.

Good luck. Sorry you went through such a horrific experience with SWAT and all that.

Chlorine is a trigger for me, I had to be dragged out of a heavily chlorinated pool after some older kids pushed me under. When toddlers lose their footing in water, it's not so easy for them to get it back. I remember thrashing around for a while face down...I had no idea how to swim.

My sister was supposed to be watching me according to my mother, but she was off chasing boys instead. As usual nobody was watching the little person...probably would have drowned if the lifeguard hadn't saved me.

The "littlest" and "simple" things, huh ?

Amazing, and ... so sad, these stories.

The smell of flowers and chlorine. Who'd have thought.....

As to the mortgage broker, there are a MILLION of them out there, and they don't HAVE to be local.

If that were a trigger for me, I'd find another one, even if it cost me $$$ to change.

My peace of mind is worth more to me than money, and ... I don't have any money to blow, so ... that's saying a lot :-)

I am switching. That is why he was threatening me with illegal billing procedures, to try to force me to stay with him. My new one is awesome and is handling the matter w/ the first one. If he tries to send me a bill, he's going to have a "strongly worded" message for him. He can actually lose his license. So hopefully everything will be smooth now. I just can't stand the obsessive, stalking, controlling behaviors. I've had psychos climb in my window, I've had them climb over my privacy fence and into my yard, I've had them going through my back yard, in the dark, pounding on my windows, screaming at me through the windows, I've had them trying to force the door open even when it's locked, I've had the bombardment of calls, emails, texts, IMs, etc. I hate dealing with that crazy crap. And there's no excuse when it's from a company.

There's no excuse for that ... period.

I was sitting in group therapy and someone else was talking about a trauma her sister had many years ago. At some point she said something about hands around a throat. The room got fuzzy and hot, my vision narrowed and I fought like hell to stay 'present.' She finished what she was saying and suddenly all eyes were on me. The therapist asked what was going on and I could hardly speak. A couple of people saw the blood drain from my face when she said that phrase. It was my groupmates that helped me breath, focus and stay present. They reminded me that I was safe and they were all there to love and support me for as long as I needed. It became awful and good all at once. Then it began to shift to more good, and then I was reasonably okay. I was exhausted and spacy for a couple of hours.

What helped me most was not meds, booze, sleep etc. It was surrounding myself with people who cared and put me first. The coping skills helped some but it was the human part of the equation that made the difference. Humans caused my PTSD so it just makes sense that good humans could help me through it.

What I've learned over the last 9 months of intensive therapy (and for over 100K) is that we all learned to cope with our trauma in some fashion until the PTSD came to light. Many of those coping skills aren't good for us and can even make things worse. We aim for the fastest thing because the emotional intensity is so overwhelming. The key is to learn better skills that you practice even when there isn't a trigger so that when there is a siren, a smell or a simple phrase, you habitually go to a healthier coping skill. It's no cure and it's not perfect. It does take a lot of dedicated work ahead of time but those skills will be with me even when the pills and booze aren't. PTSD sucks bad enough. I don't need to add an addiction diagnosis. Best of Luck