this post was submitted on 14 May 2026
42 points (100.0% liked)

Ask Lemmy

39573 readers
1570 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions


Rules: (interactive)


1) Be nice and; have funDoxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, toxicity and dog-whistling are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them


2) All posts must end with a '?'This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?


3) No spamPlease do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.


4) NSFW is okay, within reasonJust remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].


5) This is not a support community.
It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email info@lemmy.world. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.


6) No US Politics.
Please don't post about current US Politics. If you need to do this, try !politicaldiscussion@lemmy.world or !askusa@discuss.online


Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.

Partnered Communities:

Tech Support

No Stupid Questions

You Should Know

Reddit

Jokes

Ask Ouija


Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu


founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

I've never been able to do it.

When I'm relaxed, I'm hardly aware of my surroundings and when I'm alert, I'm nervous as hell.

How the hell do people keep their composure in difficult situations and still get through them alright?

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] Damarus@feddit.org 27 points 2 days ago (4 children)

Childhood trauma. Being aware of your surroundings just becomes the default mode.

[–] backalleycoyote@lemmy.today 2 points 1 day ago

One learns calmness and how to remain unnoticed when the violence breaks out but isn’t currently directed at you. There’s nothing you can do to stop it, and if you tried you’d be drug into it and lose. I’m a prison volunteer and I’ve seen the exact same thing. Some dude is getting his head stomped and people casually finish their card game or make a cup of coffee before lockdown.

[–] akunohana@piefed.blahaj.zone 9 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

This. It's not a choice or a "neat treat". It's how we've been molded by our environment since childhood. To the detriment of my economy, I often go to cafes not to feel lonely while not having to engage in 1v1 conversation, and I can literally have my face planted onto the dining table, enjoying ambience, and still be aware of what other guests are in my vicinity, sitting in what positions, what impressions they gave me by their looks and by their general tone. Relaxing, but it'll be a cold day in hell before I let anybody hurt me physically or mentally.

[–] xSikes@feddit.online 3 points 2 days ago

Sadly, I second this. Also took 8 years in a 12 year (so far) relationship to learn to drop that guard at times.

[–] stringere@sh.itjust.works 0 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Yeah. My answer was PTSD and weed. My PTSD is from childhood trauma.

[–] Prathas@lemmy.zip 1 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Did a certain event happen in your childhood? If it was hundreds and hundreds of criticisms every month for decades like I experienced, then that's not PTSD, which is a single, life-changing event, but rather CPTSD (Complex), which is a gradual embedding of continual stress reaction over a long period of time.

[–] stringere@sh.itjust.works 1 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

Several traumatic events, none of them the same.

[–] Prathas@lemmy.zip 1 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

Dang. I'm sorry you've had to endure all those!

[–] stringere@sh.itjust.works 1 points 6 hours ago

I've made it this far. I finally got into therapylast year but had to fire my therapist when their shared office started playing Christian music in the waiting room. I told her there's no way any healing is going to happen if I'm being triggered before our sessions.