HYPERVIGILANCE-SNEAKS UP ON YOU

Hypervigilance is usually associatied with PTSD-Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Often people think they need a huge trauma in their lives to experience this reaction. Recently, I was commenting to a family member that the death of a loved one can create a new anxiety of worrying about others in life, for example. Think about it- it is a blow to the psyche to lose someone. A near accident! A close call! Your wallet is stolen! Even minor events in our lives can shake us for some time! Current events may conjure up previous losses that we felt were so dormant they no longer had any effect! It happened to me. My daughter called at an unusually early time the other day. My husband had this serious look on his face. It was a call to tell us the little guy was sick and staying home with her. Everything was okay! My anxiety level was high. Hypervigilance! For several months I had been waiting for the phone to ring with bad news. It can be a feeling waiting for the other shoe to drop! As life settles down the sense of urgency will diminish. If you know loved ones that are dealing with a recent loss or incredible stress, help them normalize and recognize this feeling of worry can occur. No, you are not going crazy! There can be people who always say- oh nothing bothers me! Well, it is probably not true! Being strong does not mean having normal human reactions to bad situations is weak! Allowing the acknowledgement that loss has a devastating  effect on us! Do you know someone dealing with loss? Are you dealing with loss? Are you ruminating about the events in your life? Talking to someone or writing about your feelings may help you to normalize them.