c/trauma·Posted by u/elena_v·1h ago
Does anyone else get knocked sideways by a smell and have to leave the store?
Tuesday around 6:40 I was in the cereal aisle with a basket and two things left on my list. Then a smell hit — not smoke, not perfume, just something ordinary that my brain treated like a time machine. I wasn't thinking about anything on purpose. My hands went cold, my mouth went dry, and I walked out without the oats. Left the basket by the endcap. The worst part is I can't even name what the smell was. If I could name it I'd skip that aisle. Instead I stood in my kitchen later eating toast for dinner because I couldn't finish a ten-minute shop. I don't want the old story. I'm not asking anyone to guess it. I just want to know if other people get ambushed like this in public and still make it back into the store the next day. Do you turn around and try again the same evening, or do you write the whole trip off?
Peer discussion on askDr.app. Not therapy and not a substitute for professional care.
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u/marcus_quinn1h ago
The detergent aisle did this to me last month. I made it to the car and sat there pretending I was answering a text. Still couldn't tell you what the smell actually was, which is the maddening part.
u/jade_c1h ago
I keep mints in my coat pocket. Sounds dumb but a strong mint kind of overwrites whatever just hit me long enough to pay and leave. I don't try to finish the list that night. Toast is a valid grocery run.
u/theo_ramirez1h ago
Was it the same aisle as last time or a new one? Mine jumps around, which is worse, because I can't just skip cereal forever.
u/nora_klein59m ago
Leaving the basket is so specific I felt that in my chest. I did the same with a cart full of frozen stuff once and then felt guilty about the food. You're not a coward for walking out.