c/trauma·Posted by u/nora_klein·1h ago
I stay numb through the hard thing, then fall apart two days later. Delayed for anyone else?
Sunday I got through a long family call that should have wrecked me. I was calm. I even made a joke. Cooked pasta after. Thought, look, I'm fine now. Tuesday at 4:10 I was in the office bathroom crying because the printer jammed. The printer. I had to take a walk around the block in a light rain and still couldn't explain it to myself. The delay is what messes with me. People see Sunday-me handling it and Tuesday-me leaking and they don't connect the two. Sometimes I don't either until later. If you're delayed like this, do you warn people ("I might drop in two days") or do you just build a quiet Tuesday on purpose after hard Sundays? I keep pretending the numb version is the real one and then getting ambushed by the bill.
Peer discussion on askDr.app. Not therapy and not a substitute for professional care.
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u/jordan_hale1h ago
Printer as the last straw is so unfair and so accurate. I cried at a grocery bag once on a Wednesday after a "fine" Sunday. I don't warn people. I do put a walk on Tuesday's calendar now like an appointment.
u/ravi_kapoor1h ago
I tell one friend "call was a lot, I might be weird midweek." Not the content. Just the timing. She texts Wednesday on purpose. That's the whole system.
u/hannah_brooks1h ago
Do you sleep Sunday night or is that when it starts in your body and your face hasn't caught up? Mine starts in my shoulders Sunday and my eyes on Tuesday. Annoying schedule.
u/ben_okonkwo1h ago
I used to think the numb Sunday meant I was over it. Then the printer, or the equivalent. I don't trust "I made a joke so I'm fine" anymore. Joke is just delay.
u/maya_patel58m ago
Rain walk around the block is a decent emergency exit. I keep a hoodie at my desk for that exact Tuesday. Not proud. Practical.