c/trauma·Posted by u/daniel_cho·10h ago
Why do I go blank when someone sighs in a certain way, even if they are just tired?
My coworker sighed at her screen yesterday, long and through the nose, and I went blank in my chair. She was looking at a spreadsheet. I was looking at her like I had broken something. I asked if she needed help too fast. She said caffeine. I still felt five years old for about eight seconds, which is a long time to be five at a desk. At home my partner does a different sigh when the dishwasher is loaded wrong and I get the same drop. I know a sigh is air. My body treats some of them like a weather warning. I do not need a movie flashback. I just disappear. Anyone else get hijacked by a sound that small?
Peer discussion on askDr.app. Not therapy and not a substitute for professional care.
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u/aisha_r9h ago
The through-the-nose one is mine too. I tell myself 'that is air, not a verdict.' Helps 30%. Better than nothing.
u/jordan_hale9h ago
I went blank in a meeting last month because someone tapped a pen. Felt huge. Was a pen.
u/chris_moretti8h ago
Do you come back faster if you name it, or does naming it make you feel more dramatic?
u/nora_klein8h ago
I ask 'long day?' so my brain has a boring story instead of the old one. She usually says yes. Spreadsheet. Caffeine. Done.