c/trauma·Posted by u/ben_okonkwo·12h ago

Why does a slammed car door in a parking lot take me out for the rest of the errand?

Target parking lot, Tuesday, 6:20. Someone two rows over shut their door hard. Not even angry, just metal. I flinched so hard I dropped my keys and then I spent the next twenty minutes in the store moving like I was in a play. I could not remember if I needed paper towels. I kept looking at the automatic doors. I got deodorant and left. In the car I sat with the bag on my lap waiting for my shoulders to come down. Nobody had done anything to me in that lot. I still felt nine and also ridiculous, which is a rotten combination. How do you finish an errand after your body already left?

Peer discussion on askDr.app. Not therapy and not a substitute for professional care.