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Trigger Warning PANIC!

Silver J. Laine
Oct 20, 2022
2 min read

My name is Silver J. Laine and I suffer from Anxiety. I have found that anything or anyone can be a trigger.

The following is a list of triggers:

Invasion of Personal Space- people I don't know who stand right next to me or cut right in front of me or physically push me. The COVID-19 Pandemic has made this even more noticeable. People are not respecting my personal space. This makes me anxious and angry.
People I Don't Know Following Me- this can tie into Personal Space too. It makes me anxious and I feel like I'm about to be attacked.
Cyclists/Scooter Riders - they make me anxious because they zoom along pavements without slowing down. Part of this anxiety is down to the fact that they aren't supposed to be riding on pavements by law, but nobody is enforcing that law. This can also be linked to Personal Space and feeling like I'm about to be hurt physically by them. I have been hurt physically by them in the past. And I have been shouted at by them before. One of them was so arrogant he put out a hand as if to slap me.
People Blocking a Pavement Walking Side-by-Side - I've noticed this a lot over the years. Especially on narrow pavements such as on bridges. It makes me anxious when people walk towards me side-by-side and don't move over to let me pass. It's intimidating and I feel like I'm about to be attacked (I've been working on my reaction to this by standing and taking a breath and waiting for them to pass around me before continuing on).
Queue forming behind me at the store - it makes me anxious because the people behind me are impatient and so are the people behind the counters. People behind me start putting their groceries on the counter before I have finished packing and I have encountered the people behind the counters calling those people forward and serving them while I am still trying to pack my bags.
Messing up recipes when baking/cooking - this makes me anxious because of the mess I have made and the ingredients I have wasted.
Confrontation - Words don't come out of my mouth properly and I get even more frustrated.
Lack of Face Masks - *New One Due to COVID-19* It makes me anxious when people aren't wearing face masks to stop others getting COVID-19. When I meet someone who isn't wearing a mask, my anxiety makes it personal.