Whether consciously or subconsciously instigated. By ordinary citizens, authority figures, shop workers, bus drivers, or really anyone for that matter

  •  Case   ( @Case@unilem.org ) 
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    11 year ago

    I went from hourly call center to on call 24/7 and being the only point of contact.

    When my phone notifies me, just any notification, I panic. The phone rings, I panic. Its been over a year since I left.

    Yes, its part and parcel to other issues of mental health, but… Man, do you know how often you get notifications? I’ve turned most off and still some days I’m ready to smash my phone so it will shut up and I can breathe normally.

    • I think you replied to the wrong comment.

      That being said: Your story doesn’t sound healthy at all. Your brain is basically on high alert 24/7. And you already have severe symptoms. Feeling panic on a daily basis isn’t normal.

      I think you have to find a way to deal with it. Probably the best advice would be to contact an expert. That’d most likely be a therapist. And they know how to deal effectively with things like this. And mental health in general.

      My uninformed opinion is: People absolutely need downtime. You can’t be on high alert 24/7. Well, you can for quite a while, especially if you’re still in your 20s. But you will break down at some point. Try to re-learn this. Start with taking some time off every day to practice. Take this time for yourself. I don’t know you. Maybe read a book, meditate, do crochet, listen to an audiobook and most importantly: put that phone away. Turn it off or put it into another room. Learn to calm down and not constantly be close to the brink of the next panic. Even if you only do it for a few minutes every day. It’s okay if you start with some small things.

      And there gotta be some technical solution to the problem. You can turn off notifications and read your mail and chat messages twice a day like we used to do 15 years ago. Have different alert tones for different apps, so you immediately know what’s up. You can even assign individual rintones to your contacts, so you can straightaway hear who’s calling and maybe the adrenaline will stay where it is, because you know it’s only your sister-in-law. I don’t know exact advice for your life. Some solution intended to break that cycle that triggers you and causes the panic attack to develop.