I can come up with some generalities based loosely on what little I know about your situation, lynn. Whether or not they might have anything to do with the "real" you I can't of course know.

But anyone who's under a lot of unrelenting or escalating stress for a long period of time suffers physical as well as emotional/mental/psychological attacks on their immune system. This in turn renders them more vulnerable to stress. A vicious circle.

After awhile, others can begin to actually perceive them as vulnerable. This may include children--young students, neighbors' children, local gang members.

If you think about it, the connection isn't surprising at all. To check this out, bing (or maybe google) term: "effects of stress" related to "victims of crime".