Let's see........for me it could be a car backfiring, really angry loud yelling, witnessing violence, hearing loud illegal fireworks nearby, the smell of the ocean at certain beaches nearby, the loud closing of a door.........and it goes on.

I still can't predict what will set off my heart racing and hypervigilance freak outs.

Please try to be extra gentle with yourself about this. There isn't anything wrong with how you react. You were 'programmed to' at one point in your life so to learn to undo that takes enormous time, courage and practice.

I'm proud of you for writing about it. You're not alone. Almost anything that wakes me suddenly had my heart racing and my mouth tasing funny from fear. It ain't fun.

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