Hanging in there, ish.

[BlueIris]

This is the plan, Carnation, yes. Hope you're well.

[Carnation]

Apart from the hay-fever, yes.
Eurovision sort of taking my mind off of it. Lol.
Don't forget the holding of the thumb if you feel the anxiety rising. Sounds silly but it works x

[Lencoboy]

Apart from the hay-fever, yes.
Eurovision sort of taking my mind off of it. Lol.
Don't forget the holding of the thumb if you feel the anxiety rising. Sounds silly but it works x

Oddly enough I've barely had any hayfever for the past 2-3 days; the least for ages now.

Can be a right nuisance at times.

[Carnation]

It certainly can Lencoboy.

[fishman65]

I'm really sorry you're having a rough time Blue It seems there's a few of us going through the wringer right now. I do hope it settles for you very soon.

[Lencoboy]

Same, Lenco.

I wonder if your panic attack in the supermarket was triggered by anything specific (if you don't mind me asking), e.g, certain stimuli such as lighting, sounds, odours, items on display, etc, or perhaps just your general state of mind right now?

Not only did I feel a little nauseous concurrently with the flashbacks to my often agonising trips to the old Sainsbury's store that used to be in the main (indoor) shopping centre in our town centre up until around the very late 80s as a child most Saturdays, but my dad also said he had felt a bit faint himself while he was in there today but didn't tell me until we arrived back home.

My dad said he hated the old Sainsbury's site with a passion himself, especially as he thought it was too cramped, could often sense tempers fraying among other customers, him often struggling to find somewhere decent to park in the adjacent multi-storey car park, and the general chaotic nature and atmosphere of the place at the time.

[Darksky]

Ikea. Somehow it makes me feel sort of underground

[BlueIris]

I wonder if your panic attack in the supermarket was triggered by anything specific (if you don't mind me asking), e.g, certain stimuli such as lighting, sounds, odours, items on display, etc, or perhaps just your general state of mind right now?

Not only did I feel a little nauseous concurrently with the flashbacks to my often agonising trips to the old Sainsbury's store that used to be in the main (indoor) shopping centre in our town centre up until around the very late 80s as a child most Saturdays, but my dad also said he had felt a bit faint himself while he was in there today but didn't tell me until we arrived back home.

My dad said he hated the old Sainsbury's site with a passion himself, especially as he thought it was too cramped, could often sense tempers fraying among other customers, him often struggling to find somewhere decent to park in the adjacent multi-storey car park, and the general chaotic nature and atmosphere of the place at the time.

Women's stuff, Lenco, sorry, I was pre-triggered and only left the house because we needed a new duvet set.

That said, plenty of shops make me nervous because of narrow aisles and overstimulation. The places we visited today are both spacious enough that I don't mind them, but smaller supermarkets leave me feeling uncomfortable every time.

I feel so guilty about saying it, but while the covered market in Cov is wonderful, the acoustics feel wrong to me on a fundamental level and because it's circular, I struggle to navigate it despite having lived here over 20 years.

[Lencoboy]

That said, plenty of shops make me nervous because of narrow aisles and overstimulation. The places we visited today are both spacious enough that I don't mind them, but smaller supermarkets leave me feeling uncomfortable every time.

I feel so guilty about saying it, but while the covered market in Cov is wonderful, the acoustics feel wrong to me on a fundamental level and because it's circular, I struggle to navigate it despite having lived here over 20 years.

Exactly how I feel too.

Although I can't comment on the covered market in Coventry having never been there (the market itself, not the city as a whole), acoustics and shapes of various rooms/environments can affect me too.

Also for many years rooms/environments with loads of hard, shiny surfaces combined with bright lighting (especially if they're largely bare) have been known to make me feel dizzy and/or nauseous, especially in the evenings. Some (but not all) windowless rooms can also give me the willies.

I think some places just have bad vibes about them generally, which can leave me feeling uneasy.

[Lencoboy]

Ikea. Somehow it makes me feel sort of underground

While I personally have never actually set foot in an IKEA store (so far), I've heard that they have rather odd vibes about them.

My dad told me he visited our nearest store in Wednesbury, West Mids, once with my mom some years back and there was a rather arbitrary one-way system for customers walking around said store which my dad found very oddball and illogical (this was about 20 years before Covid BTW), plus he thought the place had an extremely oppressive feel to it, and was glad to get beyond the exit door of the place.

My dad also thought that many of the staff there seemed like 'little Hitlers' at the time, though he added it might actually be different now some 25 years later.