I am very skittish. There are certain personal ‘boundaries’ I have that when breached, startle me. For example, if someone walks into my room, I jump. If I open a door and someone is standing directly on the other side, I jump. If I am ever reading something, or studying something closely, and someone calls me, or initiates any physical contact, I jump/spaz to some extent.
Childhood was hell with this problem. I was an easy target for bullies. I thought that by being startled so much, it would get it out of my system, maybe I’d learn to filter out mundane stuff but it doesn’t. I’m rather concerned these days that perhaps I might hurt myself. Once I was holding a cup of coffee and a car horn honked outside our house, it startled me so badly that I dumped the hot coffee all over myself. If someone opens my door, or slams a door somewhere in my house, I will jump up wide awake, with my heart pounding, and it will take me a long time to calm down. I am extremely averse to firecrackers, balloons, car horns, and dogs to an extent because all of them are capable of emitting a loud, sudden noise which will cause me to either make a little startled hop in the air or cringe. I hate walking anywhere near the front of vehicles for fear the horn might get blown (intentionally or unintentionally) in proximity to me; my dad did this to me as a joke once and I am extremely skittish around the front of vehicles.
The wierd thing is I don’t mind noise in general, just certain noises really spook me, and no matter how much I think about the noise, or how aware I am of that noise occurring (‘That car will honk at me’/'someones going to pop that balloon now) I still get startled.
I experience the same phenomenon – if I catch a glimpse of something moving in my peripheral vision, I jump visibly. (So driving is no fun, I can tell you). My heart stops when I hear loud noises, too. I have absolutely no idea why - I just know I have to be VERY prepared for a loud noise or sudden movement towards me, or I stop breathing for a few seconds.
My problem is not quite as pervasive as yours – there are only a few things that really make me jump . However, whenever those few occur, I will scream, fall to the ground, and cover my ears. It’s just about the worst defense mechanism you can get. I’ve tried any number of things to get rid of it, but unfortunetaly none of them have been effective.
Here’s another with similar characteristics. I hesitate to ascribe any value judgment to the phenomenon beyond acknowledging that it exists for me. Not everything startles me, but when it does I jump, wince, react physically, or otherwise do something that shows I have been startled.
I have long held the belief that single vehicle mishaps might be the result of the driver being startled by something. Most likely a bug or something moving in the vehicle causing the driver to lose concentration on driving. I have almost wrecked several times because of a wasp or spider. I just lose it when that sort of distraction comes up. I have always had the problem and suspect I always will.
One of the closest to blacking out occasions I had was when I was coming out of the bathroom and my brother was standing stock still on the other side of the door. I almost passed out. He just laughed.
My mother was so skittish of lightning (no matter how far away) that she would squeal or scream every time there was a flash. I don’t react like that to lightning, but I do have healthy respect for it, and try to minimize my chances of being struck.
All this is to say that I suspect it’s just something you have to learn to cope with. If there is a fix, I never heard of it.
IANAD but I suspect some of you could potentially benefit from medication, perhaps anti-anxiety drugs. Have any of you discussed your problem with a physician? It sounds to me like some of you have a fairly difficult time with day to day things.
Incubus, I, too, startle rather easily. Also, I experience Essential Tremors, about which you can find much on the 'net. Although I’ve yet to find anything confirming this in the literature, I have a strong suspicion the two phenomena are related.
Propranolol is a widely presribed beta-blocker which I take for ET, and it seems to help with the startle threshhold. You might ask your doc about that.
One thing I was only vaguely aware of, but had never articulated before my long-time businesss partner pointed it out, is that my startled reactions often seem to present after a split-second delay. Does that sound familiar?
I can be very easily startled if I’m in a circumstance where I’m concentrating. I think that can happen to a lot of people: They tune out the outside world so effectively that things that require them to “tune in” come as a shock.
Just out of curiosity, do those of you who find yourself easily startled tend to lose yourselves in books or movies–losing track of time or external events?
IANAPsychiatrist/Psychologist, but perhaps a mild case of Generalized Anxiety Disorder?
Being skittish a bit in many of the situations the OP mentioned is certainly a normal human reaction, but if it’s to the point where “childhood was hell” and you’re “concerned these days that perhaps [you] might hurt yourself”, then such skittishness might be beyond what is “normal”.
I tend to startle easily if I’m somewhere in my own head, concetrating, or soemthing. But there have been times, when I -thought- I was aware of my surroundings that I’ve been startled.
My fiance (poor soul) is naturally quiet, so there are alot of occasions where he startles me without trying to. I think he’s adjusted though, and makes noise in the distance, because he’s done it alot less over the past few months.
Laughing Lagomorph you may be on to something, I had never thought about. Thanks!
Good follow up question, jsgoddess. The answer in my case is definitely yes. I have a one-tracked mind to the point that I got graded down in one job I had by not being able to do more than one thing at a time. Other guys could be writing, checking a computer screen, talking on the phone, and calling off things from the screen, all pretty much at the same time, and for extended periods. Not me. I couldn’t do more than one thing well at once. Chewing gum while I walk is something I can manage, but if somebody’s talking to me, I can’t function doing anything but listening, or else I have to block out what they’re saying.
Not for the faint of heart, The Old Japanese Swordsman’s method of preparedness:
Purchase a 1/2 inch wooden dowel and cut to approx. 3 feet in length. Have SO or friends leap out and whack you with it when unawares. This creates a mindset of zen-like calmness and also purportedly gives you a sixth sense about impending attack.
Not sure if this will work for you, but I’ve tried it at several points and it definitly helped me out, although I don’t have the same anxiety type issues. I felt as if it helped advance me as a person somewhat. YMMV.
For the simpler, less painful method, you may check into a Tai Chi class in your area for relaxation and a general “calming” effect. Sorry if this is of no help to anyone whatsoever, but it’s the best I’ve got short of medication…
Ringo mentioned the “split-second delay” before the startle reaction occurs…
I have just one thing that freaks me out regularly: a ringing phone. When the phone rings, I twitch, spin around, or otherwise react, and I have often noticed myself being aware of the ring before the reaction occurs.
Sometimes I wonder if this is a sign that I’ve merely CONDITIONED myself to react this way, regardless of whether I’m actually startled at all. Maybe this is a result of my intense dislike of the sound, rather than a genuine startle response.
Wow, I answered “true” to nearly everything on the sensory defensive questionnaire. Never heard of such a thing before. All I knew is that I hate being barefoot!
I, too, am easily startled. I’ve been like that since I was a child, and it was made worse by family members thinking it was funny to scare me. Once when I was about to teach a computer class, I was walking down the hall with a cup of coffee in my hand, and I saw a co-worker approaching. We walked closer and closer, and I prepared to say “hi”, when he said it first (and pretty close to me). I jumped so hard that I spilled the coffee all down my front, and was only saved by the fact that I’d just picked up fresh dry cleaning, which was in my car.
I cannot sit or stand with my back to a room- it makes me crazy with the feeling that someone is going to approach me from behind and tap me or say something and scare the shit out of me.
I find it’s MUCH worse with the addition of coffee- if I go light on the caffeine, it’s better, but it’s never gone.
(At my last job a girl thought it was funny to startle me while I was working- she did it so bad one day that I got up in her face and told her that the next time she startled me on purpose, I’d punch her teeth out. I’d asked her several times to stop it and she wouldnt, and the threat was just like a panicked reaction. It never did happen again and I had to apologize for the threat and I felt awful about it.)
Count me in among the easily startled crowd. I find it’s worse if I am wearing headphones or am otherwise in a situation where my hearing is lessened. I suppose it’s a reflex–when a sense is impaired, the body overcompensates.
