An effect of trauma

Trouble letting people in emotionally

The wall that goes up when someone tries to get close. Emotional intimacy that feels threatening or overwhelming. Physical intimacy that triggers responses you cannot fully control or explain. The desire for connection alongside a terror of it. Intimacy requires vulnerability and vulnerability was not safe. The avoidance is protection. The cost is the closeness you also need.

It can sound like

“I have a hard time letting people in.” “Emotional intimacy scares me.” “I keep relationships at a distance.” “I want connection but shut down when it gets close.”

If any of those sentences live in your head too, you are in good company here.

Experiences this often follows

Effects do not come from nowhere. These are some of the experiences that people who carry this one often describe. You do not need to have been through any of them for what you feel to be real.

Nothing on this page is a diagnosis, and nothing here decides what is wrong with you, because nothing is wrong with you. Something happened to you. This page exists so that when you are ready, you can find people who understand it from the inside.

You do not have to carry this alone.

Bridge of Hope Recovery is a free, anonymous, peer-led fellowship for trauma survivors. Meetings run throughout the week by phone, by video, and in person. No cost, no waitlist, no one asking for your real name.

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