Panic "Squashed" Moment.

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I was in the kitchen as food was ready... Was going back and fore with finding out who wanted some and what it was and ... I was an inbetween and no one was co-operating as their minds were on other things. But then while in the kitchen others came in behond me and I felt claustrophobic and "Hemmed in" and I panicked and left the kitchen without my food... I was having a partial shutdown and needed to relax. So I was stuck slouched in the chair in the living room, and worst still I was being called to come and get my food and I couldn't. I had to relax... But so much was going on I was in this semi shutdown state.

I realize that the claustrophobic panic (That I tend to also get in shops, hence why I avoid shops with long narrow isles and I can't face queueing outside so I have hardly been in a shop apart from a petrol garage and a smaller local shop when hardly anyones waiting) can push me into a shutdown... But I am thinking. It was a lot of things at the same time. A lot of people speaking and doing different things... Lots of things going on, and then the claustrophobic event pushed me into a partial shutdown...

While I have been in a semi daze of recovery and I am almost ready... I am still gathering i formation of the events that cause shutdowns. I am not quite sure if the squashed in claustrophobic panic came first or the everything happening came first. Hard to tell.

I am learning. Is also hard to tell when one is not really in the right mood or frame of mind to monitor oneself.

I write this to ask if anyone else experience the "Hemmed in" panic when others come behind you and block your way out (Or you think they might be doing that so you panic). Is this common?

I felt hemmed in when the supermarkets used to be busy, when too many people stood in my personal space looking for the same thing I was looking for. I felt a sense of irritation and had to move away until they had gone. Even worse when people say "excuse me". Yes I know that is polite and I'm not saying it's not, but when people say "excuse me" it feels like what they're really saying is "you are standing right in my way, you stupid oaf", especially when they say it in a certain tone.
It put me off my focus and I had to try to avoid the busy times in order to be able to do my shopping comfortably. God how I miss those days...

Yep. I get that.

I hate people standing right behind me, or being in the middle of a crowd of people.

It can be difficult to push through a group of people to get at something.

I've had that type of panic attacks over two periods of my life. One when I went to big malls in my late 20s (crowds) so I forced myself into malls and after 4-5 times it went away completely. The second period lasted probably 2 years. I had TIAs when I was in my 20s so I kept being afraid I'd die or have a full-blown stroke. Triggers were things like bending to look in the fridge and getting dizzy, or going to a meeting, or just out of the blue (I used to forget to breath when concentrating and need to snap myself out of a stupor). Not people hemming me in but a definite need for space. I would either shake my head hard, or bolt out the door, excuse myself to the washroom, stick my head out the window and breath deeply. It never entirely went away but happens extremely rarely now. When I turned 50 it actually was a surprise to me - I never thought I'd live that long so I never thought past that age.