r/CPTSD•
Dangerous-Ad-1925

Hypervigilant around adult daughter

Question

I am 56. I have just realised that I am hypervigilant around my own daughter who is 22. Yesterday I was in the kitchen and she came in and seemed to be slightly in a mood by her facial expression and wasn't her usual smiley cheerful self.

I immediately thought she was annoyed with me about something and felt scared. I know this was the child part of me.

I said something to her almost as a test to gauge whether she was in a mood and actually she was fine.

It seems crazy that my own daughter's facial expressions can transport me back to my own childhood and make me feel scared.

I have the same with my husband, hypervigilence about his facial expressions and tone of voice although he never makes me feel scared. He is more likely to make me feel dismissed/ignored/unimportant and that he's not interested in anything I have to say.

Has anyone else noticed anything like this?

Posted Jun 15, 2026, 12:51 PM UTC

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