Weird / random signs of pain I show as a person with chronic pain who’s long been desensitised to it:
- Changes in breathing
- Sudden vocal stimming or being unusually quiet, especially if moving or trying to do something (I don’t know why but I seem to have two modes)
- Zoning out / ‘not paying attention’
- Sudden and drastic drops in energy
- Odd / stiff posture
- Focusing intensely on a distraction, even if it’s ‘inappropriate’ like taking my phone out mid conversation
- Stretching a lot
- Tilting my head downwards and staying there (I do this more with nausea though. I don’t know why I do this)
- Slight trembling
- Freezing up and going blank
- Acting ‘rude’ or ‘unacceptably’, loss of ability to mask and do social norms
- Talking to it overly casually. Like ‘oh okay’ or ‘sure I guess’
- Harmful stimming, like dislocating my fingers or scratching my skin hard
Feel free to add yours if you want, I’m curious to see if other people are similar or not.