Places Causing Stress

There are places that leave me anxious and stressed for days or even weeks. I can't explain it, but some settings leave me unable to gather my thoughts, senses, or emotions. I remain on "overload" and miserable until something several times more comforting can offset the anxiety.

The main university campus makes me sick. Literally. I hate the campus and everything it represents to me. One visit of a few hours leaves me unable to focus and function properly for at least three days, and usually more.

While the university is the most extreme example of a place making me sick, there are also businesses I can't enter or support. The nearby Target store is one I will not visit. It's a disgusting place with horrible employees. Maybe that will change, but I'm not going to go back to a store just to find out if they've mopped the floors. (I've noticed two stores in the same chain can be opposites. I love the Walmart in a nearby suburb, while the urban Walmart is a dump rivaling the Target.)

Some restaurants are on my "can't visit" list. Dirty dishes are the primary cause. You can't wash plates or flatware? I'm not coming back. If I have to beg for water or a tea refill, I'm not coming back. A filthy kitchen? Unclean bathrooms? I'm gone as a customer.

The university bothers me because the location is noisy, dirty, and disgusting. Add to this what I considered mediocre service, poor support, and horrific experiences with some people, there's no reason to like the place. You pay for services at a university, even if they don't like to consider it a business. It was a bad business I don't wish to support.

There are good employees at bad businesses, but that's not enough. If anything, it is a shame that great people at the university are so overshadowed in my mind by the bad experiences.

I do all I can to avoid the university and refuse to support it in any way. It needs substantial changes. Even then, I can't erase the negatives from my memories.