Can you please explain what you mean by trauma reactions and negative behaviors toward you? Do you mean, like, you were triggered and reacted to it, and someone reacted negatively to your reaction?

OH. No, it’s deserved in my opinion. If they are treating you like shit, they should be able to take it, as well. Especially if they know you have a history with trauma. That will make it that much worse. I’m not saying to scream at them and beat them up, but a nice subtle reminder of how you are feeling is perfectly appropriate. I’ve had to do this on multiple occasions. Setting boundaries will help, too. Drawing that line and letting people know that, hey, if you’re going to keep doing this, you’re going to keep losing enough of me until you aren’t part of my life anymore. And sometimes that’s the answer.

Never bottle it up. I have had to cut so many people out of my life because I didn't realize what was healthy and what wasn't. Over and over ended up going back to the same people just to get my heart and self esteem broken. Sometimes people don't know that they are doing it but if you calmly tell them how they are making you feel, setting boundaries and they continue, then it's not you, it's them. It took me YEARS to figure out gaslighting. I was the biggest sucker for it. I'm a work in progress

This could be both. I guess it depends on what you're doing to set boundaries and how those friends push those boundaries or get mad when you set them. Trauma definitely also makes us overreact so it could be both.

In my opinion, if something is a trigger for you, it is not wrong to set boundaries to minimize harm to yourself, so long as you're also not intentionally directly hurting someone else. However, I just want to say, if you're constantly having social clashes or being targeted by abusive people for reasons you don't understand at all... maybe looking into ASD symptoms/traits could help answer *that* question, if needed. Not accusing or diagnosing or anything, just sharing my personal experience.