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The original was posted on /r/AmItheAsshole by /u/Rude_Ad930 on 2023-09-19 21:59:59.

I have a temporary disability placard for symptoms related to my ptsd that are a bit heightened because I recently found out I’m pregnant and having to stop most medications I used (antipsychotics, antidepressants, anti anxiety and sleep meds). I’m physically fit by military standards but because of mental health issues from my service I’m getting discharged.

I haven’t used it until today when I had to pregnant pee asap and made a emergency stop at a store and tried to get as close to the store as I could and made a run for it. When I came back out there was a older gentleman standing near my car. As I approached he asked if I was the woman that just ran into the store. I said yes and he ripped into me about how much of a piece of shit I was for taking a handicapped spot when I was clearly able bodied enough to do a full sprint into the store. He even told me he deserved the spot more than I did because of his age.

I felt really bad because I assumed I took the spot from a elderly handicapped man and apologized profusely . It was for nothing though since he told me he didn’t have a handicap placard but compared to me he had more reason to have the spot than I did and that he was tired of able bodied young people taking advantage of things like this. Dude even asked what disability I had (I refused to answer because it’s a personal) and said he was going to call the police because I’m clearly abusing someone else’s placard.

I’m not going to lie…I’m very sensitive right now and was on the verge of tears and I’m prone to panic attacks because of the ptsd. I told him I’d get the documents for the placard to prove it’s mine and he said he would still call the cops. I got In my car to pretend to look for the documents (I just really didn’t want to let him see he made me cry) and as I got into the car dude started walking to the front of my to get my plate number. I got hit with a intense urge to run and I just backed out and drove away in a panic. For a guy the deserved the spot more that I did he was healthy enough to run after my car at full speed while trying to stop me.

AITA for making use of my placard? I parked a few blocks away because I was reaching a level of panic that would make it dangerous for myself and everyone else if I kept going. I am a lot calmer and I feel guilty for even thinking I could use the spot.

Edit… i was trying to leave out the reasons for my mental health causing physical symptoms that I could be considered temporarily disabled but I guess for context: I’ve had a psychogenic nonepileptic seizure before. Basically my ptsd got so intense it caused a physical seizure. The Docs are really concerned that without the meds that would normally stabilize me and the hormones I could be prone to more of them and cause damage to myself and my baby. Rather be proactive than reactive