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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 7 of 7. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by emilyp on July 28, 2009, at 21:51:07
For those of us who don't experience this feeling, what do you mean when you say you dissociate? The major issue I have is depression and I don't know if I have ever been in a dissociation state of mind.
Posted by Phillipa on July 28, 2009, at 23:18:48
In reply to Dissociate, posted by emilyp on July 28, 2009, at 21:51:07
Good question hope a lot of replies. Phillipa
Posted by jouezmoi on July 29, 2009, at 6:40:46
In reply to Re: Dissociate » emilyp, posted by Phillipa on July 28, 2009, at 23:18:48
physically, you feel like you are not in your body. you look around and everything seems unreal and looks like it is in a haze, or in a tunnel. you may look in the mirror and not 'see' yourself. it is hard to describe. you have trouble connecting with what is there, what you hear, what you see, what you feel. it is a strange feeling. can be scary.
Posted by moonshadow on July 29, 2009, at 6:49:12
In reply to Re: Dissociate, posted by jouezmoi on July 29, 2009, at 6:40:46
Before I knew the word dissociate, I'd call it 'going fuzzy'. Things look different - fuzzy. Things feel different - muted, softened. It's like I'm not truly awake after a deep deep sleep.
Sometimes it can be very pleasant, like going in a daze, or being slightly drunk. Sometimes, when I go deeper, it is not pleasant, and I hear voices. For me, there are different levels, some shallow, some deep.
When I go really really deep, I can't remember. But most of the time I can.
For me it's a coping mechanism for when strong negative feelings come out.
Posted by rskontos on July 29, 2009, at 14:22:25
In reply to Dissociate, posted by emilyp on July 28, 2009, at 21:51:07
For me, I lose time and I don't know what happens during that time. However, part of me still functions because the other people around don't know that me, the conscious me, isn't aware of what is being said or done. I often come back not knowing what was said or done and that can be scary. I have in the past lost days and even weeks. I have come too in very bad places/situations. So it is not a good thing sometimes. Only rarely now am I still present but unable to control what is being said or done and this to me is the worst. Sometimes I feel like I am floating above my body watching the action and again can't participate. Sometimes I see the world in a tunnel or like a movie or so dissconnected I don't really recognize myself.
I still do this alot. When I go out in public it is almost a given I will dissappear (dissociate) at least once during the time out and sometimes more depending on the situation.
I started a new job this year and would dissociate on the job 4-6 times a day. It was very hard. Then the panic attacks got worse.
They (panic attacks) are still not great.
I hope this clarifies it more.
rsk
I have bought things I don't remember, in high school I would lose entire days at schools only to be given a test back that I had no memory of taking. That happened so many times. Or meeting people I did not remember meeting yet they knew my name and I did not know theirs. So hard to get through one of those encounters without letting on you don't know who the heck you are talking to.
Posted by Dinah on July 29, 2009, at 15:41:32
In reply to Dissociate, posted by emilyp on July 28, 2009, at 21:51:07
Dissociation happens along a continuum. The mildest form is when you drive home without really paying any attention. You might not be able to remember anything at all of the trip home, but suddenly you're there.
Have you ever been in an accident or had a traumatic experience? Sometimes people who have been through something traumatic feel like everything is dreamlike. They might respond to questions, arrange for what needs to be done, and yet later not remember anything at all about that time. They appear normal, but they're totally checked out. It's a pretty normal experience.
If someone experiences long term trauma, or if they have a talent for that form of defense, it can happen more and more frequently, or since it's not under conscious control, at inconvenient times. If it gets to be a problem with a person's functioning, it is considered a disorder.
Furthest along the spectrum would be DID or MPD.
Posted by Sigismund on July 29, 2009, at 16:58:32
In reply to Re: Dissociate, posted by moonshadow on July 29, 2009, at 6:49:12
>Before I knew the word dissociate, I'd call it 'going fuzzy'. Things look different - fuzzy. Things feel different - muted, softened. It's like I'm not truly awake after a deep deep sleep.
Hmmm. Perhaps there's a blurring of boundaries? As a kid I would ask a very old bloke who worked where I grew up stuff like 'What makes fire?' and he was I don't know what and he'd start a very long story which had nothing to do with real fire and I would go all woozy and go inside his words. It was a distinct and real pleasure. That's the good side. Like listening to good music.
I have photos of me when it has been bad and my eyes are interesting....very starey. That's the bad side of it. I'd feel trapped and like I was under water. Quite frightening to lose your freedom of movement like that.
This is the end of the thread.
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