Disassociation
- Thread starter Keesha
- Start date
Capt Lightning
Well-known Member
- Location
- Historic Buchan, Scotland
I used to experience bouts of what I much later discovered was "depersonalisation disorder". My GP had never heard of it and put it down to "stress".
It was hard to explain. I seemed to function normally, but it was as if there was someone else giving me a "running commentary" on what I was doing. As if my mind and body were separate.
Depersonalisation Disorder is the experience of feeling unreal, detached, and often, unable to feel emotion. It is a phenomenon characterised by a disruption in self-awareness and emotional numbness, where many people feel that they are disconnected or estranged from one's self.
It was hard to explain. I seemed to function normally, but it was as if there was someone else giving me a "running commentary" on what I was doing. As if my mind and body were separate.
Depersonalisation Disorder is the experience of feeling unreal, detached, and often, unable to feel emotion. It is a phenomenon characterised by a disruption in self-awareness and emotional numbness, where many people feel that they are disconnected or estranged from one's self.
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Butterfly
SF VIP
- Location
- Albuquerque, New Mexico USA
I felt this way right after I realized my mother was dead. I was her carer and was alone in the house with her. It almost felt like someone else was walking to the phone to call her doctor. He had told me to call him on his private number and let him know and he would take care of the rest, as she was terminally ill.
I still felt that way when the ambulance (and police -- who have to come to a death not in a medical facility) came. I remember having the most absurd urge to laugh when the ambulance guys had trouble getting the gurney with my mother on it around a
corner at the intersection of two hallways. I didn't laugh, of course, but I have very little clear memory of that awful very early morning. It was mothers' day 1981.
I've never experienced anything like that again.
StarSong
Awkward is my Superpower
- Location
- Los Angeles Suburbs
Yes, after the Northridge earthquake hit our area in 1994. We were quite near the epicenter - so much damage, so many aftershocks. I was on autopilot for a couple of days. We took videos of our house that day - or was it the next? - for the insurance company. My voice was flat, my face emotionless, my words sparse and repetitive.
A year later there was a similarly large EQ in Kobe, Japan. When watching those stunned, vacant faces on the news I remembered what that felt like to be behind those eyes - to be so stressed from the trauma that people disconnected emotionally and simply put one foot in front of another until their coping skills kicked back in.
A year later there was a similarly large EQ in Kobe, Japan. When watching those stunned, vacant faces on the news I remembered what that felt like to be behind those eyes - to be so stressed from the trauma that people disconnected emotionally and simply put one foot in front of another until their coping skills kicked back in.
Catlady
Well-known Member
- Location
- Southern AZ
There was a young guy that worked with me. He got to work on a bicycle and had saved for two years to buy a used car. The first day he brought it to work and was very happy, some homeless man got inside it to sleep and set it on fire with a lit cigarette. Robert was laughing his head off when told by the guard. I thought he had gone crazy and someone told me that's how some people react to shock. I felt so bad for him.
EDIT: Forgot to add, he didn't have insurance yet, was planning to get it. So, it was a total loss for him.
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jujube
SF VIP
What used to be called "split personality" and "multiple-personalities" is believed by most psychiatric professionals to be the "subconscious" taking over for the "conscious" when the conscious can't deal with a situation.
I thought split personality was referred more towards schizophrenic disorders whereas multiple personality is known as the mind creating new areas in the brain to protect the survivor but according to resources on the internet, I am wrong.
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Catlady
Well-known Member
- Location
- Southern AZ
RE: multiple personalities, anybody here saw the movie, "Sybil", with 16 personalities? It still haunts me, knowing that it was based on a true story.
Yes I saw that. An interesting but disturbing movie.
I do very much believe the human mind can fragment to protect itself in traumatic situations.
Even the samples members posted seems to indicate that some forms of disassociation happens when the mind is in shock.
Perhaps the more shocked the mind becomes the more it fragments . Maybe these fragmented compartments in the mind create their own personalities that the host can’t recall due to amnesia?
I personally believe most people haven’t unlocked the true potential of the human mind and that our mind(s) are capable of extraordinary things beyond normal comprehension. I find the subject quite fascinating myself.
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The reason I asked this question was because there have been times in my life when I feel like this. It does seem to be a coping mechanism ; where part of the brain goes on autopilot to relieve the shocked part of the brain.
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I’m not really sure what’s going on but lately I’m feeling very unwelcome here. I think I make people uncomfortable with my questions and my ramblings.
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I’m not really sure what’s going on but lately I’m feeling very unwelcome here. I think I make people uncomfortable with my questions and my ramblings.
Yes, I do, I surely do
I call it naps
Sophia Loren never fails in the surreal dept
No worries, baby sister, yer fine
The rest of us? Depends on what day it is
IrisSenior
Senior Member
- Location
- Ontario, Canada
Ah Keesha, if people some people feel uncomfortable with your questions and ramblings then they can just ignore them, right? Don't worry about it, I like you.
Ronni
Well-known Member
- Location
- Nashville TN
Hey @Keesha...you posted this in another thread, the one about plans for 2020 I think it was.
"And finally I’m working on trying to be a better version of me. I’d like to learn to spend less time in my head worrying and do more trusting that the universe always has a better plan than I do."
I'm not trying to be impertinent, but I wonder if your concerns about feeling unwelcome are that thing you do where you spend time in your head worrying. I've not seen anything that, at least from my perspective, could cause you to to feel weird or unwelcome about being here.
Judycat
Well-known Member
- Location
- Pennsylvania
After my husband and daughter died I'd lose small blocks of time. For instance it would take me 3 minutes to walk from the kitchen to the living room. At the most, it takes 10 seconds to get from one room to the other if I walk really slow. I'd lose track of what I was doing as well. I'd remember putting something away and when I'd come back, it would be sitting out again. Therapist said this was dissociation. It still happens once in a while.
There’s a huge difference between a surreal experience and fantasizing. Now, tell the truth, you really meant fantasizing. Right?
I dunno, oldman, my fantasies are sure real to me
CrackerJack
UK England
It is said that many people have an alter ego and I feel many do. I think I have. Do you believe many humans have an alter ego?
Butterfly
SF VIP
- Location
- Albuquerque, New Mexico USA
I think my experience right after my mother's death was shock and the inability to deal with it all of it as once, even though I expected her death at any time.
I think some other part (lizard brain. maybe?) knew that I had to call the doctor, and so I did it. I certainly don't think it was multiple personality disorder.
I think some other part (lizard brain. maybe?) knew that I had to call the doctor, and so I did it. I certainly don't think it was multiple personality disorder.
Just saw this & felt I had to take immediate action:
I am so very comfortable with you. Yes, I find you a bit quirky, but that is what I like the most. You have a personality that definitely appeals to me and I always welcome the chance to see what you have to say. As much as I can like someone in a forum situation without personally knowing you, I certainly like you. Would love to smoke or eat pot with you, too!
You're not making me uncomfortable. I've been through the wringer with depression, anxiety, and PTSD, to name a few. I've seen a lot of doctors and therapists for it. You are SO not alone in this.