Question:
Kristine, I have only disassociated a few times since PTSD hit me. It is quite frightening but its a survival mode skill, our mind switches off to ‘protect’ you. On another level I experienced severe sea sickness last week when I went out deep sea fishing- real rough seas. After several hours my mind switched off and I almost collapsed to the ground. I was there in body, I could hear all that was said but I couldn’t move therefore I couldn’t be sick anymore. I was ‘woken’ as we entered the harbour. For three days I was ’sea sick’ following this trip. This is my first sea trip since I was injured and I had never experienced this response to being sick at sea before. Am I more susceptible to disassociating now I have PTSD? I am wondering??? I used to go out on small craft and trawlers for years without this response so it is new. Cheers Barb
Response:
Hi Barb! > I have only disassociated a few times since PTSD hit me. It is quite
frightening but its a > survival mode skill, our mind switches off to ‘protect’ you.
Some folks call this an Oobe (pronounced similarly to Doobie brothers) which stands for an Out of Body Experience. There was apparently some study of this phenomenon in the 1960s for its military applications. On another ISP about 10 years ago I encountered a group of folks trying to induce Oobes in themselves. They sent me right over the edge. :/ I was terrified that they would hurt themselves. They were unconcerned, and indeed jealous that I had not worked to induce my own Oobes … they come naturally. Anyway, I’ve learned that for me an Oobe comes without any direct connection to what I am doing at the time. My first one was under a hair dryer in a beauty shop. I’ve been under a lot of hair dryers since and not had the same reaction. 
The Oobe seems to come at a time when I am in complete overload and not paying attention to what is bothering my inner voice. With my anti-anxiety meds I now seem to stop with hallucinations, and don’t go to the next step of Oobes. :/ YMMV Smile and there will be something to smile about! Nancy
Response:
Nancy <ki…@cris.com> wrote in message
news:94v27v$604@dispatch.concentric.net… > Hi Kris! > > I just lost touch with the room, what therapist was > > saying and all that. My mind was answering the question to what the dream > > meant and my mind was giving me an answer all the while I felt > disconnected and > > didn’t hear a word he said no matter how hard I tried. > It’s OK. Now that your therapist has watched it happen in his office, he > will be able to help you find another solution for dealing with the pain > which causes it. > You may find that you do this often in ‘real life’ too, as a survival > mechanism;
It is indeed, in fact I saw a documentary called ‘glass jungle’ it said that the bigger the city, the faster people move and walk, it is a known fact. Also, according to the program and research, the term you call ‘dissociation’ is something people do regularly in big cities they keep their faces blank and look down, rarely moving thei head from side to side. Also much of the noise and activity around becomes un-noticed, the doco said it is a natural survival mechanism to protect the brain from overload and minmise the adrenalin surge, interesting programme and very relevant ! > I did and wasn’t even aware of it. Retraining your brain is what > the therapy is all about. > One of the reasons that I’ve spent so much time in therapy is that I could > do this at the drop of a hat!
That is bad? ? Morine
Response:
>> One of the reasons that I’ve spent so much time in therapy is that I could >> do this at the drop of a hat! >That is bad?
for some of us, yes. it was a great survival mechanism when we were children but as adults it can be not only extremely disruptive to life but dangerous. imagine dissociating and losing weeks at a time and haveing no memory of the time whatsoever. dissociating and finding yourself in another town and having no clue how you got there. it can be great if it is under control and can be useful but if it isn’t-it can be deadly.
Response:
During one of my setbacks I had a dissociation experience. Hated it, but apparently it is not unheard of with PTSD. Just an extension of the avoidance. Richard
Response:
Richard, Gary, Jeannie and others that responded, thank you. Its progress for me I believe. I’ve been avoiding ALL of it for so long and this new therapist being different and working in my subconscious through dreams is seemingly very effective. I also had a couple phone calls with my father, the rapist and abuser. They were innocuous and related only to the situation my sister was in and needing help. I had no anxiety attacks or anything while talking to him. I felt in control and more powerful, actually. I called him George (which is what I always call him). He was taken aback, but screw him. LOL I think that may have had something to do with the step of dissociation after a lifetime of blocking memories and avoidance. Now while I was helping sis I had one dream I remembered. I was there for HER you know? Since I’ve been home I’ve been awakened by hubby dreaming every night and frequently. This is progress and I feel good about it. For now I suppose. I know that the rollercoaster goes up and down. Celebrate with me while I am up =) Kristine
Response:
BaliKris <balik…@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20010128115705.23065.00001224@ng-bh1.aol.com… > I know that the rollercoaster goes up and down. Celebrate with me > while I am up =)
Congrats! Margaret
Response:
Celeste wrote: > It was like reality was sitting right next to me and was
saying "Oh, you think your Ok, Just wait till you uncover whats inside you, your F*cked up girl". Sadly I stopped going a little bit after that because of money problems.>> I can relate to both of these things Celeste. Just when I think I can avoid it all (the uncovered horrors) it is there. I was messed with from such an early age that I wonder if it is possible to BE what I was meant to be. I’ve given that up though. I am who I am now and with therapy and meds I am better. And better yet in years to come. Uncovering whats inside is what kept me numbed and cut off. Scabs hurt when they are torn off, but gently eased off and falling off scabs from the subconscious (where the memories always remain) is so much preferrable huh? I had money problems that kept me from therapy and myself keeping me out was a way of avoiding the horror. I found myself leaving a therapist when it got too uncomfortable. I will not do that this time. Somehow its made a difference. I think I can survive what may come. With the loving support of my family I need to. For me and them. Best wishes to you in seeking therapy again and I hope you find comfort in the places you have (here on the ng sometimes too =) Kristine
Response:
Kristine, >Thanks for input…somehow the "dissociative" feeling was okay and felt >protective or something.
Remember that the DSMV Criteria for PTSD inlude three major "features". "Re-Experiencing", "Increased Arousal" and "AVOIDANCE" (Upper Case and Quotes, mine). The symptoms noted regarding avoidance include "efforts to avoid thoughts, feelings, or conversations associated with the trauma". Could this be the case with the dissociation you mentioned? I too have had similiar events happen while in therapy. Just a thought. Gary
Response:
Hi Kris! > I just lost touch with the room, what therapist was > saying and all that. My mind was answering the question to what the dream > meant and my mind was giving me an answer all the while I felt disconnected and > didn’t hear a word he said no matter how hard I tried.
It’s OK. Now that your therapist has watched it happen in his office, he will be able to help you find another solution for dealing with the pain which causes it. You may find that you do this often in ‘real life’ too, as a survival mechanism; I did and wasn’t even aware of it. Retraining your brain is what the therapy is all about. One of the reasons that I’ve spent so much time in therapy is that I could do this at the drop of a hat! My therapist spent a lot of time walking the thin line of memories without my dissociating. It’s a tricky walk in a therapy session and requires a lot of patience on both sides. There was many a time that she would suddenly turn the conversation a different way to catch me before I headed into the ozone. When she didn’t catch me, "What are you thinking about, Nancy" was the mantra after I had gone into the ozone for 5 minutes or so. :/ This is one of my symptoms that I cannot ’see’. I apparently used it in ‘real life’ for survival for so long that it became an ingrained habit. The result of losing the symptom is lots more awareness, which also sucks. YMMV Smile and there will be something to smile about! Nancy
Response:
Hi Kristine – I dissociate in therapy from time to time, and I know what you mean – I can’t hear what my therapist is saying, and it feels like she’s not even real, or maybe surreal and far away. That seems to happen when I have recently bumped into a trigger, and the concrete memory would tip the scales and be too much to handle…eg this past week, a good friend of mine died suddenly, which relates closely to one cause of my ptsd…when I started talking about the recent death, a vivid memory of the former death started to take form, and suddenly I couldn’t hear anything and felt miles away from where I was…it was like being in a vacuum. I guess it was okay, though, as you say….maybe because I do know what I’m protecting myself from now, and I can see how large the emotional load would be if it all fell in at once. I’ve also had it happen when I talk about the abusive memories, too. The worst is the disconnectedness, it feels like I’m losing everything and everyone all at once. Hannah Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
Response:
This was a first for me, sitting in therapy discussing a dream and its subconscious meaning when I just lost touch with the room, what therapist was saying and all that. My mind was answering the question to what the dream meant and my mind was giving me an answer all the while I felt disconnected and didn’t hear a word he said no matter how hard I tried. I’ve not had a dissociative diagnosis fortunately, but I’m wondering if others have had a similar experience in therapy or other times when you are remembering the past or making connections about things that reveal some past abuse. That’s what the remembering was. It was okay though and I have been a little subdued about it since then…but not thrown like I was when I initially recalled/allowed myself to recall the sexual abuse. Thanks for input…somehow the "dissociative" feeling was okay and felt protective or something. Kristine
Response:
Hello, And yeas, I too have went through the dissasociation. For me though, it is something I have done for nearly all my life, but when I began drinking and drugging at age 14, it did not seem to bother me as bad. Now that I am not drinking and seeing a therapist to work through my abuse–I have experienced several several times of dissassociating. My therapist tells me it is a survival mechanism and when something comes up to where I am not able to deal with it, that is what I do–split off from myself–so to say. I would say according to your post since you were talking about the abuse, perhaps that is what triggered it and you dissassociated. I am no therapist though, just sharing with you what my therapist has told me. Hope you the best, jeannie
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