Traumatic Experiences Community Daily Check-in Friday1 September 2017
Good morning! Today is Friday! Welcome everyone I'm glade you're here. Today I'd like to focus on 3 sensations we experience due to our traumas. They are Depersonalization, Derealization and Dissociation .
As a trauma survivor you may have experienced Depersonalization. It's a sensation of feeling outside of your body. Wikipedia writes that Depersonalization can consist of a detachment within the self regarding one's mind or body, or being a detached observer of oneself. Subjects may feel as if they have changed and that the world has become vague, dream like, less real, or lacking in significance
In the definition from Wikipedia, Derealization can be experienced differently by different people. Derealization is a subjective experience of unreality of the outside world. Some people describe it as a fuzzy state where details of the environment may seem hazy or detached.
Furthermore, Wikipedia writes Dissociation is a mental process of disconnecting from one's thoughts, feelings, memories or sense of identity. A feeling of detachment and emotional and physically checking out, occurs. Some people use dissociation as a coping tool to keep themselves safe.
Nevertheless, Depersonalization can be seen as a detached observer of one's self. But,
Derealization deals with the unreality of the outside world. Dissociation on the other hand is a mental process of disconnecting from all thoughts, emotions and memories. While researching I came across sensations that are hardly talked about. I hope you found this helpful.
1.Have you ever felt like you were looking in on yourself? Watching your life as a movie?
2.What did your experience feel like?
3.When did you find it helpful? When was
it harmful?
. 4.Have you ever experienced a panic attack and everything goes blurry?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Depersonalization
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derealization
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dissociation_(psychology)
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1.Have you ever felt like you were looking in on yourself? Watching your life as a movie? Yes, more than once, but not lately.
2.What did your experience feel like? I lost time, felt disembodied, and / or disassociated.
3.When did you find it helpful? When was it harmful? It was helpful when it was profecting me from the worst of the abuse, but I feel that it stopped being as helpful when it started happened when I was having flashbacks. Is is a self-mechamism though, so in some ways I am glad for it.
. 4.Have you ever experienced a panic attack and everything goes blurry? Yes, I've had lots of panic attacks. Mostly when younger. I found that this area is one that I was able to learn techniques to stop / reduce the severite of the symtomes, which is good to know.
@sweetMelody95 I'm very sorry to hear about your struggles. I would agree with you that dissociation can helpful at a time but then it can become more of a burden. I'm glade your able to use coping techniques to stop them or try. Which coping strategie works best for you?
@SoftForestHSP77 The two main stragagies I used that helped were: having an object I carried on me that was given to me by a friend. I use to touch it as a reminder that I'm no longer in the past, but here and safe in the present (since I didn't know that person then); I also found that by calling my best friend (who was also not someone I knew during the time of my trauma) it helped to ground me because his voice always felt safe and reassuring. It took time, but eventually I started to learn to do it on my own without the use of props or other people (although that took me years and I still sometimes use those meathods.
@SoftForestHSP77
Sometimes I'm scared of people fearing that they may harm me.. I just wanted to share that feeling :/ is it bad i did it here?
I'm sorry but hi
@sensitiveShade5337
That's not a bad thing to share at all! I'm sure plenty of people in here can relate, I know I can! 🙂
@BeeLeigh
but is this place the wrong one to share?
@sensitiveShade5337
Nope! This is for you to express how you're feeling, how your day's going, whatever's on your mind. If that's what's on your mind, then share away! 😊
@BeeLeigh
yeah just wanted to share that feeling :(
@sensitiveShade5337
That's a tough feeling Shade. The important thing to remember is that there are a lot of genuinely good people out there ❤️
@sensitiveShade5337
*hugs* Shade so sorry you feel that way! <3 <3 <3 Come hide in my blanket fort babe, we'll fight the nasty people off with pitch forks or something :) *snuggle*
p.s. Just because people have been out to get you before, doesn't mean you are in danger any more hun <3 :) You are here and now and (hope) you are not in any danger <3
1. Have you ever felt like you were looking in on yourself? Watching your life as a movie?
Yes, but that was because of a medication.
2. What did your experience feel like?
Exactly like watching a movie. Like my life was happening, but I wasn't a part of it.
3. When did you find it helpful? When was it harmful?
That only happened because of a medication. My mom said that was the happiest she'd seen me in a long time, but it wasn't me. I do dissociate though. Not intentionally. And not often. Really just in crisis situations. I just...go away, and then I have no memory of what happened. But I can also shut off my emotions. It's not the same at all, and I do remember those situations. It's mostly when I need to care for someone else when I'm not doing well. Like my brain just flips a switch and I go into "carer" mode.
4. Have you ever experienced a panic attack and everything goes blurry?
Yes.
@SoftForestHSP77
1.Have you ever felt like you were looking in on yourself? Watching your life as a movie?
I have this a lot, I would say multiple times a week, to multiple times a day.
2.What did your experience feel like?
I always explain it as though I am in a bubble 30s behind reality, I in a delay watch what is happening with little to no control over what is happening and what I am doing. Sometimes its like I am floating in the corner of the room.
3.When did you find it helpful? When was it harmful?
Yes, it saved my life I am sure of it. It let me not be there, it let me process what was happening rationally without being emotionally involved, even if my brain was very slow at times. It helped me protect myself, and my sanity.
It is bad for me more now, I dissociate when I don't want to, like at work, or walking to the subway, or getting out of bed, or in the shower - list goes on. I find I can't talk to people, or lose time. It can be really frustrating when you cannot communicate. Makes me feel helpless.
4.Have you ever experienced a panic attack and everything goes blurry?
I know I dissociate in panic attacks lol, its like a key thing for me ahaha. If I get ill, if I panic, if I have a flashback, if I am triggered. my brain likes to dissociate and I have anxiety and panic disorder.
On the topic, I was walking to the station this morning and I normally read, looked up at the subway, and didn't recognise where I was, completely freaked out and then realised it was the same station I go to every day. Really freaks me out that this stuff happens. Hard to feel safe on your own when you sometimes don't even regcognise stuff you know well lol.
