Coping with Dissociation
@CatListener again Thank you for this post ❤❤ thread are tips for panic attacks, right?? Cause when I dissociate, I just stare blankly go to another place in my mind, and my carers have to bring me back to this world by repeating my name and touching my shoulder. It's not nice cause I don't know what's happening
@Tinywhisper11 Dissociation can affect someone’s perception, consciousness, memory, identity, and even motor control. It exists on a spectrum, with experiences ranging from mild dissociation like zoning out to more severe disorders like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and dissociative identity disorder (DID). Canvas explains it pretty good HERE
@mytwistedsoul thanks soul ❤ I read the post, I'm not sure which one it is, I'm not aware of it happening🙁 but I will bring it up with my psychiatrist🙂 thanks sweetie ❤
@Tinywhisper11 You're welcome. I don't always know when it's happening either. It's not something you can really figure out on your own so I'm glad you have your therapist to talk to about it and your carers are aware of it too ❤️
@Tinywhisper11 I'm very sorry to hear that. Very tough. That is a bit more than dissociation, seems like worse. I'm glad you are here and seeking support. Sending hugs!
@CatListener yeah it's a weird one. I'm awaiting another appointment, I got a new psychiatrist who wants to do a new diagnosis, cause he thinks there's a few extra issues to diagnose. But I'll be ok ❤ ❤
i also learned an additional variation on the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding method, when i'm having intense flashbacks, or my SI is overwhelmingly high, i picture a "safe place" (for me i picture the redwood forest i used to go camping in when i was growing up) and keep dragging my mind back to visualizing myself being there and doing the 5-4-3-2-1 with the safe place and it can really calm me down sometimes. ex. I can See the trees, the sky peaking through, the clover on the ground, the flowers, and banana slugs lol I can Touch the cold stone of the fire pit, the cold lumber of the picnic table, the soft bark of the tree, and the fabric of the camping chairs I can Hear the crunch of stepping on sticks, the crack of the fire, and the birds chattering I can Smell the good campfire smell and the crisp wood of the forest And I can Taste the salt from the Pacific nearby It doesn't work every time, and sometimes I have to do it repeatedly, but it can help break the cycle of the thoughts sometimes
@SummerOfCA omg i missed/forgot that this is a post for dealing with dissociation and thought it was for dealing with ptsd, i'm so sorry, this probably doesn't help much. is there a way to delete responses? (sorry i'm new)
@SummerOfCA Grounding methods are helpful with a lot of things :) I'm sorry you deal with intense flashbacks. You did great sharing here. I loved how descriptive your visualization is!