[joshuas-mommy]

Sometimes I forget things and cannot remember them until another time. The things I forget have to do with me being abused. It started to really bad when people were coming into my house a few years ago. I would not remember getting in my car or driving a distance. I would just 'wake up' driving around. I even forgot I had a son since I experienced much trauma involving my son. Is this dissociation?

[amandalouise]

Originally Posted by joshuas-mommy

Sometimes I forget things and cannot remember them until another time. The things I forget have to do with me being abused. It started to really bad when people were coming into my house a few years ago. I would not remember getting in my car or driving a distance. I would just 'wake up' driving around. I even forgot I had a son since I experienced much trauma involving my son. Is this dissociation?

if you were here in my location no this would not be dissociation. even normal people forget things sometimes. forgetting who your children or family is here in my location is called Alzheimer's (a physical health condition that causes people to forget who they are, forget where they are going, what they are doing and people in their lives.)

short version with dissociative disorders reality testing remains intact. what that means is people who dissociate dont lose touch with things like who their family is.

that said there is a type of dissociation that includes amnesia symptoms but its not localized to a persons children or family. its localized to the trauma. if a person with this forgets who their children are they also forget everything related to their children and the trauma.

an example would be having a child and not recognize them, not recognize the childs teachers, school, bedroom, toys, childs clothing, not remembering the trauma that caused the amnesia, short version they would be living as if their child, childs things, childs bedroom everything does not exist.

another example a person with dissociative amnesia wouldnt be asking about forgetting their child because they would not be aware that their child exists. kind of a catch 22 you cant write about something you dont know exists. the memory problems with Dissociation are a very special kind.

you have posted before about your child so that right there says you can relax you dont have dissociative amnesia.

but if you are concerned about this my suggestion is talk with your treatment providers. they can explain to you why sometimes you remember your child (evidenced by your past posts about your child) and why sometimes you dont remember your child. the solution may be as simple as adjusting your schizophrenia medications. (medications can cause this kind of thing to happen)

Could be sounds like it. Are you receiving therapy for the trauma?

[kecanoe]

Could be dissociation. People without dissociative disorders dissociate sometimes, I've read that it frequently happens while driving. Unfortunately dissociation as a symptom is hard to treat. Learning to ground yourself might help. And it could be meds. I would definitely mention it to pdoc.

[joshuas-mommy]

Originally Posted by amandalouise

if you were here in my location no this would not be dissociation. even normal people forget things sometimes. forgetting who your children or family is here in my location is called Alzheimer's (a physical health condition that causes people to forget who they are, forget where they are going, what they are doing and people in their lives.)

short version with dissociative disorders reality testing remains intact. what that means is people who dissociate dont lose touch with things like who their family is.

that said there is a type of dissociation that includes amnesia symptoms but its not localized to a persons children or family. its localized to the trauma. if a person with this forgets who their children are they also forget everything related to their children and the trauma.

an example would be having a child and not recognize them, not recognize the childs teachers, school, bedroom, toys, childs clothing, not remembering the trauma that caused the amnesia, short version they would be living as if their child, childs things, childs bedroom everything does not exist.

another example a person with dissociative amnesia wouldnt be asking about forgetting their child because they would not be aware that their child exists. kind of a catch 22 you cant write about something you dont know exists. the memory problems with Dissociation are a very special kind.

you have posted before about your child so that right there says you can relax you dont have dissociative amnesia.

but if you are concerned about this my suggestion is talk with your treatment providers. they can explain to you why sometimes you remember your child (evidenced by your past posts about your child) and why sometimes you dont remember your child. the solution may be as simple as adjusting your schizophrenia medications. (medications can cause this kind of thing to happen)

I have had other incidents of amnesia. I forgot about 5 years of my life including that I gave birth to a baby boy. I didn't recognize his bedroom and I thought I was renting my apartment with another person. I thought my son's toys were my roommates child. I didn't recognize my apartment or where I was living. I thought I was residing in a warm area like I used to live. I looked outside, saw it was cold outside, and became confused. I saw a photo of my son and me. After a little while I remembered I had a son. But, then I began having other incidents I wasn't sure if it was classified as dissociation.

[amandalouise]

Originally Posted by joshuas-mommy

I have had other incidents of amnesia. I forgot about 5 years of my life including that I gave birth to a baby boy. I didn't recognize his bedroom and I thought I was renting my apartment with another person. I thought my son's toys were my roommates child. I didn't recognize my apartment or where I was living. I thought I was residing in a warm area like I used to live. I looked outside, saw it was cold outside, and became confused. I saw a photo of my son and me. After a little while I remembered I had a son. But, then I began having other incidents I wasn't sure if it was classified as dissociation.

i went back and checked your past posts. you stated you were diagnosed with schizophrenia. this mental disorder one of the symptoms is psychosis (delusions, hallucinations, delusional thoughts) sometimes people with schizophrenia can have the delusion that they do not have a child, and that delusion\denial can be so strong as to cause the type of memory problems you are having, my suggestion is contact your treatment providers, they can explain to you why you are not diagnosed with dissociative disorders but are diagnosed with schizophrenia and how the memory problems you are having fits in with this. they can help you with ways to stay grounded in reality where your son is concerned. just a thought here to consider. i know the courts removing your child and you not having visitation is a trigger for you but Im wondering if this memory problem of forgetting you have a son may play a part in why the courts have removed him from your care. reason I bring this up is that maybe if you talk with your treatment providers and get this memory problem under control where you dont forget you have a son (which means you will be able to care for him since you remember he exists) that the courts and the childs father will allow you to visit and care for your child again. just something to consider and may help make this situation easier for you.

[finding_my_way]

i have experienced various types and degrees of dissociation. years worth of things were fuzzy for me or i'd get things confused thinking something happened say a year or two ago when it was several years ago.

or i had an incident when highly dissociated where i was with family and they seemed like strangers to me yet part of me knew they were not.

so, i think that people can experience dissociative symptoms in various ways.

i also had times where i was so far in that i barely recognized things around me because things were so fuzzy yet knew it existed on some level.

but my sense of reality varies, so i think people can experience a wide range of things, and it won't be same for each person.

i thought the whole reason for dissociation was to create a protective barrier as a coping mechanism which can distort your sense of self, disconnect you from your self/body/emotions, etc. as well as distort/alter your sense of reality (like in derealization when the world around you seems like it's a dream/not real, etc.)

[amandalouise]

Originally Posted by finding_my_way

i have experienced various types and degrees of dissociation. years worth of things were fuzzy for me or i'd get things confused thinking something happened say a year or two ago when it was several years ago.

or i had an incident when highly dissociated where i was with family and they seemed like strangers to me yet part of me knew they were not.

so, i think that people can experience dissociative symptoms in various ways.

i also had times where i was so far in that i barely recognized things around me because things were so fuzzy yet knew it existed on some level.

but my sense of reality varies, so i think people can experience a wide range of things, and it won't be same for each person.

i thought the whole reason for dissociation was to create a protective barrier as a coping mechanism which can distort your sense of self, disconnect you from your self/body/emotions, etc. as well as distort/alter your sense of reality (like in derealization when the world around you seems like it's a dream/not real, etc.)

I see you are in canada. here in america in 2013 we switched over to a new standard of diagnostics. one of the diagnostics now in place with dissociative disorders is that reality testing remains intact. that means people who have dissociative problems may ..... feel...these things but reality wise they know what is real and what isnt. they know in reality they have children and who their children are (using the purpose of this thread is focusing on the original poster sometimes does not remember their child exists as an example here)

example one of my depersonalization derealization symptoms is feeling like Im not a part of what is going on with my children. I know they exist, I know they are sitting right here in the room with me, I know that the room upstairs is their bedroom and its their toys over there. I just .....feel ....distanced, disconnected from them. the reality is intact but the dissociative symptoms are there.

here in america any symptoms that reflect losing touch with reality is now no longer part of dissociative disorders, it is part of mental disorders that include psychosis and medical health problems but no longer part of dissociative disorders since 2013.

your location (canada) may go by different standards. the standards of reality testing remains intact is just what america now goes by for diagnosing mental disorders. you can contact your own treatment providers who can tell you what the diagnostics for dissociation and dissociative disorders are in your location.

[Shaly78]

Quite possibly, dissociation defined started with something we all do and it uses driving...I wonder why the driving analog? Consult your therapist you might be on to something with what you are describing. Journaling is helpful so that you can report everything in session, plus it also helps to bring it closer so that your therapist see those symptoms. That way they know if you have dissociation as a symptom or some type of dissociative disorder. What you described sounds correct.

[Shaly78]

Forgetting all of some of the trip...Those definition, huh , your quite the stickler.....What does it mean, how to get back home to the destination how many lights you passed or what ....What sign said what.. How much time eplased who changed the radio, what?. What does that truly mean? NOt to thread hijack just real particular stuff I wonder about.

[joshuas-mommy]

Originally Posted by newday7121

Forgetting all of some of the trip...Those definition, huh , your quite the stickler.....What does it mean, how to get back home to the destination how many lights you passed or what ....What sign said what.. How much time eplased who changed the radio, what?. What does that truly mean? NOt to thread hijack just real particular stuff I wonder about.

I don't remember but sometimes I forgot where I was driving to and just went home. One time, I thought I was around 19 and was living at my mother's house. On my way to my mother's house, I remembered where I lived.

[joshuas-mommy]

The reason I was wondering this stuff is because I feel confused a lot and have trouble making sense out of things. I think I am currently having problems with dissociation. For example, I sometimes forget about what I have been through and sometimes I remember. I was just wondering if I have a dissociative disorder.

[amandalouise]

Originally Posted by joshuas-mommy

The reason I was wondering this stuff is because I feel confused a lot and have trouble making sense out of things. I think I am currently having problems with dissociation. For example, I sometimes forget about what I have been through and sometimes I remember. I was just wondering if I have a dissociative disorder.

Im sorry but we can not tell you whether you have a dissociative disorder. only your treatment providers can do that and your past posts state you have recently went through an evaluation and they diagnosed your problems as being schizophrenia. if you dont agree with their diagnosis you will need to contact them and ask them for another new evaluation\testing..

Originally Posted by joshuas-mommy

The reason I was wondering this stuff is because I feel confused a lot and have trouble making sense out of things. I think I am currently having problems with dissociation. For example, I sometimes forget about what I have been through and sometimes I remember. I was just wondering if I have a dissociative disorder.

Say hon, it's possible....only a T can tell you. She'd have to listen to your life's story and observe you.

Everyone dissociates like daydreaming, foggy mindedness, hiway hypnosis...but to have one that's inside triggered from trauma can be debilitating. Even thinking about it can be a trigger.

If you feel that it's become a burdensome on your life, then it is a problem. Please consult your health care providers. Good luck!