[Lilfae]

I dissociate in several different ways, but I wonder if this also is dissociation:

Especially at night, before going to sleep, in the dark, it would feel like everything both inside me and out was moving very fast and very slow at the same time. The fast movements feel sort of like when you lift a carton of milk that you think is full, and it's almost empty, so it goes up very fast. It's also accompanied by a feeling that everything is _very_ obvious in a sort of creepy way. The slow movements feel like everything is moving through something thicker than air, like water or something. And all of this would happen simultaneously. I couldn't stop it myself, no matter what I tried, it had to stop by itself, and it felt very creepy.

I have asked both my current therapist and others about it, but noone seems to know what it is. But it has to be _something_, cause my sister used to have the exact same thing. I experienced this regularly, and quite often, from as far back as I can remember, and until in my early twenties.

The reason I ask this is because I'm thinking it must mean that I had some kind of troubles from a very young age. Or can you dissociate (if this is indeed dissociation) even if everything in your life is just fine? I know I was living with emotional neglect from about 11 years old, but I think it might have started way before that, I just can't remember. I know my mother became seriously depressed shortly after I was born (not postpartum, but because of trauma), and I imagine that she may have been neglecting me because of it. And I can't talk to my parents about it, cause they just deny everything.

[Skeezyks]

Hello Lilfae: I see this is your first post here on PC. So... welcome to PsychCentral! I hope you find PC to be of benefit.

I'm sorry but, like your therapist & others you have asked about this, I don't know what the experience you describe is either. You asked if this is dissociation. It doesn't sound anything like what I understand dissociation to be. But then I'm certainly no expert on that subject either. However here are 2 articles, from Psych Central's archives, one that provides a definition of dissociation & the other that attempts to describe what each type of dissociation feels like:

https://psychcentral.com/encyclopedia/dissociation/

https://blogs.psychcentral.com/couns...bed-in-a-poem/

The one experience I can share that is perhaps at least slightly similar to what you've experienced is that many years ago, when I would be in bed, I would feel as though my "consciousness" was floating up around the top of my head, if that makes any sense. Way back then, I was into occult sorts of stuff. (That stuff was popular when I was young.) And I thought what I was experiencing was my "soul" trying to leave my body... sort of an astral travel sort of thing. And it always galled me that I could never actually leave my body. Of course, nowadays I realize what I was experiencing was simply the effects of the high levels of unrelenting anxiety I lived with day-in & day-out. Perhaps what you're experiencing is something similar?

The other thing I have come across in the past is with regard to feeling very big or very small. I've had this type of experience as well. For some reason I would suddenly have the experience of feeling very big or very tall, or conversely of feeling very small. I never knew why this happened. But I recall reading somewhere, quite a few years ago now, that this is an experience many people have & that there's no known explanation for why it occurs . It's simply one of those oddities of the way the human brain works. So I suppose what you experience could be something such as that too?

There is a forum, here on PC, dedicated to sleep & dream interpretation issues. That might be another place to post about what you've experienced. Here's a link:

https://forums.psychcentral.com/slee...nterpretation/

My best wishes to you...

Originally Posted by Lilfae

I dissociate in several different ways, but I wonder if this also is dissociation:

Especially at night, before going to sleep, in the dark, it would feel like everything both inside me and out was moving very fast and very slow at the same time. The fast movements feel sort of like when you lift a carton of milk that you think is full, and it's almost empty, so it goes up very fast. It's also accompanied by a feeling that everything is _very_ obvious in a sort of creepy way. The slow movements feel like everything is moving through something thicker than air, like water or something. And all of this would happen simultaneously. I couldn't stop it myself, no matter what I tried, it had to stop by itself, and it felt very creepy.

I have asked both my current therapist and others about it, but noone seems to know what it is. But it has to be _something_, cause my sister used to have the exact same thing. I experienced this regularly, and quite often, from as far back as I can remember, and until in my early twenties.

The reason I ask this is because I'm thinking it must mean that I had some kind of troubles from a very young age. Or can you dissociate (if this is indeed dissociation) even if everything in your life is just fine? I know I was living with emotional neglect from about 11 years old, but I think it might have started way before that, I just can't remember. I know my mother became seriously depressed shortly after I was born (not postpartum, but because of trauma), and I imagine that she may have been neglecting me because of it. And I can't talk to my parents about it, cause they just deny everything.

Hi Lilfae...welcome to PC!

Is that dissociation? When I dissociate...my mind goes blank and I go into a daze.

When I go to bed and I feel that falling feeling- I always assumed that I was quickly falling asleep being that this feeling only happens when I’m very tired.

Have you tried talking to a medical doctor? Can it be an ear/balance thing?

Might be genetic because your sister had it, too.

Your better off talking to your pdoc and md over this one.

[Lilfae]

Thanks a lot, both of you, both for welcoming me and for your input! ☺️ It means a lot to me! 💐 I haven't experienced this in several years so I don't think a medical doctor could help me much. But I came to think of it like my concience split in two parts, where as one experienced this and the other wanted it to stop, but not being able to control it. As if part of my mind had been hijacked and doing its own thing, rather than the body and the mind splitting up, like with (normal) dissociation. It was a very intrucive experience.

[amandalouise]

Originally Posted by Lilfae

I dissociate in several different ways, but I wonder if this also is dissociation:

Especially at night, before going to sleep, in the dark, it would feel like everything both inside me and out was moving very fast and very slow at the same time. The fast movements feel sort of like when you lift a carton of milk that you think is full, and it's almost empty, so it goes up very fast. It's also accompanied by a feeling that everything is _very_ obvious in a sort of creepy way. The slow movements feel like everything is moving through something thicker than air, like water or something. And all of this would happen simultaneously. I couldn't stop it myself, no matter what I tried, it had to stop by itself, and it felt very creepy.

I have asked both my current therapist and others about it, but noone seems to know what it is. But it has to be _something_, cause my sister used to have the exact same thing. I experienced this regularly, and quite often, from as far back as I can remember, and until in my early twenties.

The reason I ask this is because I'm thinking it must mean that I had some kind of troubles from a very young age. Or can you dissociate (if this is indeed dissociation) even if everything in your life is just fine? I know I was living with emotional neglect from about 11 years old, but I think it might have started way before that, I just can't remember. I know my mother became seriously depressed shortly after I was born (not postpartum, but because of trauma), and I imagine that she may have been neglecting me because of it. And I can't talk to my parents about it, cause they just deny everything.

Im sorry but we cant tell you whether this is dissociation........in you......

all we can do is tell you whether our own treatment providers call this dissociation in ourselves. in other words we dont diagnose each others problems...

in.........me........ no this is not dissociation.
in .........me....... this is the normal sleep pattern. in me its called sleep jerks, hypnotic jerks. and deep relaxation.

how it works in me is my body and mind dont always fall asleep at the same time. my brain tells my body its time to sleep and releases the night time brain and body chemicals. this causes the human body to feel relaxed but sometimes my mind perceives this as a sense of falling. or a dizzy like Im moving or falling sensation.

what helps me is medications.

my suggestion is contact your medical doctor. they will be able to tell you if this is dissociation in you or if its the normal brains process of preparig for sleep or any other problems that this can be (if you google this kind of thing you will find that there are literally millions upon millions of things this problem can be, what its called in each person depends on their own physical mental health, the meds, drugs or alcohol they use, what their mental and physical diagnosis's are, their life style... gosh so much goes into what things like this can be .....)