Trying to understand...

I have been dissociating for years, and I've never hidden it from anybody (like drs and nurses and t's), but I have never thought anything of it til last week when I was with my t. We were getting into really difficult stuff, and I was aware that I had dissociated but didn't admit that to her- although she seemed to be quite aware of it. I found it really hard 'coming back' afterwards. I talked to my psych nurse about it today and she gave me a bit of info about dissociation and 'grounding'. But I know nothing about any of this, and don't really understand it. I read the info that January has pinned on the board, and even took the test in the link, and it said that "Your score falls in the range of Severe Depersonalization". I have never even heard of this before. Can someone explain it, and anything else relevant (!!) to me please? When I next see my nurse we are going to talk about all of this much more. Thanks.

mmmmmmmmm... i would suggest finding any books you can on the subject. i do a lot of reading on this stuff. but it is hard to explain... i'll also switch if i try and i need to stay grounded so i can get back to work.
Hope you can find some info - there's a lot out there, also on the net.
Kiya

thanks for the suggestion kiya. See, that's the thing, there are NO alters, just the dissociation. I never even considered it any more than 'a coping mechanism' til yesterday when my nurse gave me the grounding info and talked to me about it briefly. Have to wait for at least a couple of weeks before I next see her though- I'm away at the weekend for 1-2 wks with my daughter.

Hi, and welcome.

I know how all of this can be sooo confusing. There are some good resources online to look for info via searching PC.

Here are some good resources to being reading about depersonalization (a specific type of dissociation) to see if you feel it "fits": http://psychcentral.com/search/index...hits=10&Rank=1

Depersonalization can be a diagnosis of its own or can be a secondary symptom to another anxiety or dissociative disorder.

I would talk further with your therapist about your dissociation to see if she can help you with your questions as well.

Also, we're here for you.

kd

thanks kd. I will try out the link when the kids are in bed

Wow, I've done a lot of reading, and am now going to mull it over (it's kinda scary reading about 'yourself!) and discuss it with my nurse when I see her next (which won't be for 2 weeks at least...I go away tomorrow). I've never considered it any more than a coping strategy before, and will probably keep viewing it as this unless the 'symptoms' change...
But thanks again for the links

Yes, knowledge is power, but we have to make sure we're applying it to self appropriately and understanding how it applies.

I'm very glad you're going to discuss what you've read with your nurse!

You might even want to print out this thread and show it to her, or show her on the computer and read the resources and information with her? I did that several times and it was VERY helpful.

Keep us informed and I wish you luck!

KD