Floating

[7Cs]

Sometimes I experience something I describe as floating.... but not out of body.

Like when your just floating along and everything is happening and your there in your head but your not fully. Or your just getting pulled long. Like "autopilot" but different. And sometimes rather than time feeling slow it feels a little too fast.

 

[Stickler]

Yup, that's dissociation, feeling numb and floaty.

 

[Stickler]

-One, what's the stressor?
-Two, how can you get yourself grounded? there's grounding exercises around here, but I don't have the link on file.

 

[lostforgottensoul]

Yep, very common disocissation.

Grounding techniques do help a lot.

 

[Deleted member 38644]

Sometimes I experience something I describe as floating.... but not out of body.

Like when your just floa...

Dam I was getting ready to post this!!! Yesss this happens to me

 

[7Cs]

-One, what's the stressor?
-Two, how can you get yourself grounded? there's grounding exercises aroun...

I do know a few grounding techniques that I use for other dissociation so I can give that a try. The quickest and easiest for me is naming 3 or 4 senses. Touch, taste, sound, smell... I've used it for really obvious dissociation like foggy fuzziness but wasn't sure what was going on with this. I've known that it happens a lot when dealing with multiple stressors at the same time but had not realized until recently that it was dissociation. I seem to spend a lot of time "floating" since I have a very low tolerance to stress so I in a way I've spent years thinking it was a normal state. Like my other symptoms, it got worse with trauma therapy. :/

 

[7Cs]

Dam I was getting ready to post this!!! Yesss this happens to me

That's one of the great things about this site... we realize we're not so alone in our experiences. <3
We are a different kind of "normal".

 

[NightSky]

That is always the first sign that I'm dissociating, particularly when I'm with my T or having a conversation that strikes a nerve. I feel dizzy and floaty.

 

[FireSign8]

I guess I take it like I do my breathing...it's a part of my life & I enjoy & embrace my moments "in flight". I love to see where I go next & I always come back, so what's the big deal? I don't have to work, so I have the option of embracing what I have been told is "disassociation". I "disagree"!

 

[Friday]

so I have the option of embracing what I have been told is "disassociation". I "disagree"!

Just because it's a symptom doesn't mean it's wrong or bad. There are a lot of different uses for disassociation, where it's a helpful skill to have in your back pocket. This thread Dissociation Is My Super Power Now. is a good example of that. (Being able to take a mental step backwards to let 2 streams of thoughts exist in the same place, so that one can translate one language into another, in real time). As someone with ADHD & accompanying sensory-schtuff I depend on disassociation to maintain my sanity, being able to take breaks from overly acute senses. My PTSD-Disassociation, is an entirely different matter. I can lose hours to months of my life, zoning out, lost in time.

It's the old saw "When is something a problem? When it's a problem!" Disassociation can be useful... Or Crippling. Or anywhere in between.

I STILL have yet to be able to turn it on for long plane flights >.< It's a life-mission. Yo! Brain! You have the skills to make this interminable ride in the Hell-Tube act like a movie. Cut to the next scene. Use. It. Really. Please. Please? Pleeeeeeease? Dammit. I hate flying commercial.

 

[eunoia]

I've used it for really obvious dissociation like foggy fuzziness but wasn't sure what was going on with this. I've known that it happens a lot when dealing with multiple stressors at the same time but had not realized until recently that it was dissociation.

I've been wondering about this. I've been having brain fog lately. It feels like my head is full of air and I can't think clearly or articulate my thoughts very well.

I had a moment tonight when I felt like, 'did this day just happen' like you suddenly woke up and wondered if it really happened or how you managed to get thru it.

how would grounding help the foggy fuzziness?

 

[7Cs]

I've been wondering about this. I've been having brain fog lately. It feels like my head is full of air...

That is what I've always used my grounding technique for. The foggy/ fuzziness. It seems to work well but as with all things it takes practice and you have to actually remember to do it!