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always losing time, every day the day seems to suddenly vanish before my eyes

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stranger2myself!

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it seems like im always thinking to myself "how did that many hours go by so fast? i barely did anything" for most people time only flies when they are having fun or if they are super busy. but this happens all the time when im not having fun and not busy either. its basically everyday, and i wasnt like this years ago. but now sometimes ill just do a few things like clean up my house a little bit, text a friend, and smoke a ciggarrette.... and all the sudden 5 hours is gone, and it doesnt seem possible. do other people have this problem? whats causing it? and how could i fix it?
 
It is hard to say what is causing it. With PTSD there are so many things it could be. Do you find yourself staring off into space a lot, kind of a blank stare, or unfocused?
 
It is hard to say what is causing it. With PTSD there are so many things it could be. Do you find yourself staring off into space a lot, kind of a blank stare, or unfocused?
sometimes i do especially when im around people and im EXTREMELY ADD. literally all day long i do this.. ill start on one task and before i even get halfway through i get distracted by something, and than before i get half way through that thing than im distracted by another distraction, its really hard to complete anything from start to finish without getting distracted at least 10 times when trying to complete it
 
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I know how that is, been there myself. These days, though, I make myself do whatever I am working on. If it was a phone call that distracted me, I let it wait. That is, unless I am expecting an important call. Otherwise they can either send a text, leave a message or call back later.

If it is another task that interrupts me, I have to decide which is most important. Then I do that one and if there is enough time, I do the other. If I find myself gazing off into nowhere, I do my best to make myself do something, or I take a nap if I am tired. I hope this helps.
 
Thank you for your post @flamesandgasoline I notice this same thing myself. For me, I have trained myself, or I was trained, to work for others. I can work very long hours and be very productive when it is for someone else. But, when it is just for me I get lost. Time slips away. There are a lot of things I could do. but they all only benefit me. No one else cares if they get done or not. That I believe removes my internal motivation to be productive. So, I wander from task to task and it will take me all day just to feed myself and do some basic housekeeping. So, I feel this internal stress at not being productive, but I can't break the chains.
 
It sounds like dissociation, and the best way to combat that is to be present. Everyone has periods of time when they dissociate, but with PTSD, it can become much worse. Do you have a therapist? Are they teaching you grounding techniques? These were very helpful for me. The Dialectical Behavior Workbook was incredibly helpful for me when I dissociated all the time. I still do sometimes, but nowhere near the hours I used to.
 
It sounds like dissociation, and the best way to combat that is to be present. Everyone has periods of time when they dissociate, but with PTSD, it can become much worse. Do you have a therapist? Are they teaching you grounding techniques? These were very helpful for me. The Dialectical Behavior Workbook was incredibly helpful for me when I dissociated all the time. I still do sometimes, but nowhere near the hours I used to.

i was seeing a therapist but i stopped going because she wouldnt give me any advice after i told her my problems. she would only listen. it seems like im dissociated 247 and unable to come out of it. theres many times throughout the day when i just CANT THINK. it makes me feel so stupid and it frustrates me everyday. i try grounding by blaring music, eating, spraying scents, and stuff like that but it seems like my mind is always confused and i cant think clearly at all.
 
Ok, were you seeing a trauma therapist? I highly recommend one. Therapists don't always give advice, they are there to provide a non judgemental listener so you can process your trauma. They shouldn't be telling you what you should do, they should be teaching you how to help yourself.

Grounding yourself can be a very gentle counting the color orange in the room, then purple, or whatever order you want. I don't find eating very grounding. For me, I dissociate while eating and have to concentrate on every flavor. Feeling the leaves of a plant. Start slowly. Ground yourself once a day. You have an illness. You have to find a new normal. That means healing the trauma and finding ways to deal with the symptoms of PTSD. PTSD is managed, not cured, so it is a daily thing to self-soothe, ground, and manage sleep etc...You can't jump into being better all the sudden. It doesn't work that way. I can remember my therapist telling me that one day I would string together all the scarce times I felt a little better and feel better most of the time. I thought he was FOS, but he was right.

Is there a DBT program near you? I think that would be really helpful in getting you through this rough period.
 
Ok, were you seeing a trauma therapist? I highly recommend one. Therapists don't always give advice, they are there to provide a non judgemental listener so you can process your trauma. They shouldn't be telling you what you should do, they should be teaching you how to help yourself.

Grounding yourself can be a very gentle counting the color orange in the room, then purple, or whatever order you want. I don't find eating very grounding. For me, I dissociate while eating and have to concentrate on every flavor. Feeling the leaves of a plant. Start slowly. Ground yourself once a day. You have an illness. You have to find a new normal. That means healing the trauma and finding ways to deal with the symptoms of PTSD. PTSD is managed, not cured, so it is a daily thing to self-soothe, ground, and manage sleep etc...You can't jump into being better all the sudden. It doesn't work that way. I can remember my therapist telling me that one day I would string together all the scarce times I felt a little better and feel better most of the time. I thought he was FOS, but he was right.

Is there a DBT program near you? I think that would be really helpful in getting you through this rough period.

yes i have an appointment in a few weeks from now and not sure if im hallucinating, or if im being harrassed by spirits, or if im skitzo, or whats going on.... my guess is probably a little bit of each thing.... actually a lot of each thing. its been going on constantly all day today. i keep hearing faint whispers but i can never understand what its saying, when i try to drown it out with other noises it seems to become even more noticeable. things keep turning on and off by themselves. im on antidepressants, i dont think im depressed anymore, i just have all this psychotic stuff going on. i was diagnosed with ptsd but that was a while ago before all this other stuff started happening. i have a lot of skitzophrenic symtoms.... however people who are skitzo usually undersstand what the voices are saying to them. since i cant understand the voices does that mean i dont have it? i worry that as time goes on i might start understanding them... but i dont really want to understand them... id like for them to just shut up. i hearing a buzzing sounds too and im terrified of bugs, but the buzzing sound comes from a distance, its not right in my ear like tinnitus would be. it feels like someone is lightly brushing there hand over my body.... in different spots... all throughout the day. i startle and scream over my own tactile hallucinitions sometimes. thats what makes me feel like a total nut job more than anything. and it seems like everyday just vanishes before my eyes. it seems like an hour went by but the whole day is already over. thats how every day goes lately. i also have depersonalization, like sometimes when im looking in the mirror i feel like im not inside my body, and like im observing myself from outside my body, kinda doesnt feel like its me moving my body, but i know it is. i dont know why all this is happening or how to help it? im going to see a psychiatrist but have to wait a few weeks for the appointment.
 
Well it's not true voice hearers - of any diagnosis - can always make out the voices...

Or that that symptom manifests *as* a voice, aka hearing, always.

Have you taken any drugs recently, had a medication or a diet change?

How's your sleep?

Does some form of a distraction - doing something else and thinking on that something else - help shush the voices or make you more at ease with their presence?

Glad you have a meeting with a pdoc in a bit :tup: I get a long time can feel like eternity but you'll get there.

Edited: I saw in your other thread you recently got new antidepressants...

Voice hearing in any way can be a side effect of that.

So can your other symptoms - not feeling like yourself, out of your body, changes in perspective and the like.

Something I would definitely call to your prescribing doctor's office about - and yet before the scheduled appointment.
 
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I don't think you're schizophrenic. I'm not a doctor or an expert, but you sound like you have severe PTSD, and your symptoms are out of control. It's ok, you have an appointment with a psychiatrist and they can check your meds. Sometimes people with schizophrenia hear lots of voices and don't understand them, and some hear voices they do understand. I hope you get some relief with the psychiatrist, I really do. I think if you can reach some kind of calm these things might be more under control.

it seems like an hour went by but the whole day is already over.
That's when you use your grounding techniques. Maybe you can ask your therapist for some tools to combat what's going on.
 
im going to see a psychiatrist but have to wait a few weeks for the appointment.
While you're waiting - are there any community mental health options, where you are? If you're in the US, and not certain, you can check out NAMI (National Alliance for Mental Illness).

As far as diagnosis goes - my advice to you would be to keep track of your symptoms - if you can manage it, try and keep a daily diary of the things that you experience, and how you are feeling. Include how your sleep is going, and your eating patterns.

You'll find that will be a very useful tool when you're seeing the psychiatrist. It will help you with all the evaluation forms, and sharing it with them will give them a clear picture of how you're experiencing your symptoms.
 
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