Can You Move When You Dissociate?

[oakleaves]

Because I can and then I feel like it must not be dissociation.

But I also feel really cut off and numb and I can't really focus on what other people around me are saying. But I can move and leave the room even though this is happening.

I am thinking of a specific trigger where I smell alcohol, and it reminds me vividly of experiences I had as a child, usually when my partner comes home after having a drink. It is a really specific smell not all types of alcohol and it leaves me feeling extremely repulsed and like I need to escape.

Also my boyfriend doesn't notice usually, he notices I am distracted but that is all.

I talked about it in T and I feel like my T doesn't believe me. But that could just be my own hang-up.

I just feel really confused at the moment and I wondered whether anyone can help me.

 

[Life_in_the_Mist]

I find that it is physically *possible* for me to move when dissociated, it just tends to be harder. I have a sense of being frozen and people around me say I seem paralyzed. But I am still capable of moving. I would not rule out dissociation for you.

 

[digger]

There are different forms of dissociation and you can dissociate to different degrees, so it is entirely possible to be able to move while you are dissociated.

 

[InsideAWord]

Whenever I dissociated, people say that I tend to be in a trance and whenever they say my name loudly, I tend to snap out of it. I haven't dissociated in quite some time *knock on wood* but I don't realize when I am dissociating until I've snapped out of it.

 

[WillyKat]

I've never seen a description of dissociation that mentioned not moving. Like digger1 said, there are different forms.

With regard to the alcohol smell, similar things are often triggers for people. Sometimes its a cologne or some other smell associated with the perp, sometimes it's more about the situation or location. Do you know if there's a particular drink or type of drinks that trigger you?

As far as your T is concerned, I would guess that s/he does believe you; smells are a common trigger for people and your T's job description doesn't include doubting you. You might want to discuss it further.

 

[Jenfa]

I've always been able to move, but not always able to speak or stay awake. I can see how a person might go into a sort of microsleep during the event, or how muscles might not want to work. That happens more to me when it's a situation involving people and the relationships between them. But if loud noises or lights are the trigger, then I make like a tree and get outta there.

 

[Abstract]

Like @digger said there are many, many types and degrees of dissociation and not being able to move is only one small possible manifestation.

I hope you speak to your t about your feelings she does not believe you. I have very big problems with this when speaking about anything personal or trauma related so I sympathise.

I do at times dissociate where I cannot move at all but have dissociated a lot where noone seems to have a realised a thing. Including therapists. I think what is common is for the person to just not look as sharp or aware and have slower reactions. Not being able to speak is also more common for me than being unable to move. Even when I can't move there are many different types. Some with very clear thinking but no physical control, some with very distorted senses of reality, some classic freeze states, some feeling like I am instantly sleeping but I am not and other times just one part of me can't move. Usually my mouth or a hand but at times it has suddenly been my legs which results in me falling.

Have you read the thread on dissociation in the article self help section?

 

[WillowMarie]

I know that there are different levels for dissociation, like everyone has mentioned. I have had times where I can move, but my brain is super fuzzy and I can't think or concentrate and I feel like I am floating, or in a fog.

There are times when my body feels heavy and I feel very tired.

Sometimes I feel like my body is heavy and I don't want to try to move my body and I just don't want to move. Or if I try, I may not be able to.

I, too, have had times where people don't realize anything is wrong, but I am dissociating. My friend joked with me once that, Oh, you are not stupid after all. Because I have a really hard time thinking and verbalizing when dissociated. He honestly thought I was just slow... :P

 

[InsideAWord]

There was one time when I dissociated in the car (I was the passenger) and when I came to, I didn't know where I was.

 

[oakleaves]

Thank you all - this has really helped me. I didn't realise for years that this was dissociation but then it happened in T and she noticed and at that point I realised it is on the spectrum of dissociation, but it had been happening since I was a child without realising that this is what it is. So when I described to her what happens specifically with alcohol and I felt she didn't believe me, I was confused. aybe it confuses me too.

It is also because my boyfriend doesn't realise there is anything wrong (when it happens when he has been drinking) and she seemed quite surprised by that. Which is the thing that made me think she doesn't believe me.

I find it really difficult to talk about this subject in T because I feel embarrassed that it happens and because it is different at different times. So sometimes it is like I am cut off and just not present at all and I can't focus/understand what is being said and like I am not there, but on the other end (like with alcohol) it is more numbing and feeling unreal but also wanting to get away.

WillyKat - it is the specific smell of beer and a cold temperature that set it off, so the smell of cold (like in the winter, if that makes sense) combined with the smell of beer mainly although it has happened sometimes when it has been just alcohol and I guess that might just be if I am feeling more vulnerable anyway. I do drink but I can't stand beer or lager smells.

Thank you for helping me to feel less confused.

 

[Deleted member 1860]

Yes, people can move while dissociated. There are many different levels to dissociation, and everyone dissociates to some degree. Zoning out while driving is a lesser level of dissociation that most people have done at one point. You know, when you are on a trip and don't remember time passing or going by all of the familiar landmarks because your mind is in the zone?