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Clumsiness, bumping into things or people, dropping stuff ... can you relate?

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Juso

MyPTSD Pro
Hello, hello!

I was wondering if anyone else on here is experiencing exceptional clumsiness ? (=tripping over your feet, bumping into things or people, dropping stuff, ect). I am not talking about stumbling occasionally, but about a clumsiness that not only you noticed, but maybe your friends/family as well - just because it happens that often.
This kind of clumsiness would point towards an impaired proprioception, which can of course have many causes, but considering what I have read about the neurobiology of dissociation, it would (in our cases) most likely stem from the disturbed sensory integration that accompanies dissociative symptoms.

So I was asking myself:

1. Are you very clumsy?

2. And do you only experience clumsiness when you dissociate, or does it happen all the time?

I would be so happy about any answers!
Thank you ♥
 
Yes, I’m very clumsy, but I’ve got dyspraxia. Most of the time I’m able to compensate, but I’ve noticed that when I’m struggling mentally, in whatever way, I lose that ability, and the clumsiness becomes very pronounced. I joke that I’m so clumsy I’ve become quite good at catching what I drop, but it’s actually true. Only, sometimes the opposite is true.
 
@jaccat Thanks so much for your reply! I find that very interesting! ?Was your dyspraxia caused by a brain injury or were you born with it? In case of no brain injury - do you think that your PTSD might have triggered it/made it worse/caused it?
 
Pretty sure I was born with it. My dad was much the same. The PTSD definitely makes it worse. On my bad days, when I’ve been triggered or I’m struggling to ground myself, or I’m just not able to get out of my own head, those are the days when I repeatedly drop things, break things, bump into things. I can end up injuring myself repeatedly in a matter of hours because I just can’t focus enough to manage my natural clumsiness. It’s like an alternate reality where all the times where things nearly go wrong in everyday life, actually go wrong.
 
Fascinating, thank you! I can relate to what you're saying so much, I hurt myself accidently every day because I run into things, break stuff or trip and fall, its so frustrating, especially when people tell you to "just pay more attention" - I wish I could explain to them that I could try really hard and it still does not make a difference. It just happens. But yeah, stress definitely makes my clumsiness worse too. Also, my mum has the exact same problems, just like your dad, so maybe its something heritable?
 
@siniang Hey there!
I think it’s mostly from always rushing/my mind already being five steps ahead
Yeah, thats what I thought too at first, but even after trying to do everything carefully and slowly I still bumped into things. Which was really weird honestly. It's as if my brain just doesn't know where my body is?
I mean, the proprioception-dissociation link is just a guess based the neurology of both phenomena and the disorders that they concurrently appear in (for example autism). I found it interesting, but I could be totally wrong! I am currently searching for a topic that I could investigate with a small study (which I need to carry out for my master thesis), thats why I came up with this idea?
 
I get super clumsy at times. Its tiring on brain to cross the street monitoring my feet and the traffic. Same with stairs.

It started after tbi ptsd. At its worse i feel frozen scared to move or i will fall.

Your theory of about proprioception is very possible bcuz my doc described to me as brain and body are disconnected.
 
I've seen what I thought a pathological instance of this in a cousin who grew up with my kids. We used to laugh about it but it was sad. She's a nice woman now, married with a family of her own.

IDK how to explain it all except in those years it was starting to look like everyone in the family was pretty messed up on both sides so it was scary.

But this poor kid, we always were picking her up and putting bandaids on her and cleaning her off and picking up the stuff she broke. I remember thinking at one point she couldn't possibly survive to adulthood because she was bound to walk in front of a bus or some other seemingly avoidable (for anyone else) thing.

But she outgrew it? IDK she must've, she's still around.
 
I have this problem in "spells" if you will. I get bruises on my legs and arms as I bump into things. I was told a long time ago that ADHD caused a problem with "time" and "space" perceptions... however, since I've been working on trauma stuff again I am convinced all my time and space problems are a result of the dissociative states that I am frequently in. I had a psychiatrist when I was in my 20's who said he didn't agree with the ADHA diagnosis, that he was sure it was dealing with my home life while a kid. I now believe he was correct.
 
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