Dissociation Leading To Believing You're A Child

[Secret77]

I would like to know if anyone else has experienced what I have. Sometimes, when I have a flashback I dissociate and believe that I am a child again, at the age when I was abused. I don't remember any of it, but my therapist tells me about it when it happens. She says that I believed I was little again. Does this happen to anyone else? I don't have other personalities, when I have this type of dissociation I still answer to the same name, I just think I'm little. Does that make any sense?

 

[Whitebird]

Yes, that happened to me and it was really embarrassing. I was aware of what was happening, but I couldn't avoid it.

 

[sun seeker]

It sounds like just a really vivid flashback to me. It can happen. I've had flashbacks where I'm told my voice changes to a child's, but they haven't gotten to the point of actually believing it. Does this happen to you often?

 

[Ronin]

It might help to research something like 'trauma related agesliding' or plain 'agesliding'.
Yes, happens, and it's fairly common from what I know.

 

[sun seeker]

I'm enjoying seeing the international mix of posters on this thread. Three continents represented already plus wherever the OP comes from. Isn't it cool how the Internet makes it possible to connect with each other and give support no matter where we are in the world!

Sorry, Secret77, I don't mean to make light of your problem in any way. I just noticed this and marveled at it.

 

[WillyKat]

I can relate to it to some extent. For me, I tended to see myself as small almost all the time. And I'm a big guy. I can tower over other people and still react and think like I'm smaller, weaker.