In Another World...how Do You Come Back?

[Monochromed]

It drives me crazy staying at home while I'm not working so I sometimes go to the store, mall or outside just to walk around. I notice I don't feel like I'm in this world. I stare at people, into there eyes to see if they notice I exist. Some people even make faces back at me. I look at the trees, the walls, the ceiling and wonder if I'm in some concept of the Matrix. It's so strange, that I find myself completely blank while someone is talking to me. I try hard to respond and ask questions so it sounds like I am listening and understanding. What you do to plant your feet in reality?

 

[xena21]

It sounds like you are dissociating. I also do this quite a lot. There are a lot of books out there about it, but in the short term, I know for me I have learned some basic techniques to try to keep me grounded in the here and now. Sometimes I will hold something in my hand that makes me notice the here and now. I might have something like a strong smelling cream on my hands that I smell to get me through that moment and keep me alert. There might also be something like an oil you can keep in a small vile that you can smell before you go in anywhere where there are people. It makes you more aware.

There are a lot of grounding techniques out there. I only mentioned a few. There is a book called "Seeking Safety" that talks about it and recommends ways to help with grounding. I'm not an expert by any means. I just know what I've been told. It just sounds very familiar with what I go through every day.

 

[Deleted member 1860]

Do you know any grounding skills? There are so many out there, and oftentimes they take awhile to master, so don't give up if a skill doesn't work at first. I can ground myself most of the time, but every once in awhile I go through spells where I can't ground myself and can do nothing but pray and wait for my mind to release itself. (I do this when extremely triggered, ie by fireworks or situations where my trauma is relived unexpectedly.)

 

[Monochromed]

Thank you guys to replaying. I do know about holding something or slow breathing. Sometimes the feel comes out of nowhere and the only grounding I have is to seek existence whether its saying hi to someone or nodding to someone else.

 

[Nyssa]

Interacting with people help me when I'm in this state you describe.

Doing something physical and/or practical can also work. Jogging or cleaning the house for instance.

 

[Monochromed]

New update: I started skateboarding again, it is good and bad. I hit the energy spurts and push my body to the limit, take a break and do it again. At the end of the day I'm in tons of pain and tired. But still having these spurs of energy that keep me awake. I just lost my job today do to "Being too quiet at work", they took that as performance issues. 3rd job I have lost this year.