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Is this considered as dissociation? When driving too.

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Sparkling soul

Well, it’s happened 2-3 times. But today even, for a minute or two I completely zoned out whilst driving. In my own world, no sense of what’s around me in a way although I do see cars.

I just drove through and a car was so close to me. It would’ve crashed into me until the driver beeped their horn and I realised but still I could not react in any way.

I just carried on until I got there and that’s when I started feeling bad.

Before it happened and I was in traffic but I just zoned out. I had passengers and I had no awareness of the surroundings.

Similar has happened at work/persons life too. Once I was sat and I zoned out. 2 kids came to me, tugging my arms and saying something but I just couldn’t react. I froze, everything felt numb etc.

I’m getting very scared now, especially when driving.
 
Dissociation is really common for pretty much everyone when driving. I've had many episodes where I've been completely on autopilot and can't remember getting from one place to another. It's not necessarily a PTSD thing.

However, it's not great to dissociate when operating a motor vehicle! One thing I've found that helps me is to listen to music, which is simultaneously relaxing and energizing for me. Another method I've used is to make the physical environment slightly uncomfortable - just a little too cold or too hot.
 
Another method I've used is to make the physical environment slightly uncomfortable - just a little too cold or too hot.
I've found this to be helpful as well - for me, cold always works better.
I’m getting very scared now, especially when driving.
You should listen to this fear - do you have options for getting the basics done if you aren't driving yourself? I know this can be challenging.

Another thing that has helped me in the past is saying out loud things I see and what's generally happening along the way. I don't think I'd be comfortable doing this with other people in the car, but I generally drive alone, so it makes it easier to manage.
 
For me, saying the colors of the street signs, outloud helps. Singing, although I don't do that as often. I have had to pull over to wait until the dissociation passes...it has been that bd for me and they do come in waves. I encourage you to seek professional help to determine if your dissociation is more general, like most everyone experiences, or is trauma based. It may provide some relief to know one way or the other and give you the opportunity to build a set of coping tools if it is trauma based.

Either way, my heart goes out to you. I experienced this my whole driving life and didn't know for long time why...it can be so scary.
 
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