Is this just me? Dissociation and directions

[Deleted member 47600]

Does anyone else get it when they are at the point when they're do spaced out and forever trying to stay grounded and figure others they even are that they look like the most ditsy person ever? I genuinely looked like an idiot sooo bad today. Don't mean to big myself up but I'm a fairly clue up person - I mean I got an a* on my psychology test the other day however me and directions are hilarious. I went home today (it's my birthday teeehee) and I was at a service station. I was pretty spaced out and I wanted a vegan sausage role from Greggs so I walked up the stairs in the service station and got my Greggs and then walked back out to the car park where (I thought) the car and and my staff member was and I couldn't find her anywhere.
I had to ring the pavement and it turns out I'd some how managed to walk all the way across to the petrol station on the other side of the motorway and I was In the wrong car park. (I really hope that makes sense)
Like how? How did I manage this? I obviously wasn't thinking but things like this happen all the time. Nothing ever looks hecking familiar? Am I just dopey or is this a dissociation thing?

Just to clarify, obviously to get to the otherside of the motorway you have to walk across this really long bridge corridor thingy to then get to the service station on the other side

 

[Friday]

LMAO... :roflmao: We have those things on the East Coast (the west coast is far less organized), and every time I’m in New York driving upstate there are always groups of tourists having lost their car (or a member of their party) / on the wrong side of things. It’s an easy thing to do, getting disoriented.

Undoubtedly it made perfect sense at the time, a long line at Greggs this side, or no Greggs this side, or someone washing the floors or some such... so you popped over to the other side as the faster/better choice, but because you were zoning out the decision didn’t get filed.

***

If it makes you feel any better? There have been times when I’ve very symptomatic in my life that I’ve sort of “woken up” in different countries. Again, it all made sense at the time, but I’d have to backtrack the entire process. Much like if you’re staying in a series of hotels and it takes a few minutes on waking to remember where you are, which hotel this is, etc. because it all sort of blurs together upon waking. So not long ago I was zoning out on a bus and freaked the hell out because I appeared to be in SE Asia somewhere, and was frantically trying to backtrack how the hell I’d gotten there, how long I’d been ther, why I was there, etc... But nothing was clicking into place, the languages around me were all different (Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, Tagalog... the f*ck??? Hong Kong is the only place that makes any sense, but it hasn’t been this metropolitan since the British left, where the HELL am I??? This makes no.... :arghh; )

I was in China Town. In my own city. I’d only dissociated for a few minutes, probably. On a brand new bus (so it didn’t look like “our” busses). And I hadn’t lived here for 10 years so there was enough that was familiar/different it triggered that “I know where I am, but I don’t remember where I am” thing that happens when I lose time. :bag:

Zoning out. It happens.

It feels crazier than it looks.

((And if you happen to live/work with travelling folk? They don’t even try to hide it. Stewardesses are some of my favorite people on the planet, for just this reason. They’re always mixing things up and then laughing gaily about it.))

 

[Deleted member 47600]

LMAO... :roflmao: We have those things on the East Coast (the west coast is far less organized), and every time I’m in New York driving upstate there are always groups of tourists having lost their car (or a member of their party) / on the wrong side of things. It’s an easy thing to do, getting disoriented.

Undoubtedly it made perfect sense at the time, a long line at Greggs this side, or no Greggs this side, or someone washing the floors or some such... so you popped over to the other side as the faster/better choice, but because you were zoning out the decision didn’t get filed.

***

If it makes you feel any better? There have been times when I’ve very symptomatic in my life that I’ve sort of “woken up” in different countries. Again, it all made sense at the time, but I’d have to backtrack the entire process. Much like if you’re staying in a series of hotels and it takes a few minutes on waking to remember where you are, which hotel this is, etc. because it all sort of blurs together upon waking. So not long ago I was zoning out on a bus and freaked the hell out because I appeared to be in SE Asia somewhere, and was frantically trying to backtrack how the hell I’d gotten there, how long I’d been ther, why I was there, etc... But nothing was clicking into place, the languages around me were all different (Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Korean, Japanese, Tagalog... the f*ck??? Hong Kong is the only place that makes any sense, but it hasn’t been this metropolitan since the British left, where the HELL am I??? This makes no.... :arghh; )

I was in China Town. In my own city. I’d only dissociated for a few minutes, probably. On a brand new bus (so it didn’t look like “our” busses). And I hadn’t lived here for 10 years so there was enough that was familiar/different it triggered that “I know where I am, but I don’t remember where I am” thing that happens when I lose time. :bag:

Zoning out. It happens.

It feels crazier than it looks.

((And if you happen to live/work with travelling folk? They don’t even try to hide it. Stewardesses are some of my favorite people on the planet, for just this reason. They’re always mixing things up and then laughing gaily about it.))

Wow thankyou that makes me feel a lil better ((: I'm just a bit embarrassed really

I lose time a lot. Like hours of time with no recollection at all except sometimes I remember doing the odd thing briefly
9 hours have gone by before and I had no recollection and "woke up" and been utterly confused
My T reckons I get so anxious (without really noticing) and blackout while in some weird autopilot state and don't silly things that don't really seem "me" if you get what a mean. Does this ring a bell to you, too?
I was dead paranoid I have a dissociative disorder or something alike or going completely mad but maybe I'm conclusion jumping? Although I don't think my T believes in stuff like that because she said "It's not that you're turning into a totally different person, that's not possible!" And I was pretty glad when she said that
The staff here asked me if I'd taken something when they found out what happened. I hadn't, I don't think?

 

[Abstract]

Haha. Yes, totally rings bells. Have a long history of this too in the way Friday mentions. Presently am doing well so it can potentially improve. It has been a shock to realise I may not have been a total idiot my whole life and was rather just dissociated.

Maybe this will make a little sense. You can not know what happened because you:
a/ were split and another personality did the action.
b/ You are depersonalised and as a result you aren't really absorbing what is happening around you and it doesn't get stored as memory. A little like driving a car from a to b but not remembering the trip. Part of your mind is working but the rest isn't.

The second is the type I specialise in. In fact when I started realising all this at a a pretty old age I had very little sense of a personal history going back over my life and very little memory of that life.

Good job figuring it out. The other silly analogy I used to use to myself it is a little like being blind drunk except its on dissociation not wine, and depending what is happening its possible to be very functional (in some respects).

 

[Deleted member 47600]

Haha. Yes, totally rings bells. Have a long history of this too in the way Friday mentions. Presently am doing well so it can potentially improve. It has been a shock to realise I may not have been a total idiot my whole life and was rather just dissociated.

Maybe this will make a little sense. You can not know what happened because you:
a/ were split and another personality did the action.
b/ You are depersonalised and as a result you aren't really absorbing what is happening around you and it doesn't get stored as memory. A little like driving a car from a to b but not remembering the trip. Part of your mind is working but the rest isn't.

The second is the type I specialise in. In fact when I started realising all this at a a pretty old age I had very little sense of a personal history going back over my life and very little memory of that life.

Good job figuring it out. The other silly analogy I used to use to myself it is a little like being blind drunk except its on dissociation not wine, and depending what is happening its possible to be very functional (in some respects).

Wow thankyou for this ((:
I really hope I'm depersonalised and that my brain just wasn't taking it in ((:

 

[Abstract]

You are welcome. :)
Its really pretty common with PTSD and there is a PTSD sub type where there are particularly high amounts of dissociation so it is pretty likely that it would be depersonalisation related for you. See if your t can help you with grounding. That can help.

Dissociation Explained

 

[TruthSeeker]

Does anyone else get it when they are at the point when they're do spaced out and forever trying to stay grounded and figure others they even are that they look like the most ditsy person ever? I genuinely looked like an idiot sooo bad today. Don't mean to big myself up but I'm a fairly clue up person - I mean I got an a* on my psychology test the other day however me and directions are hilarious. I went home today (it's my birthday teeehee) and I was at a service station. I was pretty spaced out and I wanted a vegan sausage role from Greggs so I walked up the stairs in the service station and got my Greggs and then walked back out to the car park where (I thought) the car and and my staff member was and I couldn't find her anywhere.
I had to ring the pavement and it turns out I'd some how managed to walk all the way across to the petrol station on the other side of the motorway and I was In the wrong car park. (I really hope that makes sense)
Like how? How did I manage this? I obviously wasn't thinking but things like this happen all the time. Nothing ever looks hecking familiar? Am I just dopey or is this a dissociation thing?

Just to clarify, obviously to get to the otherside of the motorway you have to walk across this really long bridge corridor thingy to then get to the service station on the other side

@Lilbean123 well, I parked at Walmart and came out the wrong door. As I walked around, the parking lot was full- my car no where to be seen- as I’m pushing a full grocery cart around- just moseying the Walmart parking lot. I had no clue where my car was. Just then, a lady( older than myself) says, I can’t find my car. Empathetically, I said what’s it look
Like and she said it was right. Then she goes “ Here it is!” I usually park in Row 1 or2 so I don’t wander all over the parking lot. Now, under the guise of goodness I offered to help her- and Zi thought I could continue to wander w a comrad!
I say goodbye and back alone again looking for my car. I finally found my car-and now I always park in row 1 or 2 @ Walmart!

 

[Deleted member 47600]

@Wilbur hahaha this made me giggle :D
Makes sense though, I think I'll have to make a note of this for when I learn to drive lol
I dont think winging it anywhere in a carpark is good for either of us xD

 

[Deanna]

It could be that you were subconsciously thinking about something else. I'm always thinking.

 

[TruthSeeker]

It could be that you were subconsciously thinking about something else. I'm always thinking.

Yea- well it is normal to drive and zone out. But often I park zoned out, walk in to the store, then get so entrenched in all the things not on my list, or I’ve left the list somewhere. Having a preplanned parking strategy helps prevent a stupid incident of wheeling a full basket all over the lot in the rain!? It’s funny telling the story, but not quite so funny when I’m wet and frustrated- and feeling really stupid!