Lost My Float

[shadowchaser]

Normally when things are to much I was able to dissociate from the situation. Like an outsider watching instead of the pathetic sap stick in the middle. As of late I have not been able to accomplish this. It's not like I was trying to do it before it always just happened.

Am I alone on this or have others lost their float?

I know this may sound insane but I miss it and want it back.

 

[71nothing]

Totally understand shadowchaser. I use to be able to accomplish it automatically and I don't nearly as often anymore.

I guess it's a lost coping skill. I actually worked actively to become less dissociated. Unfortunately it's also a lost means of protection. I need to find more effective ways of coping.

 

[shadowchaser]

Good to know I'm not alone on it.

 

[DMerish]

I'm curious Shadowchaser - When things are "too much" and you are able to dissociate from the situation, if somebody were to ask you what you thought or felt about the situation, would you be able to express your opinion or identify how you felt?

 

[arfie]

As a kid I did it quite naturally. My earliest awareness of it was when it started causing problems. At that stage I started to become hyper-reactive. My PTSD has cycled me through so many extremes that I was diagnosed manic depressive (aka bipolar) long before PTSD was an official diagnosis.

It was a lousy reflex in my case, but I find myself relearning it as a skill. It is, indeed, beneficial to be able to detach emotionally from stressful situations. I guess I am mostly studying on that fuzzy distinction between "detachment" and "dissociation." Where I can let your problems remain your problems, but still be present and caring?

Short answer: Yes, I miss my "float" at times. Enough to be trying to build a more effective one.