PTSD shutdown mode question.

[shimmerz]

So I'm either smiling or crying, quiet or raging, well down or flying high. The end result is. I just switch off, aka zone out.

Could be that you zone out because of the extremes of these things. It may be too much for your nervous system so it puts into place a kill switch (so to speak) to make you stop. It sounds more than a freeze response - and collapse doesn't have to be dramatic - it can be a nervous system collapse, which is what this sounds like.

Bottom line I think is I'm not seeing, hearing, or thinking. My wife describes it as the lights are on, but nobody is home.

Are your eyes open and responsive? Can you move if someone asks you to? Are you aware at all through these moments?

not knowing I had switched off.

So you are unconscious then?

he BIG CONCERN is it's getting more frequent, and a couple of times I've kept walking, literally on some sort of autopilot. So day or night and near roads, I'm an accident waiting to happen.

I imagine this is scary for you and your loved ones. I am glad you have support for it. Has something happened to cause you concern over this? Did you randomly walk in front of a car or something else that had potential for dangerous consequences?

Only something is triggering that response in me when there is nothing wrong (except what I was thinking about). So how can you turn that evolutionary survival response off?

My trauma doctor always stressed that these things don't just randomly happen. That there is a cause to them - that many times gets buried and we can no longer bring them to mind. Do you have something that is chronically stressful going on in your life right now? It could be your Window of Tolerance is at an all time low. Or perhaps disorientation, overwhelm, or confusion or some other emotion is triggering it. If you don't know what Window of Tolerance is, look it up. It is very important when figuring out these shifts.

Apparently there are tell-tales you can pick up before you zone out. If there are, they must be too subtle for me. So I need something more positive as a tell tale.

Have you had these types of episodes before when you were younger? Also, have you looked into absence seizures? There is a possibility this could be medical and not rooted in trauma.

My question? Does anyone else suffer from this and what have you used to 'wake up' before something bad happens?

Yes. For many years until I got to the bottom of it. I didn't realize I had a traumatic childhood at first so it hit me out of left field. I needed to be escorted everywhere because I would have these random triggers that had me bolt in front of traffic or collapse behind cars. A key difference between mine and yours was that I was VERY aware of what was happening around me but I could not move once I had collapsed. The more danger I was in the less I could move It was an awful lot to bear and it really was too much for those around me. Sounds like you have an excellent support system.
It is better for me now, but I can't live a normal life. Again, this is similar but not the same as what you describe and I am sure things will be okay once you start digging in. Feel free to reach out if you find any of this helpful or if you have further questions.