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Trying To Identify Psychological Term For "shutdowns."

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Based on the responses I got, I think the general consensus is that my symptoms are still dissociation even if they don't completely match any one particular type of dissociation...

What do you mean you don't match one particular type of dissociation?
are there different types?
when I get triggers my mind just drifts away and get a sense of things are not real.these can last for a few seconds or a longer if I am by myself.if there is someone with me,i can get grounded a lot quicker.
 
I think it's really helpful to add..

It is impossible to self-diagnose using Google

Google and/or Wikipedia cannot replace a psychiatrist's or psychologist's professional diagnosis. They also don't like mental illness much and are often skewed and biased by the users perceptions (ie you see yourself through your lens, therefore your perception of yourself is biased either positively or negatively... however much you refuse to accept this, it is true. Why do you think GPs cannot diagnose themselves or that therapists need therapy/supervision themselves?).

The best diagnosis is one which is worked through as a collaboration of mental health professional and service user (don't like the term patient and as therapists can't diagnose you wouldn't be a client in this instance either).

I also think... diagnoses are only helpful if they are used to inform treatment. So first off... are you still in therapy (you weren't clear on that) or LOOKING for therapy? If not, there is no point in diagnosing yourself with anything. Nobody outside the MH services will understand what you mean and thus will treat you like a hypochondriac if you try telling your GP 'I think I have this mental illness' (trust me, I've been there!!)

I also just want to share with you something I very recently learnt.... there are over 230 varying presentations of my particular disorder that I have twice been officially diagnosed with... there is no such thing as a 'perfect match' diagnosis. You may find 'the closest match' but nobody will ever have identical symptoms within a diagnosis. You may have dissociation as part and parcel of PTSD. Just the way it presents is different for you because you are unique. That's all. It's like trying to find your exact personality profile online, won't happen. You're too unique, made up of a mix of biology, psychology and environment. You can get very nearly there (I'm an INFJ for example) but it won't describe you to a 't' nothing ever does. Each diagnosis is therefore made while knowing that there will be a massive amount of individual difference within each case. If you haven't already guessed, I'm on the path to becoming a Psychologist (either clinical or counselling - not sure yet) so this is an area I'm passionate about.

What you have could be just a varying degree of dissociation. I have a lot of them; dissociation, depersonalisation, identity disturbances... I am bordering on having Dissociative Identity Disorder (used to be called Multiple Personality Disorder) but because I don't have amnesic tendencies when the various shades of my personality take over, I know I don't. It's not important to me to get that side of me labelled and correctly identified. I have various, often conflicting parts of my personality which group together and form 'identities'. But they are all actually me. I don't see them as being separate. Little me, teenage me, young adult me, and me as I am now (another reason it's not DID). Do I need to have this labelled? No. It's a result of trauma. That's all I need to know.

I understand your need, really I do. You're seeking validation. I get that, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. But I think you're looking for it in the wrong place. The best place for you to find the acceptance and validation you need in order to begin realising you are more than any label is in long-term therapy. A label does nothing for you, trust me. I recently went through this and went back to the CMHT to ask them to confirm my diagnosis. They did. It did nothing for me. My therapist on the other hand said 'well I don't really think labels are very helpful... they kind of give a very stereotyped, narrow definition of a person... I'd rather get to know you, irrespective of that... I see what you experience as being simply survival tools that your mind has employed to cope so it's all valid... all of you is important, whereas your diagnosis... meh, neither here nor there'

The key to all this is acceptance - acceptance of who and what you are regardless of any label.

You are more than what is wrong with you, you are you. And that is totally acceptable.
 
The inability to talk really seems to go right along with the withdrawal process for me. It seems to be...
when I get frustrated I am not able to put words together which sets of a whole chain of events ending in me isolated at home with no power or motivation to do anything for days maybe weeks some times.
 
I think it's really helpful to add..

It is impossible to self-diagnose using Google

Google and/or Wikiped...
thanks for that post GMW It has given me more perspective about dissociative disorders. I didn't know what it was that was happening to me Until I asked my T and he confirmed that to me and also said that there are many differing parts to it and everyone is different as to how it affects them. He told me that some people make friends with dissociating and use it to there advantage to protect them, some people can dissociate at will. Thanks again I am just learning and this has help me.
peace be safe
 
He told me that some people make friends with dissociating and use it to there advantage to protect them, some people can dissociate at will

Yes - I can just about dissociate at will. My therapist told me 'defences [such as dissociation] are your friends. They protect you... don't be so eager to break them down and get rid' (aka accept them - tis the only way you heal enough to be in a place not to need those defences anymore). That REALLY helped me, I always looked on my defences as something that must be gotten rid of so the truth could be 'known' and worked through.

I hope what I said did not come across as judgemental or preachy - that wasn't my intent.

I think most of us have been through the 'I need to know what's wrong with me, because I don't think I'm normal, someone please give me a label so I know I belong somewhere' stage. Knowing your diagnosis does mean you have somewhere that you 'fit in'. Like here for example, often others with PTSD are the only ones who 'get us'. Often, labels help us bond and be understood. But if they define us, if we search for them OVER AND ABOVE seeking help or if we have some deeper unconscious need which is driving the need for this label, actually it's not helpful and what we actually need (validation, support, love, acceptance) gets completely missed.

I couldn't care less if the OP has a diagnosis or not. If they need those things I listed above (who doesn't) they should be able to access them, regardless of their diagnosis. The irony is, once our TRUE needs are met then the surface need for a label disappears.

Too often I see on here people saying 'That's not the true diagnosis of PTSD, you don't belong here, go away!' When actually all the person really wanted was someone to say 'hey, your experience is valid, your symptoms and problems are too, welcome' Is that so hard?
 
Yes - I can just about dissociate at will. My therapist told me 'defences [such as dissociation] are your f...
Thanks for the reply GMW
I don't think I am worried about labels so much as what the f*ck is going on. I also worry about getting appropriate therapy. Which so far I have not been successful with finding a good fit for me, Being able to recognize when you dissociate would be helpful. I don't know much about it yet.
 
Basically the point of the thread was to find out if there was a better term for "shutdown" or "withdrawal." I was not seeking validation or diagnosis for what was occurring, I was seeking knowledge about a term. I tried to give a detailed description of shutdown/withdrawal symptoms. Some people liked the thread because they also have these same symptoms. Others, I can tell, were confused about what I was seeking with this question. Having read through my original post I think it was detailed to the point where it must have been confusing what I was asking about for some people. I was just trying to be clear about what I was asking. When it comes to all of the other topics some people have brought up on this thread, it's up to everyone to make up their own minds for themselves about all of that, so I won't comment. If I did so it would just start making this thread veer off topic. The general consensus based on all of the responses I got overall was that a shutdown often precedes dissociation symptoms. At this point I feel I have read enough about shutdowns to say that I think this is the actual term used and there is probably no other term, so probably case closed on that (which was the actual question).
 
I needed this thread today. I've been on a hypomanic state for a couple of weeks, and suddenly today I'm triggered, and the result is anxiety, which is leading to some kind of foggy brain thing...I can't remember words or find things - I'll look for something and when I look back in the same spot there it is - I'm so close to this dissociative shutdown. I have experienced what you describe.
I'm going to try to push through and go to the gym, but I would rather shut down and rest. Too exhausted to even think.
Thanks for the post.
 
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