What does my body do when I lose time? What is "in charge" during that?

[Sweetleaf]

What happens when one loses time?

Sometimes I'm sure that I'm just staring off into space or something. Others, I wind up in my room without any idea why I am in there or how/when I walked down there. I do things during lost time sometimes. Complex tasks even.

Is there just some part of the brain that takes over and goes autopilot or something? Am I just doing things myself then forgetting them or maybe not recording the memory? What enables one to be dissociated but still do complex tasks?

 

[Teamwork]

In some circles it would be, who is doing what, since the lost time is typically part of dissociative response to something. I lose time a lot but can ask inside who was out, or just determine what transpired or didnt by what is done or not done. Short gaps are just that, we aren’t present and paying attention, longer ones some part of us took over. Get to know that part if you can.

 

[Powder]

I did not perceive the lost time at all because my insider who was out has some kind of amnesia or the DID makes it so I had no clue. I have not been clear on having DID, and went back and forth for years, until this came to light.

I have finally gotten her to front, only to have her cry until exhaustion takes hold and she crashes. The little talking she will do is about the beginning and end her one and only relationship, which is incredibly heartbreaking to share a body with. I can't get any kind of facts out of her for details. But even she can't tell you what she did without doubting her own recall of events; all she can offer others from the headspace are auditory or tactile flashbacks and a shit ton of emotion and body memories.

 

[Sideways]

Is there just some part of the brain that takes over and goes autopilot or something?

Most often this is what happens when someone dissociates, unless they have a dissociative disorder.

The brain is surprisingly competent at doing incredibly complex tasks on ‘auto-pilot’. Unless there is a dissociative disorder involved, the brain is also surprisingly good at instantly ‘snapping out’ of auto-pilot if a higher degree of concentration is suddenly required. For example, a person might be driving home via their usual route on auto-pilot, and instantaneously snap out of to respond if, say, the car in front of you suddenly brakes.

There are theories around that one of the reasons the brain does is? Is to use energy elsewhere processing stuff and doing what is essentially ‘in-house cleaning’, and is actually a healthy part of normal brain activity.

With ptsd and many other mental illnesses (without an additional dissociative disorder), it is also a very typical way the brain copes when it’s overwhelmed or exhausted.

As well as learning grounding techniques and mindfulness techniques, people who dissociate frequently can build up their mental stamina to reduce the amount of time they spend dissociated:)

 

[Friday]

The brain is a quirky thing.

Before I kick into story time, one thing to be aware of is that short term memory loss is a common side effect of most psych meds, and a few other substances (muscle relaxers, pain killers, opiates, marijuana, & alcohol to name a few). If this is a newish thing, and you’re on medication or any other kind of mood/mind altering substance? It’s worth investigating that as the cause. It’s one of the first questions one is asked if you present with memory issues.

Actually... the checklist for short term memory loss looks something like this
- Medication (new or recently changed, especially but also long term use)
- Head Trauma
- Sleep Deprivation
- Emotional Upheaval
- Depression
- Diet /malnutrition /dehydration (certain nutritional deficiencies, especially low sugar which triggers seizures of different kinds, as well as starvation in general, and acute dehydration)
- Disease
- Electrical Injury

Actually, storytime will hav to wait, I’ve got the concentration of a syphilitic gnat with ADHD right at the moment.

 

[EveHarrington]

My guess?

You’re just so stressed that your mind isn’t forming any memories. It may not be that you go anywhere, it’s just that you can’t remember.

This is along the lines of what happens to me.

 

[Starfire]

What happens when one loses time?

Sometimes I'm sure that I'm just staring off into space or something. Others, I wind up in my room without any idea why I am in there or how/when I walked down there. I do things during lost time sometimes. Complex tasks even.

Is there just some part of the brain that takes over and goes autopilot or something? Am I just doing things myself then forgetting them or maybe not recording the memory? What enables one to be dissociated but still do complex tasks?

Complicated answer. Therapists, scientists, doctors..have their theories. If they don't do it, they can only guess at it. This is a forum for dissociatives tho. We think of ourselves as a team working toward a goal..daily functioning. Each member has a speciality. When that speciality is needed, that team member rises to the occasion & performs the task. Other team members need not or may not ever know what he/she did. If you ever played a team sport, you know that you don't know every little thing each member does to advance the ball. But they know their job & if every member performs it well, the team scores, the day functions. So, IMHO, the time really isn't *loss*. A team member was doing their job out of your sight.

 

[shatter eyes]

You are not alone. I have to rely on ques to remember what i done or how i done it and even at times i still dont remember it...hours blank.

The neurologist suspected complex partial focal epilepsy and asked me questions. One of them being if anyone has ever told me i am spaced out staring. Another was do i find myself from one place to another without knowing how i got there.

I did a few eeg and they came back clean. You may want to consider asking doctor about whats happening and rule out epilepsy.

 

[sleeplessinseattle]

Usually some other part has taken over because what ever was going on is too much or maybe you were just too tired. Different alters have different jobs and maybe you just went to sleep while the other part of you was busy. You will have to try to communicate with your inner parts to find out what went on exactly or you can set up cameras around the house and watch yourself.

 

[Atticus]

I've caught myself staring off in space inside my own thoughts since my trauma too. Actually, someone else told me I was staring off -- I was too caught up in my own thoughts (replaying the event). I catch myself nowadays when doing it; they say mindfulness helps, and it does, but unfortunately, I'm still unable to fully tune out intrusive thoughts. I believe, as you suggested, some part of the brain goes into autopilot (in much the same way being in certain situations triggers hyper vigilance and the accompanying physical manifestations of it).

 

[shatter eyes]

I lost time again today. Hours in chunks.

I wish i knew what was going on. Is it my memory or did brain do magic tricks....

 

[Friday]

Is it my memory or did brain do magic tricks....

On memory v magic tricks... journaling helps. Not just written journals, but photojournaling, calendars, voice notes, drawing... anything that keeps a bit running tally of what you’ve been up to // allows you to “rehearse” the memory (technical term, for real not sarcasm, that helps to move memories from short term into long term, and refreshes long term to keep it easily accessible)... by flipping through your tokens later, recalling events that otherwise simply flitter away.

It’s one of MANY reasons I used to have at least one camera attached to my body at nearly all times (my purse is STILL a camera bag, even though my photography equipment was smashed years ago). It’s a bit of a fun brain-game when the f*ck is that??? -a binkie on the cracked asphalt in the rain- oh. Right. Shopping trip to Trader Joe’s. Their parking lot. Bought orange chicken, mochi ice cream, and had a bit of a chat with the violinist.

There are still a lot of times that I’m just like... huh. Well that sounds like me, at least?... no recollection of writing something whatsoever. Or taking that series of pics. Or scribbling that drawing. But using tokens to rehearse memories refreshes about 80% of my otherwise lost time.