One of the main things people see me for help with is dissociation.
Dissociation is a natural human response to experiences that are more than we can handle in the moment. It can look and feel lots of different ways, but here are some hallmarks:
- Losing feeling in your body, or feeling “numb”
- Having an “out of body” experience, in which you can see your own body as though you are floating above it
- “Zoning out” or losing track of your own conscious experience
- Feeling “foggy” or “out of it” and having trouble thinking clearly
- “Losing time” and not being able to account for where you have been or what you have been doing
Dissociation can be very mild, such as the experience of looking down and realizing you just ate a whole bag of chips without even tasting them, or realizing you’ve completely lost track of time and are late to meet a friend.
Sometimes it can be very extreme, and feel as if you have more than one person living in your body, or as though you are not yourself.
Sometimes it happens to just one part of your body, or only in certain situations (especially in heightened emotional states or under pressure).
However dissociation is showing up in your life today, it is important to be aware of it and have some tools to help you navigate the experience. Somatic counseling can be particularly helpful because it can teach you ways to access your nervous system and convince it that you are safe, and not experiencing an emergency. This helps to reduce pressure and heightened emotions and “return you” to your body.
If you are struggling with dissociation, please give me a call. I would love to help teach you some basic skills and maybe do deeper work with you as well!