Ptsd

[Micky14]

Why do I have this dissconneted feeling ?my head feels tight I can not remember what I used to be like

[BearTree]

Is it dissociation? Very common with PTSD. Michele had some recent posts about dealing with this. Hope you feel yourself again soon!

[Nathalie99 Partner]

Maybe it has to do with your identity. Trauma changes us. We are not anymore who we used to be. I am missing who I was before all that, when I was functioning...

Could be also "depersonalisation". It is something different than dissociation, it is more like not feeling like yourself. It can be a very scary experience.

[Micky14 in reply to Nathalie99]

I think ur right how do I reconnect with myself ?

[Nathalie99 Partner in reply to Micky14]

Hi Michelle,

Sorry for late reply, I am in different time zone.

Here just a few ideas.

Try listening the music you listened where you were functioning and feeling better, when you were yourself. It will hopefully bring back the feeling you had from that point in time.

Looking at photographs from the past - from the times you want to bring yourself back. That will bring lot of memories of what you did back then and help you feel yourself.

Are there any movies or books which shaped who you are? For example, for me it's a movie "Dune" from 1984 (I was a small child then but watched the movie in 1998) or book The Chronicles of Narnia "The Voyage of The Dawn Treader". I used to read a lot since 8, the stories I read shaped me to who I am. Movies too. From Dune I got the part about facing fear and having courage. From Chronicles of Narnia the good versus evil and never giving up part.

Often when I tell stories about my life, from those positive times, I suddenly feel who I was and reconnect. So tell a friend something from those times.

Find activities which trigger positive response. For me it is driving a car. I was having driving lessons before the trauma. Didn't finish my driving licence because I got ill. Now everytime I drive, I am immediately reconnected to the positive self I was before the trauma happened.

That's just only a few ideas...tell me what you think.