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carlitospig t1_ixriea6 wrote

I once disassociated while driving. It was weird and kinda unsafe, if I’m honest.

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amann93 t1_ixromtc wrote

Done this before. It’s like waking up behind the wheel. You start driving, come to in a new place and wonder how you got there. Spooky stuff honestly

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Zeebuss t1_ixsckrg wrote

That Isn't dissociation, it's a very normal part of how tedious repetitive actions get wiped from memory.

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Gloriathewitch t1_ixspwld wrote

Dissociation can manifest that way too though, the mind kinda says "we don't need this, this is boring and or useless" and erases it.

A lot of people with dissociative disorders also have dissociative amnesia which is a real thing.

Particularly amnesia around trauma or identity in the case of DID

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iaintevenmad884 t1_ixtb8kg wrote

I think they’re thinking that the car thing can be classified as dissociation, and it can be a sign of depression and other disorders that cause dissociation, but that specific thing in the car also happens to otherwise mentally well people who are just tired and taking a regular route home. Of course, they presented it poorly

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carlitospig t1_ixrpxeg wrote

Think of that feeling + your eyes are just a TV screen + you can’t feel your body.

<shudder>

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Anticode t1_ixsxzkm wrote

> your eyes are just a TV screen

Does anyone else feel like this more or less constantly? In the past I've somewhat jokingly described myself as "permanently disassociated" due to the persistent sensation that I'm a mind in a meatsuit. It's not a "weird feeling", it's more like an unshakeable fact of the matter, even intrinsic - and in a very real sense, that is the case (for everyone).

But... There's no sensation of discomfort or dysphoria. I don't feel like there's anything wrong with feeling this way, nor do I have difficulties functioning or interacting with other people. In fact, I'm often told that I'm quite charming and grounded.

The way I've described it in the past is that my conscious 'manual override' switch is stuck pressed down, with absolute awareness of myself and my body being a constant. I am always looking out from behind my eyes and what the body/brain does subconsciously implicitly feels like somebody else's decision.

That is generally known as the neurological reality, with the consciousness (us) merely "taking credit" for everything else that happens, even when we had nothing to do with it or are rationalizing a decision after "we" have made it. Experiments reinforce this truth but it's something I've always felt to be true, even when nobody else wholly shared my experiences.

Does this resonate with anybody?

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AThilgers t1_ixt8brv wrote

100% resonates with me.

I had some sort of alcohol induced psychosis I believe, and a lot of what you’re saying is what I experienced. And that was almost 10 years ago. I still have lingering effects from that.

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cthuluwamp t1_ixt6smr wrote

I'm just a little guy in my head really. That's where "I" reside. The meat puppet is just what I use to interact with the illusion around me. Sometimes you can "fall back" all the way inside. try not to fall too far, because time doesn't exist there and you'll wake up much older when you choose to revisit the illusion.

I'm not spiritual by any means, but I think yoda said it best "Luminous beings are we, not this crude matter."

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Ngur0032 t1_ixto49t wrote

> I am always looking out from behind my eyes and what the body/brain does subconsciously implicitly feels like somebody else's decision.

this accurately describes the feeling for me so well, it’s scary

i’ve only recently noticed this after going through depression for like a year due to triggering my repressed traumatic memories

it’s like i’m inside a vessel (body) and i feel like i’m just watching myself do things

so weird! i don’t know if this has always been going on and i’ve just only noticed recently

wish i could explore this future myself

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deliriousgoomba t1_ixtbehx wrote

I often feel like I've been cursed with a physical form. I just don't feel like a person anymore.

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Gloriathewitch t1_ixspot2 wrote

It's scary but I believe your motor functions and muscle memory (ie how to drive) still functions in a safe way, unlike when you are drunk, but time will just seem like it passed in an instant.

It's not that you didn't drive or couldn't, you just kinda auto piloted, but if you say had to suddenly brake or swerve you'd be back in reality quick as lightning.

At least that's my experience with it having had multiple dissociative disorders for 20 years.

You could get through a whole work day just fine, people won't see you as animated or social, though.

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theblacklabradork t1_ixsulcs wrote

YES! I drove out of state with my mom before I recognized that I was dissociating and honestly it scared the hell out of me after - like, I have no idea what happened on the drive but we made it safely. I tried asking my mom to drive but she didn't believe me when I tried explaining what I was feeling.

"oh, you're just tired!" -__-

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carlitospig t1_ixv301d wrote

I had to actively convince my body to just move my pinky, then my toes, etc. All while driving 40mph knowing that none of my muscles would allow me to use the brake should something impede my path. There was a hard disconnect between ‘me’ and my body - almost like I meditated into being a paraplegic. It was nutty.

Autopilot is wholly different. Autopilot is a ‘oh hey, we are there!’ of amnesia. I 100% drove, I just don’t remember the miles.

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muffinmamamojo t1_ixstkqv wrote

I’ve done this before too when I was in the height of my postpartum depression. I didn’t even realize that I had passed my exit on the highway until I was two exits passed mine. I tried to tell my father, who used to be a doctor, about it because it was terrifying and I was concerned; he told me that I shouldn’t tell anyone that that had happened. Because,to him, you’re batshit crazy if you do that.

Funny how he ended up causing me the most trauma that only led me to disassociate MORE. I can barely get through a therapy session because I will disappear mentally. It’s sad.

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Rina_B t1_ixtaw3q wrote

I worked at an amusement park as a ride operator for 3 years. I was eventually transferred to the food department because I had a disassociation episode while at work. No one had any idea what was happening. The tested my blood sugar, took my pulse and temperature, and finally I was sent away in an ambulance. Took cat scan, blood test, and couldn’t find anything. Decided it was anxiety and sent me on home.

The company decided it was unsafe for me to safely operate ride vehicles, and transferred me to a less dangerous department.

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reisenbime t1_ixsnjn0 wrote

I did this so hard once I felt fear for the first time in years, as if I was going to faint and crash any time. Had to turn on full blast cold air and stop every kilometer or so. Probably the worst thing I have ever felt.

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