after *graphic*

[balletomane]

Do you have a dissociative disorder? Or just dissociate a lot?

This might be something to discuss with a pdoc or t.

Have you done many mindfullness exercises? Different types of meditative exercises help you get in touch with what you are feeling emotionally and what you feeling physically.

Do you think that time plays a role in the intensity of the episode i.e. the longer you go before you deal with the feeling, the worse it is?

[joanthegoat]

i used to really struggle with losing touch with reality in a similar way that you are describing here. someone sent me a bunch of pages from a treatment workbook. some of the exercises were as basic as washing your hands . . . but the point of the exercise is to sort of align your actions with your sensations with your emotions on a really tame level. it seems stupid to me kind of, and i always felt sort of stupid doing it, but there is something to be said about gaining even that little bit of ground as far as control goes.

anyway, the way the book described the exercise was just basically wash your hands like regular, but make a deliberate effort to concentrate on all of the steps, what you are doing, what you are sensing at the time, what changes, what stays the same . . . just in the greatest of all detail, what is happening on all levels. it became like daily meditation for me for a long time.

i'm not sure if this is helpful, but in my situation, i found it to be a lifesaver. it was basically just an exercise for me to practice dealing with and processing things that i was feeling/experiencing and as stupid as it sounds, washing my hands really did help me to learn to better gain control when the shit hit the fan and i was bombarded with all sorts of emotions and sensations from all sorts of places.

hope this helps.