Posted by Noa on November 13, 2001, at 20:45:33
In reply to continuum of dissociation, posted by judy1 on November 13, 2001, at 19:14:38
I lose a few hours at most, but I don't totally lose them in terms of blanking out or anything. As for those lost days, when you function but have no memory of how, etc., maybe you need someone to observe you and be able to report about how you are at those times.
I think you're right about a continuum--it makes sense. The dramatic version of having totally distinct personalities, I imagine, would be the rarest version, I would think. But the one people think of when talking about dissociation, while there might be a lot more variations than that.
What Dinah describes is a bit more distinctly separate than what I have experienced. For me, it is different mood states that take over how I see myself, ie, it is the split between "depressed me" and "not depressed me". When in one state, it would be like watching one tv channel, unable to envision the existence of the other, let alone see it. Over time, I was able to gradually have it be more like a split screen, or like picture within picture, etc. I really have come a long way because now I do see both of my "selves" at the same time, and don't lose touch with the non-dominant mood state. There still is some split functioning--like my work self, where I feel competent and motivated, and my weekend self, which is unmotivated, and perhaps bogged down by feeling I am not worth putting out effort for, etc....but I am able to be aware of both and how I come in and out of them, whereas in the past that was harder for me.
poster:Noa
thread:13865
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20011105/msgs/13873.html