Dissociative Amnesia

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    Web app for dissociation

    Hi everyone! I hope this is suited for this group. I am currently on the very early stages of developing a web app for people experiencing dissociative symptoms in any form. I've noticed there aren't many resources for dissociation in this form, and I want to help change that.

    The idea would be to make it as comprehensible as possible, since ideally someone experiencing dissociation wouldn't need to use multiple apps, but just this one. I am trying to gather as much feedback regarding this as possible, both from people with lived experience and from some experts.

    Although it wouldn't be exclusively for DID, it would be meant to be suitable for someone with DID (for example, specifically for DID I am thinking about including features to keep a record of your parts and a journal feature that can be a parts journal if the user chooses that option).

    Of course, grounding exercises, symptoms tracking, and so on, would also be included, even though this could be more general.

    Could you please share your thoughts and ideas on this with me? I would love to hear from more people what is actually needed and helpful! Thanks in advance!#Dissociation #DID #Dissociative #DissociativeIdentityDisorder #dpdr #DissociativeEpisode #DissociativeDisorder #DissociativeFugue #dissociativeamnesia

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    I'm new here!

    Hi everyone,
    I am currently working on a web app to help people living with dissociative symptoms. I am still on very early stages of this development, and I would love to hear from you what you feel that could be useful! What do you think you need the most that could be in the form of a website?
    It is possible that, if it shows useful, a mobile app version will also be built later, but for now I don't have resources or enough knowledge on mobile development yet.
    Thanks in advance for your inputs!

    #MightyTogether #Dissociation #dpdr #DID #DissociativeDisorder #DissociativeIdentityDisorder #DissociativeEpisode #DissociativeFugue #dissociativedisorders #dissociativeamnesia

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    My dissociative disorders and finding homeostasis

    Recently, I’ve learned that I dissociate when I’m overly stressed or because of a traumatic situation. My psychiatrist and psychologist believe I’ve been doing this since childhood. I’ve done a lot of research trying to learn more about dissociation. It is basically a mental disconnect.
    For many people, dissociation is a natural response to trauma that they can't control. It could be a response to a one-off traumatic event or ongoing trauma and abuse.
    My dissociations are symptoms of my mental health problems: PTSD, depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and others.

    Some of the disturbances I experience are:
    *Seeing objects change in shape, size or color
    *Feeling detached from the world around me
    *See the world as unreal (kind of like we are all in some sort of game)
    *Feeling like I’m living in a dream; having trouble telling what is real and what is a dream.
    This is called derealisation. I used to think that everyone experienced this; until recently, I have learned otherwise.

    Other disturbances I experience are:
    *Feeling as though I am watching myself in a movie or looking at myself from the outside. I feel as if I just observe my emotions.
    *I often feel disconnected from parts of my body and sometimes feel as if I have left my body.
    *Being unsure of the boundaries between myself and other people. This is called depersonalization.
    It sounds scary because it is!! Again, I thought this happened to everyone too but I’m learning that it does not!

    Dissociative amnesia has to be the scariest form of dissociation for me. I have gaps in my memory where I can't remember certain events or information; I write a lot down! I often forget how to do something that I’ve been able to do in the past, and discover items that I don't remember owning! I also lose time!! I lose minutes to hours and sometimes days; not knowing what happened during these lapses. It sounds a lot like dementia but it is very different.
    My doctors are very concerned with this one! Neuropsychological testing is to be performed this month to find out more.

    Understanding these dissociative disorders has been traumatizing in itself but knowing what I have has actually helped me learn how to cope with them. I use research, psychotherapy and Buddhism.

    What I am bothered by the most is hurting others while I am dissociating. Learning how to stay grounded has helped me become more aware of when I start to lose myself so that I do not cause anymore pain to my loved ones.

    I have become more aware of when I start to dissociate and have learned how to ground myself. I have learned the 5-4-3-2-1 technique and it has been helping. The idea is to focus my attention within the room or space I am in by using my senses. I begin by simply focusing on my breath, then when I am able, I acknowledge five things I can see, four things I can touch, three things I hear, two things I can smell, and one thing I can taste. This process can be repeated or altered as needed until I find that I am able to successfully return to myself and do what is needed to care for my body and safety.
    Another technique I use is touching my finger tips to one another and count 4,3,2,1,1,2,3,4 and repeat as many times as needed.
    I also wear a silicone ring that I flip over to keep me alert as to where I am. I feel more in the present when doing this technique. Using our 5 senses is what will usually bring us back to homeostasis.

    My mental health disorders are scary but it’s just how and who I am. I learn something new every week about myself through psychotherapy, my husband, our kids, and our friends. I’ve asked them all to be honest with me about my actions and emotions when I am unaware. They help me stay grounded; which makes all the difference.
    Having a team of supporters has also been super helpful. If you have dissociative disorders and want to talk I’m here to listen bc I know how scary it can feel.

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    Can Borderlines Live a Normal Life?

    The short answer is Yes! But it won't to be normal normal but more of a semi normal because you still have to deal with your intrusive thoughts, dissociative amnesia moments, fear of abandonment and the rest of the bpd characteristics. But even though you can not focus on it sometimes long enough to blend in with the people around you, go to work, shop at the mall #BPD #MentalIllness

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    Amnesia + BPD

    Dissociative symptoms are common in BPD, including memory loss (amnesia) for certain time periods, events, and people, a sense of being detached from the self, depersonalization, derealization, perception of people and things as distorted and unreal, blurred sense of identity, and hearing voices. #dissociativeamnesia

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    What is dissociation?

    Dissociation is a common coping strategy for dealing with a traumatic situation. When you experience a threat to your well being, the brain can cleverly check out, allowing you to endure the traumatic experience without being conscious of it.

    There are several different types of Dissociation as Anna Lente explains in this article: themighty.com/2018/06/types-of-dissociation

    Have you ever experienced any of these? If so, did your experience match the descriptions in this article?

    Personally I have experienced depersonalization, dissociative amnesia and flashbacks. My depersonalization was the personification of an “out of body experience.” The dissociative amnesia has made it challenging to reconstruct narrative memories of my trauma, which frustrates me in therapy when I feel triggered and can’t figure out why. My flashbacks are both emotional and somatic, something we will discuss in more detail later this month.

    #PTSD #Trauma #traumaresponse #Dissociation

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    "My brain says 'let's do something fun today.' My body says 'don't listen to that fool.'"

    I hate days like this. Today is one of those days. I went to bed last night at 8:20 and woke up at 9-something. At least 12 hours, but completely unrested. I must of had a marathon of nocturnal seizures. I woke up with ringing-cloggy ear feeling, my brain was short circuited, my speech was slurred, and I thought I could go about my day. WRONG! It's ended up being a day in bed.

    I've known for a few years that I have dissociative amnesia about experiences in my younger years. I have accepted the holes in my memory but when I had that massive trigger back in June, some long forgotten memories started floating back while I slept. A lot of things happen while I sleep, memories return as nightmares and pent up anger emerges as bad dreams, so it makes sense I have seizures while sleeping.

    I had a thorough amount MRI's and EEG's and scans. It was confirmed I do not have epilepsy. I have dissociative seizures. It is another layer for preventing my memories to come back. Basically, when a part of my brain is ready to release a secret another part says "nope" and ZAPP!

    Now, I am left to ponder: 1. healing is a process where I face my demons and work through them. 2. I am literally electrocuting myself to keep things hidden. 3. WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO ME? 4. Do I really want to remember???

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    I feel so tired.

    Trying to come out of dissociation and my mind and body are wrecked by over stimulation. I've been in dissociation consistently for over 15 years. I can't remember all of my trauma and I have dissociative amnesia. It's all been getting worse. I thought I had a handle on my symptoms but it was just that my brain was enveloping me in such a deep dissociative state that I didn't have much to have to fight. Now, its all hitting me at once. I don't know what to do or where to start. I feel utterly helpless and useless. I can't go into walmart without being overwhelmed and over stimulated. I don't know what to do. When I was told about the Mighty I felt a little bit of peace knowing there are others that are fighting mental health battles like me. I'm faced with anxiety and depression and trauma and ptsd. Thanks for reading

    #Dissociation #Depression #Anxiety #overwhelmed #overstimulated #Depersonalization #Derealization #MentalIllness #Trauma #MentalHealth

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