dissociation/"mind fog"

[aelan]

I'm curious as to if anyone else experiences something similar (in a normal state of mind, not on drugs).

I don't really know how to accurately describe this. *The technical term for it would be "mild dissociation," though I think of it as either more of a "mind-fog" feeling or an extreme spaciness. *Sometimes it feels like there's an invisible barrier/force field between me and the world, which I cannot break through, therefore I'm on the periphery of reality, but not really a part of it. *It's like I'm not grounded enough in my body to be connected to what's going on around me, so I sort of just drift through existence. *It also makes it really hard for me to organize my thoughts and get them out on paper (I'm particularly thinking about when I'm trying to do my homework and can't focus because of this). *It's like my mind is somewhere else.

I'm not sure exactly why this happens. *It doesn't prevent me from functioning, but it's not just normal "spacing out." *We talked a little about dissociation in my Abnormal Psych class, but they made it sound as if people usually only dissociate if they've had some sort of severe trauma in the past, and I can't think of anything severe enough to cause this. *I do have moments where I feel really connected and present, but those are rare.

Has anyone else experienced anything like this? *Know how to resolve it? *Are certain types more likely to dissociate than others? (I was thinking 'N' types).

[MichaelH]

I feel this all the time, but most acutely when I'm under stress. My eyes and hands are interfaces to the world; they often don't even feel like part of me. At my worst, I feel like I'm manipulating the world through robotic add-ons; I'm just not a part of what's going on.

Buddhists would probably be critical of this, or maybe pleased - it's a crystal-clear illustration of the self/universe split.

The only time this feeling disappears is when I'm engaged in an immersive, physical activity. Playing piano is one of them, as is weightlifting.

No, you're not alone.

[TruorTupnm]

Yes, I have experienced this. A bit unsettling. I am inside, uttering, "Hm? This again? Turn off, you strange sensation! oh well. I guess that I'll get to that brainstorming later, then." To get rid of it, I can wait a couple of days for it to pass or do something out of the ordinary. I'm not sure what brings it up. Too much routine? Too many humans talking at me and not enough new things to talk about to myself?

[vulcan]

I've felt like my arms/body wasn't me before. It happens while walking down stairs, I find.

[HarleyQuinn]

I find this happens to me if I'm running as fast as I can, usually to retrieve a book for class or something. I get the sensation of going so fast that I feel like I'm going to fall flat on my face (legs in cartoonish propeller mode) but I manage to stay upright. I also mentally (and physically) start feeling like my feet aren't even touching the ground anymore and that I'm just floating through the air. Disconcerting to the point where I physically slow myself down to regain normal recognizance.

I also get that sensation when I've cut off circulation to my fingers and that feeling of my fingers detached from my hand to the point where I press an elevator button twice (even if I see the light's on) to make sure I touched it because it didn't feel like I did the first time. I hate walking up stairs in that mood b/c I feel like I'm floating.

As far as mentally, definitely when I haven't gotten the proper amount of sleep. Everything seems blurry eyesight wise and I feel like I'm mentally walking in sludge, unable to discern more than one voice/one conversation directed at or around me.

[rwyatt365]

As a child I had a recurring dream where a "witch" would come out from under my bed, grab me and then we would float off into "nothingness". In the dream I could hear, feel and see everything from two perspectives; one was "myself" lying there asleep, the other was "me" in a void. I was never afraid of the "witch", just mildly disturbed by the sensation of being in two places at once. As a matter of fact, the effect was somewhat calming – it was like I had a clarity of thought that I never had while fully awake. I had that dream at least twice a week for years until I was well into my teens.

As I grew older, I lost touch with the "witch" but that feeling never entirely left me. There are times now when – if I didn't know any better – I could swear that I hear the very atoms vibrating in the air. It's like my senses have expanded to encompass the entirety of the universe. I know, it sounds silly and I'm a little embarrassed to be writing this – it's something that I have never dared tell anyone…EVER! :-[

This is one reason why I never got caught up in drugs, or alcohol as a way to alter consciousness. I already had my very own mind-altering experience built-in! I could "trip-out" pretty much whenever I wanted to and not have any nasty side-effects. :thumbsup:

You asked how to resolve this. For me, I don't want to "resolve" it. It's something that I've incorporated into my life and I think it keeps me humbled. I mean, when you feel that you are part of everything and everything is part of you, it puts me in my place quickly.

Or, maybe I'm just nuts! :mad:

[Wolfie]

Umm. I have feelings where I lose every part of my body but my nose. I can smell everything. It really bothers me. I have to pull myself back into my body because it feels so weird. It is very creepy. I just float off but every smell is enhanced.

[aelan]

I find this happens to me if I'm running as fast as I can, usually to retrieve a book for class or something. I get the sensation of going so fast that I feel like I'm going to fall flat on my face (legs in cartoonish propeller mode) but I manage to stay upright. *I also mentally (and physically) start feeling like my feet aren't even touching the ground anymore and that I'm just floating through the air. Disconcerting to the point where I physically slow myself down to regain normal recognizance.
this sometimes happens when I'm running down a hill. I've felt the floating sensation while drunk.



As I grew older, I lost touch with the "witch" but that feeling never entirely left me. There are times now when – if I didn't know any better – I could swear that I hear the very atoms vibrating in the air. It's like my senses have expanded to encompass the entirety of the universe. I know, it sounds silly and I'm a little embarrassed to be writing this – it's something that I have never dared tell anyone…EVER! *:-[
I wasn’t thinking about this when I posted this, but I do have some sort of strange..perceptions. *I see movement in the air- the only way I can really describe it is that is looks kind of like when the tv goes static. *It’s swirling, moving, sometimes different vague impressions of colors. *I have seen larger blotches of color too, but it’s usually the small static.

I also hear tones in my head- kind of like when you turn the sound all the way down on the tv, and it’s making that annoying electronic sound, with other electronic sounds. *It bothers me a lot; I don't know if I've ever actually experienced real silence.

This is one reason why I never got caught up in drugs, or alcohol as a way to alter consciousness. I already had my very own mind-altering experience built-in! I could "trip-out" pretty much whenever I wanted to and not have any nasty side-effects. :thumbsup:
haha, yeah..I’ve often said that my mind is a drug in itself..

[cielo market]

Yeah I suffer from "Observer" syndrome. *:-? I'm so drawn into my own thoughts that I disconnect from what's going on around me, even my own physical self. Talk about dichotomy.

[hopscotch]

I experience this all the time. *It's difficult to explain because it seems few other people experience anything like it. *When the detachment is at its most extreme it feels almost like an out of body experience - profoundly surreal and somewhat unsettling. *As I start to come back into myself, I'll often look around and marvel at the simple fact that I am alive, in this moment. *I think my incredulity that I am in the moment stems from the fact that I am always living in the future, mentally.

[Paul V]

Wow... I've never experienced such a thing. I'm constantly paying attention to either what's around me or what's on my mind, so I wouldn't have those experiences even if I wanted to. I've never done drugs or got drunk, so I wouldn't know how it is like to be dissociated. I have what aelan describes, about never having experienced real silence. I'm always hearing something, even if it's the sounds of my heart beating or my breathing.

Even though I find the idea appealing (I never have peaceful moments. Ever.), I'm not sure if it's really worth it. It sounds slightly scary, being dettached from the Universe...

[niffer]

All the time, actually. In fact, I feel like I've been in this fog ever since I turned 10-ish. It's like my body told me, "All right- you're older, you've finished the first stage of your life, no more sensory living for you." Some days, it's stronger than others.

Contrary to what you said you were taught in your class though, I believe I can only escape this fog and be able to think and absorb the world completely clearly *during* a severely traumatizing situation, or an extremely novel experience.

[deicruxified]

same here... when my godmother died, i felt nothing... i don't seem to be attached to anything or anyone and i'm not afraid to die either. when i go on a greenery or any place that has more nature in it than busy streets, it lures me to stay and not come back home. there was even a time my mom found me "almost dead" in my room. i was just staring blankly at the ceiling and almost never breathed. i never knew it was happening. all i knew was i got lots of thoughts running in mind. i asked my psych prof if it is normal and he said that it is normal for n people.

[Heero]

I've felt it, usually in -HUGE- crowds of people where I don't feel at ease. As they talk and things happen I start to feel just completely isolated, like I'm in a dream, like everything isn't real. My mind just feels foggy, it's really bad. I think it might have to do with what crowds do at some level. My sister (a neuroscientist) told me that repetitive things (chanting, clapping repetitively) and some other things cause part of our brain to create a "feel of significance" (anything rhythmic does it, that's what happens to joggers too).

I'm not sure if it's related, but I feel that way usually only in crowds or when I have an inner ear infection :P. It has to be a huge crowd too, like several thousand people in a room, and it can't be something I'm comfortable at. If it is a conference about something and I feel safe it usually doesn't happen.

This has happened as far back as I can remember in crowds, I've always hated crowds since I was very young.

That's all for me.

[thegnat]

Good point heero. in crowds sometimes i do get to be so overwhelmed by all the chatter and I just can't think.

With really loud noises I tune them out quite easily actually. It's kind of bad if someone's trying to make a point by yelling at me or something. I'll just tune it out. Be in my own little world.

I have certainly been spaced out. I don't know why exactly it happens but yeah people have to snap me out of it sometimes.

I can also kind of dissociate in really weird ways. Like I'll be thinking about chemistry while working out. My body will be working out and my mind won't even be thinking about the work out and I'll barely realize I am working out. It's weird. I somehow know how many reps I've done though during the whole time I was thinking about something completely different. I'll kind of go "oh I just did 20 reps. Nice. that went by fast (because I was thinking of something totally different)." Then I'll say, "oh yeah, you did do 20 reps. How'd you realize that?" Sometimes this happens during tennis too. I can be thinking of something completely different and playing tennis at the same time. Barely realizing I'm playing tennis, but playing effective tennis nonetheless.

[Theoden]

Also have "observer" syndrome. Also agree it happens the most in crowds. I think its most acute when I haven't spoken to anyone for a day or two, and then ending up in a noisy crowd with people chattering away around you.. it makes you feel completely disconnected with them.

Having a conversation (i.e. something more involved than ordering coffee) tends to snap me out of it.

[BlackHawk]

I know what you're talking about. It generally happens to me when i am extrapolating upon a train of thought rather than engaging in social activity with present company. But now i can control when it happens, and for how long.

[pinkroger]

This happens all the time for me. I rather enjoy it, because most of the time, I don't want to be a part of society. I just seem so different.

[Uytuun]

I'm constantly in "meta-perspective" mode. I often walk down the road to realise that I'm not part of what's happening...it feels like I can't touch it and it can't touch me, another dimension almost, or a film set...very absurd in a way.

[Aldrin]

I wasn’t thinking about this when I posted this, but I do have some sort of strange..perceptions. I see movement in the air- the only way I can really describe it is that is looks kind of like when the tv goes static. It’s swirling, moving, sometimes different vague impressions of colors. I have seen larger blotches of color too, but it’s usually the small static.


I think I know exactly what your talking about here, I get it too whenever I take off my glasses and unfocus my eyes (particularly on white surfaces such as my walls and ceiling.) Its called visual snow, heres the wiki: To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

Hmm, rereading that gets me thinking though...I've been getting migraines regularly the past couple weeks...maybe its time I mentioned it to my doctor... It's just something that wouldn't seem as an indicator of anything serious if you already have poor vision. That wiki advises an MRI for all cases it seems, but first thing first, get your physicians advice I guess.


I also hear tones in my head- kind of like when you turn the sound all the way down on the tv, and it’s making that annoying electronic sound, with other electronic sounds. It bothers me a lot; I don't know if I've ever actually experienced real silence.


I've read that everyone had this to some extent in modern societies, in part to low level hearing damage. However if it is very noticeable outside of silence, it can be a result of a few medical conditions from mild to severe. The ringing in the ears coupled with the visual snow...Again I'd suggest mentioning these facts including anything else especially any frequent migraines to your physician at your next available chance. Might be nothing, but always good to play it safe.

[Bluestocking]

Sure. I'll have moments where it's like I'm outside myself, looking in, or that I'm a total stranger to myself. Or I'll be walking down the street, completely lost in thought, and won't realize how I got from one end of the street to the other or that I've been greeted by someone I know. No literal out of body experiences, but it's a moment of awareness.

My body has never really felt like the essential "me." For that part, neither has my personality. There's a solid core of "me" -- call it the "soul" or the "spirit" or whatever -- and then there's the "me" who's been acting according to temperament and outward personality, being sullen or sharp-tongued or having a headache or whatever. It's like the inner core is looking on on the actions and is having a separate commentary on it. When I was little I worked out that we must all be sparks of the divine god and if only we could be free of the cages that were our flesh and blood bodies we would be able to connect and return to the Divine spark. I didn't figure out until later that this was a kind of Gnosticism. I don't know if this is true disassociation or simply an awareness of the real reality. I had some weird dreams when I was a kid and was running a high fever. It felt like I was being smothered to death in cotton wool. But that isn't quite the same experience.

[zero]

Most of the time I'm in my own world and don't care that much about what's going on around me but there are some "sessions" of deep exploration in my world. It's not an out of body experience, it just feels like you are immersed in a vast ocean that's there for you to explore.

I've discovered that some drugs enhance these experiences to the point where you can visualise just about anything in front of your eyes or hear every sound you can think of but not just remember how it sounded, you can actually hear it.

About the visual snow, I didn't even know this existed as a symptom of medical conditions but I've seen it a couple times (both under the influence and undrugged). I've never talked to anyone about it though, I just thought of it as one of the many visual distortions.

Also, when I'm trying to clear my mind of every thought or when I'm trying to sleep, I hear voices of people I've never heard before having conversations but the volume is not constant and when I'm trying to focus on what they're saying, they just disappear.

[PillowSoup]

I hate this.
I'll sometimes end up in what I like to describe as 'white noise' of meaningless thoughts which disconnects me from what I'm actually doing.

[curiousjane]

I'm curious as to if anyone else experiences something similar (in a normal state of mind, not on drugs).

I don't really know how to accurately describe this. The technical term for it would be "mild dissociation," though I think of it as either more of a "mind-fog" feeling or an extreme spaciness. Sometimes it feels like there's an invisible barrier/force field between me and the world, which I cannot break through

I think so. This used to happen to me quite a bit. I could zone out so deep into myself that I wouldn't even hear people talking to me. I felt all fuzzy and confused.

I don't have this happen as often as it used to anymore.

1) I discovered a link between what I ate and how I felt. More sugar = more mind fog.

2) Getting lost in books, movies, or research increases the likelihood of it happening.

Reaching out to others or engaging my senses (for example, aerobic exercise) seems to snap me out of it.

[DeadSpace]

Had to think alot, or rather remember, hasn't happened in a while. Around 17 modified what caused it, the disconnect, so that i could stay aware and active in my surroundings. Had to, it was interfering with my lifestyle at the time. Hated the sensation. Everything becoming distant, half heard, half seen. Now there is no disconnect, always aware, at least on some level.