Dissociation is when you are disconnected from your emotions and the world around you. It can feel like numbness, inability to connect with your emotions, apathy, and can be paired with the loss of time.
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Do you sometimes feel like you don't recognize yourself in the mirror? Does the world around you not feel real? Have you lost time or zone out and miss what people say? Do you feel like you tend to 'float away' when triggered
This is often a coping mechanism of complex trauma survivors. Dissociation is a learned response that helps protect a trauma survivor from directly experiencing the trauma at the time. The brain will disconnect and transport the person deep within their mind. Once the brain learns how to do this, it is difficult to stop and then becomes hurtful rather than helpful.
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Depersonalization is when you feel disconnected from yourself . It can feel like you don't know who you are, that you don't feel 'real' and have difficulty accessing emotions about yourself. This is a sub category of dissociation and can be a consequence of prolonged dissociation.
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Our therapists at Onyx will help you heal from the trauma that has caused these symptoms, so you can live your life being fully connected to yourself and others.