Vivid flashbacks, nightmares, hypervigilance, and emotional distress are commonly understood characteristics of PTSD. For many people, however, their experience involves a lesser-known manifestation called dissociation.
Dissociative PTSD is a quieter, complex, and often misunderstood subtype of PTSD. Rather than feeling overwhelmed by your memories, you may feel disconnected from your thoughts or even your sense of self.
These hidden signs of this type of PTSD can make it difficult for you to articulate the experience and for others to recognize what’s going on. Let’s talk about what this actually looks like.
The Difference in Dissociative PTSD
Dissociative PTSD still includes the typical PTSD symptoms like hypervigilance and intrusive thoughts, but it also involves elements of depersonalization and derealization. They’re basically fancy terms for feeling disconnected from your world.
Depersonalization is the experience of feeling detached from your own body. Think of it as viewing your life from the outside, almost like you’re watching it play out in a movie rather than actually living it.
Derealization, on the other hand, is when the world around you feels distorted. It can feel like a dream rather than reality.
The Unnoticed Signs
Emotional Numbness
Unlike an onset of negative emotions like sadness or depression, dissociative PTSD can create a persistent sense of emotional flatness. You won’t necessarily feel down. Bad days won’t make you cry. Happy moments won’t bring you any joy or relief. You just exist while feeling nothing at all.
An Odd Sense of Time
Dissociative PTSD can leave you with memory loss or gaps in a certain timeline. You may arrive at a destination and not have any recollection of your drive. Hours may pass while working on something, but it only feels like minutes.
These gaps aren’t a result of distraction or forgetfulness. It’s your brain’s built-in protection system, purposefully checking you out for a brief time.
Strange Physical Sensations
The sense of disconnect can also be physical in nature. Your hands may not feel like yours. When seeing your reflection in a mirror, you may feel surprised by who’s looking back. You may experience a floaty feeling where you don’t have normal control over your bodily movements.
Memories That Don’t Feel Like Yours
When you try to recall certain memories of a traumatic event, they may feel like something you read or heard about rather than something you’ve personally experienced. Details may not be clear, or the emotions associated may not be the most appropriate.
Why the Dissociation Happens
After experiencing a traumatic event, especially something deeply significant or complex, your brain may have trouble processing that information in that moment. Instead of taking on the difficult task, it flips the circuit breaker.
Your brain creates a separation between you and your emotions. The plus side of this mechanism is that it helps you to survive the experience. Unfortunately, it can linger long after the danger has passed and create new, unanticipated problems.
What Helps Dissociative PTSD
Similar to the usual PTSD, this subtype is also treatable. The key to healing is working with a therapist who is trained in dissociation and can help you safely process your trauma. Trauma-focused EMDR therapy has been proven to be an effective treatment approach to alleviate symptoms. Somatic therapy can also help reconnect your mind and body while processing the trauma.
Professional support will provide you with a safe space to explore your experience, while building the skills you need to stay grounded and cope with future triggering situations.
Moving Forward
If any of this sounds familiar, know that you’re not alone. Your brain has been trying to protect you, and now it’s time to move forward and heal that wound.
When you’re ready, we’re here to talk about how therapy and PTSD treatment can help your dissociative symptoms. Use our contact information to schedule a free consultation and take the first step towards healing.
