Week of April 4th

This week, our clinicians have been learning and gathering information about the process of dissociation. Simply put, dissociation occurs when our minds move away from present moment awareness. Research suggests that dissociation is experienced on a spectrum. We experience moments of everyday disconnection from the present such as the sensation of ‘driving on autopilot’ or becoming internally preoccupied that we forget the task at hand. When in this type of mind, we are easily absorbed by a stimulus outside of the present moment, and our attention is unable to be redirected by other sensations. This response serves a function of protection and self preservation, especially in the context of traumatic experiences.  Although protective at times, dissociation can easily become a learned habitual pattern of behavior.  We may find ourselves shutting down and being activated in a threat response of fight, flight or freeze, when our minds feel unable to judge who and what is safe around us.  This week, as we continue to learn about dissociation as a process, we invite you to think about your own processes of shutting down, and the practice of grounding techniques to help redirect to the here and now.

First, it is important to identify your personal warning signs of dissociation.  Maybe at times there is an experience of brain fog, or a feeling of deeper depersonalization.  By gathering useful information, we begin to observe and recognize the moments of disconnection.  Perhaps, to build this awareness, try writing down a number each day on a daily scale of 1-10 to begin identifying the range of experience and to build self awareness of the process.  Next, we invite you to consider practicing interventions that will help increase feeling grounded to redirect yourself to the present moment.  A useful technique is to bring attention to your five senses. Basically, list five things you can see, four things you can hear, three things you can feel, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste.  We can also use our mindfulness observe and describe skills in these moments to scan the rooms we are in, choose an object, and describe the object in detail using our five senses.  In addition to reconnecting with our five senses, turning our awareness to our body can help redirect our ‘tuned out’ mind with the current moment.  Try opening your palms and tracing your fingers along the lines of your hands.  Place one hand on your belly and another on your heart and observe the rise and fall of your breath.

Our hope is that you will practice observing moments of disconnection this week and practice grounding interventions to turn awareness back to the present. Are you able to feel more mindful and present in your mind and body?  We look forward to hearing from you other ways you are practicing staying grounded and observing your mind.

 

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