To counter dissociation effectively it is necessary to notice it in time, that is: before you are frozen and unable to act.
You can train yourself to do that and the easiest way is to be aware of your emotions and stay within the window of tolerance.
But what if you are unable to sense your emotions? How are you supposed to figure out how you are doing and if an intervention is needed?
Don’t worry. Even when you don’t feel your emotions or the current stress level they are still there, in a measurable way, because your body feels and expresses them even when you can’t.
Because of that we can explore what our body is doing and develop a new sensitivity for early disso-detection.
The time and patience needed to get to know yourself better is well invested.
I am using a list with all kinds of body parts on it (you can add to it if needed). I regularly check in with myself, go through the list and take notes if I can feel a body part, percentage of the sensation and if there is anything special like tingling, coldness or tightness.
I do that several times throughout the day so that a development becomes visible. It helps to write down the time of day or recent events too. That way it becomes easier to find early changes that could warn you in the future. This body log is not meant to produce quick results or stop dissociation, It’s about getting to know yourself in all kinds of situations and to train yourself to observe your body mindfully.
This is what a body log could look like:
when you have finished the log you can get a quick overview, extreme numbers and changes should draw your attention. But beware, sometimes numbers can fool you. In this example it feels like I am sensing the hip area really well because I am having a body flashback after a trigger. But what I am sensing is not “here and now”, it is “then and there” and I am not fully in the present.
For me the first sign of dissociation are cold hands. It is a very early signal and I don’t react to it. First of all because I am a woman and my hands are cold very often, second because its such an early sign that it is still within my window of tolerance.
The first signs that cause me to use skills to reduce dissociation are changes in my sight and how I perceive my legs as well as tightness in throat or chest (fear reaction). Signals for early detection can vary between people and within a system.
Caution: a body scan, and that is what I basically do with the log, can feel uncomfortable. Some people feel fear, pain or other kinds of discomfort when they try to perceive different body parts. Its important the handle this mindfully: notice it, do not evaluate or judge it, take your attention and keep going. Do not stop, do not go deeper into the sensation, just move on. But do not avoid it completely if possible. It is here and now and nothing bad happens just because you look at it for a moment. Still, take care.
It’s common to have limited body sensation, “missing” limbs or a changed perception. We eg hardly feel our upper arms and thighs, even when we aren’t especially triggered. Do not judge, just notice and record it on the list. There are things that can be done to increase body awareness, but that’s another topic.
Leave a Reply