Feeling Numb & Disconnected? Grounding Exercises for Anxiety & Dissociation

Summary

In this video, Dr. Tracey Marks, a psychiatrist, discusses dissociation, its dual role in trauma response, and its potential negative effects. She explains how dissociation can serve as a protective mechanism during traumatic events but may lead to feelings of emptiness and anxiety afterward. Dr. Marks emphasizes the importance of trauma-focused therapies for healing and offers grounding techniques to help individuals reconnect with the present. These techniques utilize both sensory and cognitive methods, allowing viewers to reclaim their awareness and manage dissociative symptoms effectively.

Takeaways

• 😀 Dissociation is a mental experience where attention and emotions disconnect from the present moment.
• 😕 Depersonalization involves feeling detached from oneself, while derealization involves feeling disconnected from one’s environment.
• 🚗 Traumatic experiences, like a car accident, can lead to dissociative memories that resurface later, often triggered by smells or sounds.
• 🛡️ Dissociation can act as a defense mechanism during trauma, helping individuals cope when there is no escape from a situation.
• 🧠 While dissociation can protect during a traumatic event, it can also become a maladaptive response in unrelated situations.
• 📉 The effects of trauma can accumulate over time, leading to anxiety, flashbacks, and a sense of emptiness, often without conscious awareness.
• 📅 Stressful situations can trigger dissociation, making it difficult to relate to others or remain engaged.
• 🛠️ Effective treatments for trauma-related dissociation include trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy, prolonged exposure, and EMDR.
• 👣 Grounding techniques can help bring awareness back to the present, utilizing sensory or cognitive methods.
• 🖐️ Sensory grounding exercises include identifying things you can see, hear, touch, smell, and taste, while cognitive grounding involves affirming safety and the present moment.

Q & A

What is dissociation?

Dissociation is an experience where a person's attention and emotions become disconnected from the present moment, making them feel as if they are observing themselves or their environment from a distance.

What are depersonalization and derealization?

Depersonalization is a dissociative experience where one feels detached from themselves, while derealization is when one feels disconnected from their environment, often feeling like their surroundings are not real.

How can dissociation occur during a traumatic event?

During a traumatic event, dissociation can happen as a protective mechanism, allowing the mind to numb pain and emotional responses, making it feel as though the event is not happening to the individual.

What is a common effect of trauma on memory?

Trauma can lead to fragmented memories, which may resurface later in life through triggers such as smells or sounds, causing anxiety or feelings of emptiness without a clear understanding of why.

What are some symptoms that may indicate someone is dissociating?

Symptoms of dissociation can include feeling empty, having flashbacks of the trauma, experiencing memory lapses, zoning out, or feeling disconnected from oneself or others.

What therapies are effective for addressing dissociation related to trauma?

Effective therapies for dissociation related to trauma include trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), prolonged exposure therapy, and eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR).

What are grounding techniques?

Grounding techniques are strategies used to bring awareness back to the present moment, helping individuals feel safe and refocus their thoughts when experiencing dissociation.

Can you provide examples of sensory grounding techniques?

Examples of sensory grounding techniques include the 5-4-3-2-1 exercise (naming five things you see, four things you hear, three you can touch, two you can smell, and one you can taste), using grounding smells, or carrying a pleasurable sensory object.

What are cognitive grounding techniques?

Cognitive grounding techniques involve reminding oneself of their safety, orienting to time and place, and repeating comforting or coping statements to reinforce a sense of security.

What is the purpose of using grounding techniques?

The purpose of grounding techniques is to help individuals reconnect with the present moment and diminish the overwhelming feelings that can accompany dissociative experiences, promoting a sense of safety and awareness.