Dissociation, the overload zone Options

[Esme]

Interesting article:

http://www.myshrink.com/counseling-theory.php?t_id=13

[nowheretohide]

Dissociation is a type of freeze response

To the degree that you are dissociative, will be the degree of impairment in your ability to take appropriate fight or flight responses (e.g. being physically threatened). In other words, you are more likely to move into freeze whether you want to or not (e.g. freezing at gun point during a bank robbery).

I hadn't heard or read anything on the "Freeze" response. This is exactly what would happen to me all the time when I was with my ex. I had no idea what to make of it even though I am intimately familiar with being highly dissociative.

http://www.myshrink.com/counseling-theory.php?t_id=85

This would happen to me and I would be unable to control it or explain it and it would really piss him off...which would just continue the cycle of freezing. I was very confused by this and thought something was seriously wrong with me - entirely apart and unrelated to what was happening.

[Trichotomy]

My experience in clinical practice indicates that deep "talk therapy" therapeutic work is not the optimal choice if the client is severely dissociated. As Heller suggests we risk adding to the client's condition by attempting to add more material to the client's already full container.

oh...great...
My cup overfloweth

[Carly]

I agree with this so entirely,. Tri.

In fact, my emotional cup runneth over also and my therapist kept wanting to talk about the past blah blah blah and I finally just stopped going to her. I need ACTION not analysis.

it doesn't matter WHY I freaking freeze. It matters that I stop doing it right now, do ACTION instead. Once my cup isn't running over and I look back and analyze. There's plenty of time for that later.

And I'm the queen of freezing. I heard about fight/flight/freeze a few years ago. EFT is supposed to help with this (I never tried it) but for me it was getting into affirmation mode, and DOING small things (ditching all or nothing) and I started moving again. Oh. Note to self: Do that now too.

Anyway, I don't freeze as MUCH as I used to...it CAN get better.....