Overcoming the 3 Types of Dissociation in Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)

Complex Borderline Personality Disorder: How Coexisting Conditions Affect Your BPD and How You Can Gain Emotional Balance. Available at:

Daniel J. Fox, Ph.D., is a licensed psychologist in Texas, international speaker, and award winning author. He has been specializing in the treatment and assessment of individuals with personality disorders for over 15 years in the state and federal prison system, universities, and in private practice. His specialty areas include personality disorders, ethics, burnout prevention, and emotional intelligence.

He has published several articles in these areas and is the author of:

The Borderline Personality Disorder Workbook: An Integrative Program to Understand and Manage Your BPD --COMING SOON--

Dr. Fox has been teaching and supervising students for over 15 years at various universities across the United States, some of which include West Virginia University, Texas A&M University, University of Houston, Sam Houston State University, and Florida State University. He is currently a staff psychologist in the federal prison system, Adjunct Assistant Professor at University of Houston, as well as maintaining a private practice that specializes in the assessment and treatment of individuals with complex psychopathology and personality disorders.

Thank you for your attention and I hope you enjoy my videos and find them helpful. I always welcome topic suggestions and comments.

Citations:

Mosquera, D. & Steele, K. (2017). Complex trauma, dissociation and Borderline Personality Disorder: Working with integration failures. European Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 1, 63–71.

[caffeinatedgay]

Wow I'm realizing I've experienced derealization for a long time.. when I was twelve I came up with this term "artificial day" and I would always tell my best friend that everything feels fake and I'm having an "artificial day" it scares me thinking back on it

[josefneet]

I've had colleagues ask if I'm high, and call me a space cadet and generally think I'm thick because I disassociate so frequently, especially under stressful situations

[jumngie]

Types of dissociation:
Derealization - 3:59
Depersonalization - 4:20
Dissociative Amnesia - 4:50

[Batya-Grace]

I appreciate the way you speak, not just your words, but also your mannerisms. For example, you say "Okay" a lot. My friend does that and I find it very affirming. I hope you understand what I mean. Look up ASMR. Aside from your degree, you have a natural gift in communication. You just never know how something insignificant you say or do, will impact the receiver. You're definitely the right man for the job, and there are very few like you. I can also tell you have a real heart! I usually lean towards female therapists, which I currently have, but watching your video has been a pleasant surprise. You know how to relate and identify with people! I'm not trying to stroke your ego, but I mean everything I say. Thank you from Western Massachusetts.

[vintagelotus]

It's amazing how as a child I would ground myself while disassociating without even realizing it. Whenever the room started growing bigger, and I started shrinking into whatever piece of furniture I was sitting on I would focus and rub on the hemline of whatever shirt i was wearing. I've never realized that's what I was doing until watching this. I have BPD and honestly miss the feeling of dissociation because it feels so warm and safe. I was safe as long as I was dissociating.

[helenachase]

I wonder why none of my therapists ever went deeply into the rapes I experienced at elementary school as a child. I am now 54 and just starting to realise it is the core of my severe interpersonal issues including borderline traits. I had to learn it on the internet .... Thanks Dr. Fox, you are helping me a lot. I have to admit that I did dissociate during the rapes and am not sure if I brought them up as key trauma in my life. I had so much family trauma I may have thought that was my problem but those rapes were so traumatic it lead to massive toxic shame ....

[zevrxn]

i feel so normal hearing i'm in the 90% part of any group

[sv.]

Not sure if anxiety causes me to dissociate or if dissociating causes me to have an anxiety attack, but either way it’s absolutely terrifying. When it happens to me usually my body is numb and ‘floaty’ and it freaks me out more to focus on trying to feel my body because it makes me realise how numb it is. Borderline personality disorder is a living hell.

[JonathanB]

i never knew dissociative amnesia was a thing. but i really struggle with it. I don't retain any important information if it was received in moments or periods of time in stress or panic. it happens a lot with my friends. Particularly my best friend/favorite person. We'll have issues, and have conversations that are stressful and anxiety provoking for me, come up with resolutions. but a week a later when I need to reference it, its like 90% of that information was erased completely. It happens in my therapy as well. My therapist will ask me about things we've talked about a week before and i'm lucky if i can remember half of it. It's terrible. Because what will happen is I'll re-engage in behaviors that lead to almost identical conversations about resolutions, and my friend will be like "we already talked about this?" and I'll have almost no recollection of any detail. and then it just comes off as me just selectively choosing to forget. But it's like it just literally gets wiped from my memory.

[christinalivingston]

When I dissociate it's like a dark fuzzy dream. I don't see well. I can hear but I cannot make myself respond to whoever is talking. It's like my brain won't shift gears to listen. Touch is not perceived. Smell is not perceived. It usually last only a few minutes..15 maybe. Once my dissociative behavior was a physical outburst. Most other times I have an extreme emotional anxiety attack that looks like some kind of seizure. But, all tests say I am not epileptic.
There is significant sexual, physical and verbal trauma. And witness of abuse of other loved ones. All in childhood and teen years.

[noahesra]

lmfao i love how i dissociated while watching this

[lilymbae]

Recently broke up with my boyfriend whom I love very much. I spent the past week in bed, barely eating, barely moving and just watching series after series after series and completely distancing myself from what I was feeling. Today morning I woke up feeling like I could barely remember my ex bf(it felt like I knew him 10 years ago as opposed to a week ago) and I felt like I was over him. Then I realised I was doing it again. I was dissociating from the pain. And as a consequence, forgetting my positive emotions for him.
I forced myself to bring the pain to the surface over and over again and it hurts terribly but I guess this is how to prevent myself from dissociating from this. I really don't want to forget him and the pleasant memories (I feel like I am a better person due to his influence in my life)

[phokang]

I experience derealization however my dissociation primarily manifests as me getting absorbed into fantasies I create, I sit not moving for sometimes hours and talk to myself outloud, or sometimes I'll do this when I'm driving or walking around a store. I dont always lose time, sometimes I know what is happening but dont stop doing it...

[artemisameretsu]

When you have to restart a few times bc you blank out xD

[rc]

I think I have dissociative amnesia. I can’t seem to remember my days.
The grounding technique has helped I don’t feel myself drifting off when I’m thinking about my surroundings.

[PomegranateStaindGrn]

This experience puts me at odds with most people, it seems. I’m thankful for my brain and its ability to detect the need to dissociate - especially because I have been unable to find a therapist or psychologist willing to work with me. I’ve dissociated so consistently in my life that I fear the loss of the ability much more keenly than the desire to learn to stop it and cope with reality.
Thank you for the time you put into your videos, Dr. Fox. So many are benefiting from them.

[yourenough]

You explain stuff in away that is easy to understand and i appreciate that. Thanks for the valuable videos.

[sherriesthilaire]

I can't tell you how helpful your videos have been. Thank you for your generosity and kindness. I'm 60 years old and until 10 years ago I was misdiagnosed and incorrectly treated. In that 10 years I have lived in rural and isolated communities where treatment was not available. Your resource has been invaluable to me. It's too bad there aren't more clinicians like yourself! I'm sure there would be less pain in the world. Thank you!

[Tawroset]

I've been zoning out for many years, but really it's never bothered me. Actually I like it! Maybe I'm just weird tho!

[ashtonmcguire]

I'm stuck in the present, I can hardly remember the day before to the full extent. I can recall an event, barely but not picture it in my head. It's difficult and annoying as hell and I don't know what to do