Disassociation from your own body?

Post Reply New Topic

Yes. I have trouble because when I look at myself in the mirror I don’t feel like the image I see belongs to me. It’s weird because with other people it’s hard for me to separate their personality from their physical appearance. Somehow when I see other people the personality just seems to fit the person’s appearance precisely.

There are some people who seem so “in touch” with their appearance (i.e. have distinct hair style, clothing, makeup, piercings, tattoos, etc.) that I don’t understand. I wonder if those people feel like their appearance represents who they are as a person. When I look at myself in the mirror my physical appearance mystifies me somewhat. I always wondered if other people felt this way or not.

You express it nicely. Until the age of around 11 or 12 I'd always assumed that everyone saw the world the same way I did. It was only after deep conversations with other school children at the time and since then that it became clear that most people's sense of "self" and "me" went beyond the mind and somehow included their body and face too, it wasn't something they just "lived in". Not being a body or a face seems quite normal and perfectly real to me. It doesn't bother me in the slightest. However, my lack of interest in physical appearance does bother some people though. So I keep the body clean, groomed and healthy but have no fashion sense at all.

Looking at all the replies from people it seems clear people are either expressing what I'm expressing or talking about disassociation disorder which seems different. What I'm saying seems very clear and obvious to me and apparently to some others here. So obvious perhaps that maybe they had assumed everyone experienced the strong distinction between "self" and body.

Disassociation disorder seems to refer to people who lose the connection to their body or environment in a disturbing or unreal sort of way or even externalise the view of their body. It also seems to be temporary in nature.

I've never had a strong connection to my body to lose in the first place - it's never been me and there is nothing unreal or disturbing about it. The difference may seem subtle but is really quite big. I think some people here know exactly what I mean.

Yep, i can totally relate. It has never been constant but happens for 'spells'. It has become less frequent for me as i've gotten older and rarely happens to me now. Sometimes it is even accompanied by a seeming loss of actual physical feeling which is really bizarre. It is as if i am looking through windows instead of eyes and i see my appendages move as i 'will' them to, but they are not 'me'.

I also did not know my face until i had my first school photo taken. Anyone else? I was so astounded by that picture that everyone told me was myself that i carried it around staring at it for days. I think i was even put up to a mirror to verify that the face was mine and told that i could look into the mirror to see what i look like.

Funny, i was just thinking about this the other day and was considering starting a thread on it.

I made this name for a reason. I get some eerie feelings associated with it, like when people give me compliments on appearance; it's like they're not mine to appreciate.

I feel that way too, about compliments. I get uncomfortable, as it the person is admiring some other person, for whom I can take no credit. I recently hung a picture of myself where I can see it all the time. I sort of have the face memorized, so that when someone says something about my appearance, I picture "her." I guess its not really working...

I have also experienced dissociation and it’s actually quite different from what you and I are talking about. Dissociation is more than just feeling like your body is distinct from the “inner self”.

The best way I can describe dissociation is that it feels like you are controlling your actions through a remote control rather than directly. I remember talking and feeling like my speech was coming from some unconscious part of me rather than directly from the active part of my consciousness. It was almost like I was observing myself but not completely in control of my actions. In reality I still had control but it felt somewhat dreamlike and insubstantial, giving the impression of not being in control.

the 'me' is in a section in my brain , my body just hosts it.

Yes, that. And sometimes, do you feel....prosthetic? I live inside my mind so I'm congruent with what is outside, and not just my body, but my environment. I am observant to extreme measure. But I cannot know what another is perceiving of me. Maybe I do not want to know.