Missing Time Disassociation?

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I was wondering if anyone could give me information on two incidents that I've encountered.

The first incident of which is when I was on the phone with a friend and she was going to go that day to help her parents move and was supposed to call that night, she never called that night so I called her and started going off on her about how she hadn't called me for two days when she dropped the bomb on me that it was still the same day as the day she helped her parents so given that I essentially in my mind split a single day into two days without even realizing it.

In another incident I was shown a copy of an instant message conversation that was said to have taken place two days ago, I remembered the conversation but I remember it being far longer than two days ago and I remember speaking of one of my characters for a story and saying that she had been "deactivated" and I don't remember using that word at all and it doesn't sound like a word I would ever use in a conversation, it's to technical and robotic for me.

I really don't think I have Disassociative Personality Disorder because I don't think I have multiples but I do have big gaps in memories in my life but can remember the general feeling of the times themselves. I called my psychiatrist and she said it could have been a disassociative episode and that my prolonged boredom and isolation could of been a factor which I guess if it caused stress it could of, I guess I am looking for others opinions.

I've read up on it myself and it speaks of amnesia and loss of memory but nothing specific about splitting days or using language you wouldn't normally use so I figured I would come here for specific advice.

hi there!

Sorry to hear you are having some issues. I have had times like you describe - but I do know I do go dis-associative at times. When I do there is a distinct feeling of being "far away foggy" and I remember being in that space, just the actual events in that space are hazy. I have come to believe that this happens when I mentally shut down after severe overload of some sort - be it melt down, sensory or being in the sun for more than a few minutes.

The only times I get what you describe about feeling days have passed and they have not is when I take one or two naps in a day and go into very deep sleep. I then confuse my days and how much time is passing.
My solution for that is to avoid naps like the plague - not to mention only a short light nap can keep me from sleeping until the wee morning hours arrive.

As for the language thing - just today I was using words incorrectly, spoke with an accent and said words like ipad when I meant to say something completely different... When I am tired I do this way more than usual. I have accepted it is a part of my life. It is annoying and I get teased lots... but I have chosen not to stress on it anymore because it just causes me more issues...

Hope you get some answers you are looking for! Good luck and take care!

Anyone can dissociate. Yours is a little extreme, but having a daughter with AS, and also being a psychotherapist who has read a lot about AS, I suspect many people with AS suffer from extreme stress, if not PTSD. Dissociation is a natural result of the nervous system being overloaded. But also could come from long periods of isolation.

wow.. "missing time"

This is exactly what i called it the first time it happened to me. I guess it's like a petit mal seizure.
I was at a friend's house standing with 2 my friends who were talking in a circle. I keep blacking out that night (not literally seeing black or anything) I was standing and just completely lost it. I had no idea what was said, what i had said, was doing. I kept saying i was "missing time" over and over. It was as if my brain would glitch out for a second or two and say during that time. It scared me as i never experienced it that badly before. That semester my mother ended up driving me to community college at that point.
I think what made the whole incident so noticeable was that i was standing talking in the middle of some conversation to begin with. I snap to and just look bewildered and don't know what was said etc.
Usually i am not in conversations.

A few times years back i have had episodes of staring at the computer (worst case for a little over 2 1/2 hours) I didn't realize how much time had passed and was confused as to why i hadn't accomplished anything on the computer. That one was scary.
My mother has a history of having bad petit mals (yes, i know she drives, yes it's scary).
Now i only have absence type seizures sometimes. I tend to zone out and this is when NTs notice something is off.

People on the spectrum are sometimes prone to Epilepsy and in my case it could be genetic too, yet there are a lot of environmental factors that can trigger seizures in people.

You should get checked by a neurologist just in case you have a type of seizures.

As for dissociative episode, maybe your therapist didn't mean DID (MPD) yet she meant you might have been just have an instance where you had a trance like state, or staring spell? Cases of true DID (MPDs) are so rare. As for the memory loss, i have that too. I don't know what excuse to chalk it up to, yet it's there. If it's something extremely important i will tell my NT gf that i'll put it in writing for her or her to do the same (yet we never do)

Yes it is important that you get checked out to rule out seizures. Seizures are frequently associated co occurring diagnosis.
On the other hand ASD is also very susceptible to dissociation so it is not unlikely that what you are experiencing dissociation. When you mentioned multiples what you were describing is the most severe condition of dissociation call dissociative identity disorder. It is no longer in the category as a personality disorder because it is not. Its a coping mechanism.
They say that the existence of autism spectrum disorder with dissociative identity disorder is rare. I guess it's more rare than most but it is not that rare. I know several people with both conditions so it is possible. I am one of them. I have been integrating for years and only had success when I was finally diagnosed with autism and I was able to do therapy differently.

No matter what is wrong it is important that you find out what it is so that you can deal with it and begin to heal.

Just so you know, one criteria for developing severe dissociation or dissociative identity disorder is a history of trauma and/or abuse. If this is a possibility in your history and you might want to consider seeing a psychologist that specializes in dissociative disorders or severe trauma and PTSD for an assessment and evaluation.

But before any psychological diagnosis is made one should always ruled out medical causes. Go to your primary care physician and let them know you're having these experiences and ask if there is a possibility it could be Seizures. Any respectable physician will refer you to a neurologist for an EEG.

Just remember; whatever the cause you will figure it out, deal with it and heal.
Best of luck!!
Jen

I have this every now and again, it makes me very uneasy. I'll see something I wrote dated for yesterday and yet feel like I had written it several days previously. I also had a few instances of 'blacking out' in conversations as Chloe33 describes; each time I 'came to' I would go from being aware of this profound and total silence, to hearing a sudden whoosh and blur of noise, like I was tuning back in to the real world. I've wondered if it has any connection to narcolepsy/sleep disorders; I don't shut my eyes or anything, but my brain seems to switch off all outside stimuli like it does when you go to sleep.

The worst time it ever happened (that I'm aware of, I suppose ) I was map-reading for my dad as he drove. I would have periods of consciousness and talk to him, then slam straight into a 'black out'. This must have happened 10+ times during the journey, and it was very disorienting. I kept missing chunks of time without realising it, i.e.:
Dad "that's a nice house"
Me "yes, very pretty"
Dad "what are you talking about?"
Me "you said that was a nice house we passed?"
Dad "...that was 5 minutes ago "
Yet to me the jump was seamless, I really thought he'd just said it.

I don't get asked to map read much anymore . Anybody watch Mr Robot? A lot of these kinds of issues in there, I really relate to it (plus it's beautifully shot).

@Racheypie666
What you're describing sounds like possible narcolepsy. It is sometimes caused by a sleeping disorder known as sleep apnea where you stop breathing from either snoring or just don't breathe. It can cause all sorts of neurological problems as well as episodes of narcolepsy where you fall asleep for a little tiny amounts of time and then wake up. Definitely go to your primary care physician and asked for a sleep study. Explain your symptoms to this doctor like the ones you just described in in your writing. Like I've said above it is always important to rule out medical issues before jumping to a psychological diagnosis. Narcolepsy can be very dangerous especially when you're driving yourself or performing a task that involves safety. Please go to your primary and ask for a sleep study after describing your symptoms. If you need to use a CPAP machine and you have trouble with it don't be afraid to go back and tell them the trouble you had after years of sleep apnea causing me neurological issues I was finally treated and a CPAP machine was very uncomfortable I won't up with a better machine that's extremely comfortable and I'm finally getting sleep. Best wishes to you.

In the past I used to lose time but in the sense that my sense of time ended. It was as if there is no such thing as time. It's such a strange thing though and I cannot describe unless you've known it. Its very scary. I went to see the Dr because I thought something was wrong with me but they found nothing wrong. At the time I was spending very long periods of time alone, I worked night shifts and was undiagnosed aspie. I used to have panic attacks a lot and derealisation and depersonalisation and had trouble controlling my feelings so I think perhaps it's due to that? I hope so because one time I was feeling nervous and like something was watching me so I sat on the floor to try and 'hide' and I thought I saw supernatural beings and lost my sense of time for a good hour. I cannot explain thathe it felt so bad.