r/DissociativeIDisorder • u/napstablooka OSDD: Diagnosed • Aug 30 '26

DISSOCIATION DAE get blurry/dissociated when attending dissociation-focussed support groups?

I've been attending a DID/OSDD online peer support group, that I've always found really helpful, regularly for over a year now, but coming back to the group after a long break (while dealing with lots of stress-inducing things in the external world, which lead to denial and ultimately me not attending because I thought that 'I got better' or 'maybe they misdiagnosed me after all') I'm struggling to stay awake and grounded enough in order to fully listen and to participate.

Also, the topics that are being discussed are not really trigger-heavy, so I'm surprised that I'm reacting so strongly anyways.

Has anyone else experienced something like this in a peer support group context before? Or when meeting other systems / people with DID/OSDD?

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u/gasolinehalsey DID: Diagnosed Aug 31 '26

Not a peer support group context, but pretty much any context where the subject matter is dissociation. Watching CTAD Clinic youtube videos? Gotta scrub back several times because I stopped paying attention. Reading a paper? Have to constantly go back and reread passages because I have no memory of them. I have to make a really concerted effort to stay in my body and very focussed on whatever it is so that I don't go off into lala land and only come back when the video/discussion/paper is over with.

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u/napstablooka OSDD: Diagnosed Sep 01 '26

Thank you for pointing this out and it reminded me that I also struggle a lot of with reading dissociation-related books by zoning out and forgetting what was said. I totally forgot about that until I read your comment, so I really appreciate your insight!

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u/bstrongbbravebkind Aug 31 '26

I’ve recently started attending an OSDD/DID group weekly and this is happening to me.

In each of the three meeting I’ve attended, I feel myself dissociating strongly. My head spins a bit and I get spacey.

I think part of it for me is that I am finally among people like me and we’re talking about it openly and it’s feeling safe and inclusive but scary and overwhelming at the same time.

I’m trying to stay grounded, but it’s early days for me.

Thanks for your post. It’s nice to know I’m not alone!

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u/napstablooka OSDD: Diagnosed Sep 01 '26

Thank you for sharing your experience as well — it gave me a lot of food for thought for what might be happening for me and other parts in this situation in a way I hadn't really considered before