Feeling detached from my own body
You look down at your hands and they seem to belong to someone else. Your body may feel far off, numb, or made of fog. Some people say it is like watching themselves on a screen.
This feeling has a name: dissociation. The mind steps back when something feels like too much to hold. It often shows up after a frightening or painful event, sometimes years later.
It can come on when you are tired, stressed, or reminded of the past. Some spells last a minute, others much longer. The feeling can be scary, and it is not something you are making up.
When to see someone
See a doctor if the spells last for hours or days, or come more often. Get help the same day if you think about hurting yourself, lose whole blocks of time, or find yourself somewhere with no memory of getting there. A doctor should also rule out a head injury, seizures, or a side effect of a drug or medicine.
Below is a list of remedies that people have used for trauma symptoms like this one. Each has an evidence grade, which shows how much solid research has looked at it. Read the grade first, and talk with your doctor or therapist before you try anything new.
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