Either I have house elves or I am losing it.

[Lisa G]

I also routinely experience "autopilot" while driving from my country home to our near by city....I was alerted to my propensity to dissociation while working with dissociative clients. I caulk it up to the brains natural ability to dissociate, some of us more, some less.

Hi Helen. Very interesting. I'm sure most of us have done the same thing while driving, particularly if it's a route that we've taken hundreds or thousands of times before! I wonder if you could say a little more about how dissociation may be a cause of "autopilot." In the meantime, I wanted to welcome you to the apoe4 forum! In case you haven't explored around the site too much, I wanted to direct you to some resources that are helpful. The primer is a great place to start as it is written by a physician in laymen's terms. There is also a"How-To" Guide that makes your journey around the site much more efficient. You may be interested in checking out the "Our Stories" forum to share your own story and learn about fellow members. Finally, I've found the search function to be an awesome way to research questions you may have as most likely, someone has asked the question before and there are several threads of information regarding that topic.
Again, welcome to the community and please don't hesitate to reach out with any questions, comments or additional recommendations!

[Caveman]

I also routinely experience "autopilot" while driving from my country home to our near by city. Suddenly I realize I've stopped at an intersection a few miles back, checked for traffic and made a turn without a conscious memory of it, somewhat disconcerting to say the least. Lately, with many stressors on my mind, it happens more predictably, and I take cautionary measures to make a conscious effort to stay focused on the here and now, essentially staying grounded to the road, cars and road signs the closer I get into traffic. I was alerted to my propensity to dissociation while working with dissociative clients. I caulk it up to the brains natural ability to dissociate, some of us more, some less.

Hi Helen,

I have been under a lot of stress recently so from what you say it could be dissociation. Since my previous post I have had a couple of unusual things happen. Not "house elves" these times, as I was driving. The first incident was a fairly standard "autopilot" experience and I'm less concerned about it. The second one was at 7 PM and dark and I stopped at an intersection with a 4-way stop. A car arrived behind me and honked it's horn. I don't know how long I had been stopped and there were no other cars at the intersection other than the car behind me. As I heard the honk and became aware of the situation I realized that it was actually the second honk. I recalled an earlier fainter honk. I felt like I was coming out of a dream. It was four days ago and I haven't had any incidents since then.

Thanks,
Caveman

[Helen]

Thanks for the welcome, Lisa G, and all the info re getting around this site. I'm so glad I'm in, so to speak, as I am new to this Apo4 stuff. After the Christmas season, I'll get serious about finding my way around.

My limited knowledge on dissociation has come mainly through the work of Dr. Jim Wilder, and Dr. K. D. Lehman. Brain imaging science has greatly accelerated the understanding of how the brain developes capacities throughout a lifetime. To be brief, our ability to dissociate is hard wired into the brain which presents on a spectrum ranging from normal dissociation to more fragmented states depending on bonds, identity, memory and trauma recovery. There is a lot of available info on their sites.

Caveman, finding a practitioner with expertise in this area may be as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack. For best assessment, my suggestion would be to access a professional specifically trained in this phenomenon. Not to worry, our brains are a marvellous gift!

[Caveman]

Thanks for the welcome, Lisa G, and all the info re getting around this site. I'm so glad I'm in, so to speak, as I am new to this Apo4 stuff. After the Christmas season, I'll get serious about finding my way around.

My limited knowledge on dissociation has come mainly through the work of Dr. Jim Wilder, and Dr. K. D. Lehman. Brain imaging science has greatly accelerated the understanding of how the brain developes capacities throughout a lifetime. To be brief, our ability to dissociate is hard wired into the brain which presents on a spectrum ranging from normal dissociation to more fragmented states depending on bonds, identity, memory and trauma recovery. There is a lot of available info on their sites.

Caveman, finding a practitioner with expertise in this area may be as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack. For best assessment, my suggestion would be to access a professional specifically trained in this phenomenon. Not to worry, our brains are a marvellous gift!

Thanks Helen. I'll check out Wilder's and Lehman's work. Since my last post I took an online dissociation quiz and found I scored exactly the same as the general population (3.4). Scores above 30 are of concern. I'll keep tracking any episodes and keep my daughter informed of any new ones. I'll also mention it to my neurologist when I start seeing him in April. I am also making plans to remove myself from my current highly stressful environment.