Sylvanna Devlin

Drink some water

Nibble on some food

Get some sleep

Give yourself some time.

No one snaps back from that

And it’s not your fault you’re a little out of touch from everything. Not just reality but who you are. What’s going on.

If you disassociate so badly you’re unsure of your name it’s okay. You will get yourself back. The attack is just that skillful

Try drawing this as a gateway back to reality. It sounds stupid but the under over and trying to get a perfect circle and triangle size might be the only thing you can focus on right now

That’s okay. It’s a cognitive attack. You’ll get it back.

This is simple in design but takes enough focus to get cognition purring along and if you mess up? Who cares? It’s a circle and a triangle in a vaguely Celtic knot pattern. Toss the page and try again.

It’s interesting enough when you’ve been knocked offline to fight boredom and return cognition.

Which you need.

Because that experience is scary.

If you need to, call 911. Show them your ID and say you barely recognize your own name.

They’ll take you to the ER

They’ll arrange a stay in a ward. There are people who simply can’t sleep. People whose divorce caused a breakdown and those with mental illness.

The nurses will be very gentle with you. And if you ask for a journal they can usually get one. Some might even be able to find pencil crayons.

Drawing this symbol can be very soothing. They’ll let you continue once you are in a safe place to recover.

When I needed to do that I had dissociated and disconnected so much I thought I was a dimensional traveler on a movie set!

I recovered.

But I heard voices for a little while.

Just not forever.

If you’re scared to tell them what you secretly believe that’s okay. You still have a thread attached to your normal life.

Just tell them you’re dissociating so heavily you don’t feel attached to your own name.

No reasonable psychiatric personnel will get pushy with you. No one can force open your inner world. And they don’t need to.