Feeling Numb, Detached, or Spaced Out? This Is Prob Why…
Hi friend,
Ever feel like you’re “here,” but not really?
Like maybe you’re in a room, getting things done, but you feel disconnected. Your physical body may be here but you’re not actually present to what’s happening. Your mind is instead somewhere else….
Or ever drive somewhere and suddenly you arrive but can’t even recall how you got there?
That, my friend, is dissociation…and it’s way more common than we talk about.
Why Do We Dissociate?
Dissociation isn’t just “spacing out.” It can look like:
Feeling disconnected from your body
Forgetting parts of your day
Being there, but not really there
Numbness, detachment, or brain fog
Going through the motions on autopilot
And it happens when our nervous system senses that being here — in our body, in the moment, with whatever is going on….feels unsafe, overwhelming, or just too much to handle. So instead of staying present and risking emotional or physical overload, our brain hits the escape button (dissociates) & checks out to protect us.
And so if you’re thinking to yourself right now, “damn I dissociate a lot….” then maybe it’s because your body isn’t feeling safe enough to deal with what’s happening in your reality. This doesn’t mean you’re broken or that something is wrong with you either. It’s simply a defense mechanism your body has learned to lean into to keep you safe. But it doesn’t have to always be this way.
Dissociation Isn’t Permanent
Even if dissociation has been your go-to for years, even if you feel like you’ve been checked out for so long you don’t know how to “come back” — you absolutely can.
Dissociation is a strategy that the body (or the nervous system) learned how to do to keep you safe when things felt like too much. But just like the body learned how to check out, it can learn how to come back to presence, too.
We can teach ourselves how to come back to the present moment by building safety in the body again, little by little.
And we can do that through subtle practices too like noticing our breath, feeling our feet on the floor, or gently placing our hand on our chest.
A Way To Gently Come Back:
Try this—
Pause for a moment — just 30 seconds.
Feel your feet on the ground.
No need to change your breath, just breathe naturally.
No need to quiet your mind.
Just feel the contact between your feet and the floor.
That’s it. Presence.
You’re not forcing it — you’re gently inviting it.
This one small act of connection brings you out of your head and back into your body.
And the more you practice that… the safer it starts to feel to just be here.
Next Live Community Meditation 7/20 ~ 7PM EST
If you’ve been feeling foggy, detached, overstimulated, or like you’re just getting through the days…
I’m holding a live guided meditation on Insight Timer this week called:
“This Is Your Reset”
A moment to breathe, pause, and gently come back to yourself.
🧘🏽♂️ I’ll start with a short talk, then we’ll meditate together.
💬 And I’ll be hanging out after to answer any questions or just to connect.
No experience needed. No pressure to be perfect. Just come as you are.
🗓️ Sunday July 20th. 7PM EST. Insight Timer
🔗 tap here to set a reminder/more details
Let’s come back to the present moment, safely…together. If this speaks to you, then I hope to see you there.