Tactile grounding is my front line tool when I catch myself dissociating. I am guessing that be similar to your "Depersonalization." Just guessing. . . By whatever name, it is indeed hard to walk around feeling like I am not in my body. I walk into allot of walls and create allot of collateral damage in that state.

Tactile grounding helps bring me back to my literal senses. Running my fingers up and down my arm was my therapy breakthrough exercise. Since then I have grown quite list of tactile grounding tools. They include:

* Awareness of the sensations surrounding me. Sight, smell, touch, etc.
* Ice on my neck
* Tapping
* Humming
* Clenching and unclenching muscle sets
* A rubberband on my wrist to snap when I catch myself dissociating

The list is quite literally infinite. Gentle support while you find what works for you, Jay. Be gentle and patient with the process.

Jay, I have had a lot of instances of depersonalization and derealization, including loss of time, not remembering how I spent that time and ending up in places not knowing how I got there. This is a state of your mind being overwhelmed. Like Arfie, I use grounding techniques but it depends where I am at. I carry with me a token of some kind and as I start to go into disassociation I describe the texture, color, shape, and characteristics. I also carry essential oil to sniff as scent is one of our strongest senses and can keep us present. If I have nothing, I start to describe my surroundings: buildings, hills, nature, other cars, colors, shapes, read signs and numbers backwards until my symptoms fade and I am present. Best wishes.