# Trauma: the Shutdown Dissociation Scale (Shut-D)



## 99880 (Mar 17, 2016)

For anyone with an interest in trauma, tonic immobility, adverse childhood experiences and dissociative symptoms: The first link is for the Shutdown DIssociaiton Scale, the second is the defence cascade model of trauma, with an explanation of the five steps in the cascade and the role of both sympathetic and parasympathic nervous systems. The third link provides some useful pamphlets.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4431999/

http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.463.1667&rep=rep1&type=pdf

https://www.istss.org/public-resources/public-education-pamphlets.aspx


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## Benny115620 (Oct 23, 2016)

No trauma but my body acts like there is


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## Billy D.P. (Apr 12, 2016)

Benny115620 said:


> No trauma but my body acts like there is


Trauma is stored in the body. You might not be totally aware of what caused it but that doesn't mean it didn't happen.


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## 99880 (Mar 17, 2016)

.


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## 99880 (Mar 17, 2016)

Some links to relevant info with regard to the dissociative shutdown scale, explaining the Polyvagal theory:

http://stephenporges.com/index.php/component/content/article/s-popular-articles/25-nicabm-the-polyvagal-theory-for-treating-trauma

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1868418/


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## oolongmonkey (Dec 23, 2016)

morph said:


> Some links to relevant info with regard to the dissociative shutdown scale, explaining the Polyvagal theory:
> 
> http://stephenporges.com/index.php/component/content/article/s-popular-articles/25-nicabm-the-polyvagal-theory-for-treating-trauma
> 
> https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1868418/


Would you be able to go in some detail on how to get out of the shutdown mode of functioning? I feel that tradition "rest, relaxation" type techniques often make me feel worse.


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## 99880 (Mar 17, 2016)

oolongmonkey said:


> Would you be able to go in some detail on how to get out of the shutdown mode of functioning? I feel that tradition "rest, relaxation" type techniques often make me feel worse.


There's some research on dissociative shutdown that suggests caution should taken when using techniques such as mindfulness with traumatized individuals. However there are certain simple precautions that can be taken if someone is keen to use these techniques,

I've also experienced a worsening of my dissociation with "relaxation" techniques. I didn't considered it a problem in childhood ( but it was) as I had already been consciously entering dissociative states ( I can explain the reasons for this- but it's a private matter). It's only as I've read more about dissociaiton and depersonalization that I've come to realize the implications of what was occurring. I'm not totally adverse to using certain techniques before sleep, but being aware of the risks, it's just something I don't feel qualified to recommend.

At its worst I've no idea how I've "woken" from initial traumatic shutdowns. It just feels the same as when waking from a sleep to me, it just happens when it happens. That's what I found most disturbing about spontaneous shutdowns, which seemed to have no trigger.

The process of improvement has been long but that's most likely because I was never diagnosed with any particular disorder, not even PTSD, I was just told by social workers that I'd had a difficult childhood and would have a new family if I behaved well. Being a ward of court I did receive the obligatory physical medicals but not psychiatric treatment, until I was no longer a ward of court, so a natural route to improvement took place.i guess from outward appearances this appeared successful, the mask worked very well.

Socializing has been a very important way to pull me out of shutdown, although it's sometimes the exact opposite of what I actually feel like doing . Walking, dance, music art and play have also been therapeutic. Some of this ties in with Polyvagal theory, although I suspect not all.

Having been separated permanently from my family at a young age, it's always been advantageous for me to socialize anyway, although traumas affected my speech and impacted of conversational socializing. My main difficulty in socializing was learning to trust adults. I sought out people who were very kind, calm / not anxious and with a certain intonation to their voice that was soothing. Even now I still have a preference for certain accents.

Over the years I've spent a lot of my spare time doing voluntary activities, spending time with people from all walks of life. It was important to learn about their life histories, paying careful attention to listening, without interruption, and monitoring body language. This level of attention was of benefit in several ways, preventing a drift to dissociation during conversations and improving my cognitive empathy. My affective empathy was lacking due to severe emotional detachment. Now, I'm able to feel emotions and affective empathy, but the trade-off has been feeling intense physical pains and emotions such as disgust ( for me disgust is the worst because of the nausea), hopefully it will ease as I become more accustomed to it.

Not all social actives were beneficial, I've had significant problems coping in large groups of people where there is too much noise, especially if it was indoors. I've always felt safer socializing outdoors.

Walking is also beneficial, I try not to remain sedentary for long as that usually triggers episodes of dissociaiton. I've experienced vasovagal responses with both relaxation and strenuous exercise, so for myself, walking and cycling are good forms of exercise.

Music was also helpful both as a form of expression and for training the inner ear muscles, as discussed in the Polyvagal theory. I learned to play several instruments (ones that sound ok when learning). The discipline of repeating scales and arpeggios was most likely a good thing and prevents drifting into a flow state. Singing was also good, for some reason I found it easier to sing than to speak. Being in a group of musicians or singers also utilizes social engagement. Some music does have the potential to increase dissociation, so a little caution is necessary.

None of this is a quick fix, rather a slow, arduous route to a more stable state. Each additional traumatic event, requiring me to start over- two steps forward, one step back. When I tried to speed up the process too soon, I suffered a long bout of reactive depression and insomnia, something I was not totally prepared for and have not experienced before. I prefer not to use the word recovery, as for me, there is no return to a previous better state, dissociation has been with me for as long as I can recall, it's just improvements until I'm content with the outcome, I'd like to emulate the people who have good control over dissociaiton.

Sorry, this reply is way longer than intended,

There's one question I'd like to ask, if that's ok? Have you noticed any difference in memory formation since you started experiencing dp?


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## lauras (May 13, 2012)

I've only just started going to therapy/seeing a trauma specialist. It's pretty crazy how much he understands me without me having to say anything - there seem to be a lot of similarities between people that have experienced trauma from totally different causes. I've tried a million things at this point and this is the only thing that seems to be working. I walked in telling him that I was just this super high-strung person that overreacted to everything/needed some strategies to lower my anxiety so I could stop dissociating so often and walked out realizing I was stuck in survival mode all the time due to my traumatic childhood.

And morph, it sounds like you are wayy ahead of where I am in understanding all of this, heh.

"it's just improvements until I'm content with the outcome, I'd like to emulate the people who have good control over dissociaiton"

Ditto! I pretty much told this therapist that I don't expect to walk out fully recovered, I just want to do a little better and decrease my tendency to involuntarily disassociate when things get overwhelming. Hope you are able to reach a place where you feel at peace with your progress.


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## 99880 (Mar 17, 2016)

lauras said:


> I've only just started going to therapy/seeing a trauma specialist. It's pretty crazy how much he understands me without me having to say anything - there seem to be a lot of similarities between people that have experienced trauma from totally different causes. I've tried a million things at this point and this is the only thing that seems to be working. I walked in telling him that I was just this super high-strung person that overreacted to everything/needed some strategies to lower my anxiety so I could stop dissociating so often and walked out realizing I was stuck in survival mode all the time due to my traumatic childhood.
> 
> And morph, it sounds like you are wayy ahead of where I am in understanding all of this, heh.
> 
> ...


I'm so glad you''ve found a good therapist and are making progress. In the future, if you feel able to, I'd really like to learn of your progress. No offence taken, if you don't want to.

Thank you for replying, and for the kind words, it means a lot. I'd considered deleting the post because it felt really uncomfortable sharing the information.

Have you ever tried the Trauma Releasing Exercises? If not, it might be worth discussing them with your therapist to see if they think they might be helpful. At certain stages, I've found them to be really beneficial.


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