# Emotional blockages



## Midnight (Jul 16, 2011)

Hey.

Anyone else think alot of this is caused by emotions? Perhaps repressed ones specifically. Sorry if this had already been mentioned hundreds of times but I just felt like I should bring up some discussion.

I for one haven't felt angry or sad or happy or any other distinguishable emotion for about a year. Every time an emotion almost arises it's like it's replaced by a blankness.

Something very fishy is going on there, but I'm not sure whether the DP/DR is caused by it or whether the DP/DR prevents the emotions from coming up.. if that makes sense.

Thoughts?


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## kate_edwin (Aug 9, 2009)

Dissociation includes beig detached from your self, body and emotions


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## RealMe (Jan 6, 2012)

My thoughts are that emotuions are a big part of the disorder. I believe that the mind reacts in a defensive, overwhelming means to information that is to emotionally toxic or distressing by filtering sensory information (shutting the flood gates) The problem is that the filter (flood gate) remains in place for whatever reason. Because there is a relation to sensory input and emotions if one part becomes clouded so does the other.


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## forestx5 (Aug 29, 2008)

RealMe said:


> My thoughts are that emotuions are a big part of the disorder. I believe that the mind reacts in a defensive, overwhelming means to information that is to emotionally toxic or distressing by filtering sensory information (shutting the flood gates) The problem is that the filter (flood gate) remains in place for whatever reason. Because there is a relation to sensory input and emotions if one part becomes clouded so does the other.


Just an alternate opinion. I'm not a believer that lost emotions are a defense mechanism. Emotions are a neurological function of the limbic system.
I lost my positive emotions in a single neurological trauma. I'm probably one of the few people who can say they had a temporal lobe seizure the first time smoking cannabis. What a shock and surprise it was. It took me a long time to figure what actually happened, but the key was the "epigastric aura" or funny stomache "pull" and ascending smoky flushing sensation that rose from my gut to my head. (a few minutes after smoking). The flushing made my head tingle. The tingles got together and walked to the back of my head. Then they all got together and I felt a strange tensing in the back of my head, before the shock wave convulsed my mind and vision. This went on every 3 or 4 seconds for about 2 minutes.
The above pretty much describes the classic progression of most temporal lobe seizures. Only 50% may get the epigastric aura.
The focus of the seizure was my left side (dominant for a right handed person) temporal lobe. The seizure fried my positive emotions and I was left with two emotions: profound hopelessness and irrational guilt and a powerful sense of morbidity. For weeks after this seizure, I could actually feel a vague ache/pain eminating from inside the top of my neck behind my left ear. I was 17 at the time. You can google an article "The wounds that time won't heal", and it probably explains why I was vulnerable. The gist of the article is that too much emotional stress during your developemental period makes your limbic system "irritable/electrically unstable" and you are prone to anxiety, depression, and symptoms of temporal lobe epilepsy. The article is based on scientific neurological research and is dated 2006.
The good news is, that once you reach the age of 18, emotional insults and humiliations no longer affect your neurological developement.
The bad news is, if you had a rough childhood....by 18 - the mold has cooled and the damage is done.
The point of the article is that child abuse creates a liability for society....it produces outwardly angry delinquents, or inwardly angry psychiatric cases. Well, at least I am not a mass murderer. But, I tend to disagree that emotions disappear for good reason. They disappear because of a malfunction of, or trauma to - the limbic system of the brain.


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## forestx5 (Aug 29, 2008)

forestx5 said:


> Just an alternate opinion. I'm not a believer that lost emotions are a defense mechanism. Emotions are a neurological function of the limbic system.
> I lost my positive emotions in a single neurological trauma. I'm probably one of the few people who can say they had a temporal lobe seizure the first time smoking cannabis. What a shock and surprise it was. It took me a long time to figure what actually happened, but the key was the "epigastric aura" or funny stomache "pull" and ascending smoky flushing sensation that rose from my gut to my head. (a few minutes after smoking). The flushing made my head tingle. The tingles got together and walked to the back of my head. Then they all got together and I felt a strange tensing in the back of my head, before the shock wave convulsed my mind and vision. This went on every 3 or 4 seconds for about 2 minutes.
> The above pretty much describes the classic progression of most temporal lobe seizures. Only 50% may get the epigastric aura.
> The focus of the seizure was my left side (dominant for a right handed person) temporal lobe. The seizure fried my positive emotions and I was left with two emotions: profound hopelessness and irrational guilt and a powerful sense of morbidity. For weeks after this seizure, I could actually feel a vague ache/pain eminating from inside the top of my neck behind my left ear. I was 17 at the time. You can google an article "The wounds that time won't heal", and it probably explains why I was vulnerable. The gist of the article is that too much emotional stress during your developemental period makes your limbic system "irritable/electrically unstable" and you are prone to anxiety, depression, and symptoms of temporal lobe epilepsy. The article is based on scientific neurological research and is dated 2006.
> ...


And, I should mention that recreational drugs target the limbic system of the brain and it is not advisable to use them if you are anxious, depressed, or otherwise psychiatrically challenged. Strange things can and do happen.


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## lil P nut (May 7, 2011)

how do you know you had a seizure? How do I find out if I had seizure activity? That sounds kinda like what happened to me during my weed trip.


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## forestx5 (Aug 29, 2008)

Micah319 said:


> how do you know you had a seizure? How do I find out if I had seizure activity? That sounds kinda like what happened to me during my weed trip.


I think epileptic (electrical shocks) discharges would define the seizure. Other than that, there are similarities between some cannabis intoxication and the "ictal state" of seizure. The fear is similiar, the altered consciousness can be similar, and visual disturbances such as seeing things distorted (smaller or bigger) can also happen in both cannabis intoxication and seizure. But, the epileptic discharges would differentiate the two.


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## lil P nut (May 7, 2011)

there are similarities but isn't a seizure when damage is actually done to the brain in some way... I dont think getting high and feeling some shocks is the same as a seizure. Did you actually have convulsions and stuff?


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## forestx5 (Aug 29, 2008)

Micah319 said:


> there are similarities but isn't a seizure when damage is actually done to the brain in some way... I dont think getting high and feeling some shocks is the same as a seizure. Did you actually have convulsions and stuff?


There are many degrees of seizure. focal/partial is limited to a specific area of the brain. If it is the limbic system, the symptoms are largely emotional and sensory in nature. Focal/partial seizures do not alter consciousness to a great degree. When the seizure "generalizes", it may significantly impair consciousness and affect other areas of the brain, or cross over into the other hemisphere of the brain. Symptoms expand with the electrical seizure activity. Tonic/Clonic seizures involve muscle/limb jerks etc. Grand Mal seizures render you unconscious.
This is not meant to be an exact primer on seizures, but just to suggest the variety of ways in which seizures can present.
Isolated seizures typically do not cause permanent neurological damage. Epileptics can develope sclerosis (scarring) from repeated seizures. In the limbic system, the sclerosis is typically on the hippocampus.
If it results in repeated seizures which cannot be controlled by medication, the affected area on the side of the brain that is generating the seizures can be removed (resected) to stop the seizures in 80+% of cases.
If you have epileptic discharges, you are having a seizure. Epileptic discharges are the simultaneous firings of large numbers of charged neurons. Yes, they do convulse your mind for the duration of the discharge. They may also distort your vision severely, if the visual pathway is involved in the electrical discharge path.
You don't have to be epileptic to have a seizure. 10% of the population will have a seizure at some point in their lifetime. If you use drugs, you improve your chances of being in that 10%. Cannabis can initiate seizure, but it is not the most likely drug to do so. Cocaine is at the top of the list. Withdrawing from benzos can also cause seizure. Lack of sleep and hormonal fluctuations can make you vulnerable to seizure. Being an depressed/anxious person can make you vulnerable to seizure.
Google "the wounds that time won't heal" neurology to symptomology. It is a very informative article on the latest research. 
http://192.211.16.13/curricular/hhd2006/news/wounds.pdf
_Epilepsy-Like Symptoms
People with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE)-
.25 percent to .5 percent of the U.S.
population-have seizures in the temporal
or limbic areas of the brain. Because these
areas constitute a sizable, varied part of the
brain, TLE has a veritable catalog of possible
symptoms, including sensory changes such
as headache, tingling, numbness, dizziness,
or vertigo; motor symptoms such as staring
or twitching; or autonomic symptoms
such as flushing, shortness of breath, nausea,
or the stomach sensation of being in an
elevator. TLE can cause hallucinations
or illusions in any sense modality. Common
visual illusions are of patterns, geometric
shapes, flashing lights, or "Alice-in-Wonderlandlike"
distortions of the sizes or shapes
of objects. Other common hallucinations
are of a ringing or buzzing sound or repetitive
voice, a metallic or foul taste, an
unpleasant odor, or the sensation of something
crawling on or under the skin. Feelings
of déjà vu (the unfamiliar feels familiar)
or jamais vu (the familiar feels unfamiliar)
are common, as is the sense of being watched
or of mind-body dissociation-the feeling
that one is watching one's own actions as a
detached observer. Emotional manifestations
of temporal lobe seizures usually occur
suddenly, without apparent cause, and cease
as abruptly as they began; they include
sadness, embarrassment, anger, explosive
laughter (usually without feeling happy),
serenity, and, quite often, fear.4
TLE is difficult to diagnose because
its symptoms can mimic those of other
psychiatric and nonpsychiatric illnesses. The
characteristic electrical discharge of TLE
can be observed only in an electroencephalogram
(EEG) during a seizure that is
close enough to the brain's surface to be
picked up by scalp electrodes. Without this
Emotional manifestations of
temporal lobe seizures usually occur
suddenly, without apparent cause,
and cease as abruptly as they began;
they include sadness, embarrassment,
anger, explosive laughter (usually
without feeling happy), serenity,
and, quite often, fear._


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## LoserBoy (May 7, 2012)

When I smoked weed I started to lose my vision and hearing...All I could see was red and blue dots and could barely hear, but it went away after 2 mins..is this normal?


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## society's parasite (May 13, 2012)

Answer to Midnight at top of post: Thank you mate. I'm new here , so please forgive me if I say something which has been said a thousand times already. ..So i'm not the only one perceiving emotions like you do- i experience the same. Even challenging thoughts, like 'so what the heck should i change in my life in order to improve my situation' are being blanked out straight off as well. also i, have thought about repressed emotions. i for one know that i am angry. i'm angry at my neighbours who have been insulting, pestering, harrassing and repressing me for 2 years now. (yes, it has been quite full-on.)But where does the anger go? i don't know. Not into my body or mind. it seems to just disappear...and instead, a disinterest in everything has arisen, a feeling of unimportance..which keeps me from even getting into sensible action and moving house. Instead i just lit another *** and.. sort of shut down all physical/emotional/mental reactions. Whilst knowing that that is a strange reaction to the situation.
Sometimes i think that i am so angry at this and other situations in my life that my nervous system cannot contain it all so it shuts down and i sort of split off from my own 'emotional body'. Reality of what i do and allow to be done to me, would be too much to face, perhaps.
in my life i see added to anger,also regret, fear, pain because of rejection, loneliness, and the insistent fear of having gone insane...
so plenty of emotions which are unpleasant.
As if it's all gotten too much and i fled into the top of my own head...

okay,enough boring bla bla! What to do about it?
Hard to find a solution when you can't feel, can't think properly and nothing seems to be interesting anyway, right..
i think that an option for whoever can afford it, may be, going to a (GOOD) therapist who works with emotional blockages, perhaps emotional bodywork or something.
For those with no money, like me, a talk with a good and trusted friend who takes you seriously, may help.
and for those with also no friends, like me, ..well..perhaps sitting down and figuring out a creative and unique way out of this, is the option...
or a long rope and a beam overhead. (that was a joke.)

With kind greetings, S.P.


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## society's parasite (May 13, 2012)

RealMe said:


> My thoughts are that emotuions are a big part of the disorder. I believe that the mind reacts in a defensive, overwhelming means to information that is to emotionally toxic or distressing by filtering sensory information (shutting the flood gates) The problem is that the filter (flood gate) remains in place for whatever reason. Because there is a relation to sensory input and emotions if one part becomes clouded so does the other.


Well said.


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## wise (Mar 29, 2012)

society said:


> Well said.


Agreed


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## ClassC (Jan 23, 2013)

Suppressed emotions are definitely a contributing factor. It's possible that when you overcome these negative unprocessed emotions the feelings of unreality, usually, go away because they are no longer troubling you.


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## GroupHug (Jul 6, 2012)

ClassC said:


> Suppressed emotions are definitely a contributing factor. It's possible that when you overcome these negative unprocessed emotions the feelings of unreality, usually, go away because they are no longer troubling you.


I'm starting to realize this statement has so much truth to it. Facing your past, processing it, being OK with it finally, and moving on helps you understand your present and it brings about the ability to move on with the future emotionally.

In therapy I've been kind of a robot....understanding things on kind of a superficial intellectual level. Really letting myself *feel* things when thinking about past events (including family issues and traumatic events) was scary and it makes me feel vulnerable....and it still is something new to me. I recognize now that when I start to feel better is when I start letting myself feel things again and when I learn to really accept myself and intellectually along with emotionally process the past/accept the present enough to move on.

It's rocky and unsettling at times to do this (at least for me), but ultimately it's so rewarding and instinctively it feels like I'm following the right path to getting better, and that I am already better for it.


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