Losing Time Part 2
Dissociative alters (parts) are formed to protect you from ever seeing or knowing that the trauma event happened. Their role doesn’t end by simply concealing the originating trauma. Parts can come out and function for the person in day-to-day life which is quite independent of the trauma that initially formed them. Generally mundane or emotionally charged activities such as driving the car, confronting aggressive people, doing the shopping, taking over during sex or in stressful situations at your place of employment etc are all activities that alters can come out an ‘relieve you of duty’ that are not traumas in and of themselves.
However, if someone sees you when a part was in control during these times, and talks to you about what happened and what you said or did, and you weren’t present because a part was functioning for you, you have a problem. What do you say?
What happens next is intriguing. If you are put on the spot, the alter will immediately put thoughts into your mind regarding what was said and what you did so that you can respond as though you are aware of what transpired at the time even though you weren’t actually present. The person talking with you about the events will be not the wiser that you were not fully present. From your perspective, you will have a hazy sense that the memory of what happened isn’t as clear as other memories but you will dismiss it as something you may have forgotten or not been paying as much attention to as you should have.
Nonetheless, this is not always a guarantee. Like many things, this lies on a continuum. If you are SRA and the kingdom of darkness has a vested interest in keeping you in dark about their influence in your life, they will do this all the time so you will not be aware of lost time or people exposing gaps in your memory. Since SRAs are the most dissociative people and often not present, this means you are the least likely to be aware that you are losing time. lf you are not SRA, your alters, of their own volition, will protect you by ‘filling in the gaps’ most of the time – enough to make you not question those odd occasions where you simply don’t remember an event that you think you should. In those instances, you will probably smile and nod and at least give the impression that you are tracking with the person. However, there are alters that may not be as helpful and protective as they could be, possibly because they don’t like you or want to embarrass you or are simply not differentiated & self-aware enough to effectively intervene. In such cases, you may find yourself questioning why you have more gaps in your memory than you think you should and the issue of losing time is something you may consider.
The problem of losing time and not being aware of it for the reasons listed in part 1 and part 2 affect at least 65% of the general population.
Very Sobering.