Child dissociation?

[Starlet_2008]

Ever since I was a child I remember I used to run around madly and go somewhere else inside my head. I would kind of act out like a scene from a TV show and become the character inside my mind. I seemed to just get the urge to do this. This kind of behavior carried on up untill I was about 10 years old and i continued to do this in my head until the age of 17 however, i no longer ran around i would just do this inside my head. As a child I remember being very shy and having anxiety, but would this cause this to happen? Have you ever heard of this behavior before? I'm 21 now and am able to control this behavior now although ill still occasionally get the urge to do this. I feel like a freak!!!

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

Other possibilities include Bipolar Disorder and a perseverative type of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, though it is not likely. You might consider a switch to CBT (i.e., cognitive-behavior therapy), in conjunction with pharmacological treatment, unless you think that the analysis is serving you well.

[Starlet_2008]

I have been seeing a therapist who does psychoanalysis and when I mentioned it she said that she thought it could possibly be dissociation, but has never really commented on it since. I haven't ever been evaluated by a mental health professional, but my therapist does know I have suffer with other conditions such as social phobia and Body dysmorphic..could these explain anything? Also what other explainations were you thinking of?

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

Have you ever been evaluated? While such behavior can be a type of dissociative reaction, other explanations are also possible. If you are not under the care of a mental health professional now, please arrange an evaluation. There's no need for you to be suffering. Such conditions can be treated and offer you increased comfort.