Zoning out

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Does anybody here zone out randomly. Like they are living life on autopilot or going through the motions. I feel like this all the time and don't know if is related to aspergers or depersonalization disorder. Also I find I have a hard time getting words out like my mind is blank all the time so nothing comes out of my mouth. I was wondering if there was anyone here who had something similar and what you did to cope with this.

I do that. When I'm in the zone, all other sensory input ceases to exist until I come out. Done that since childhood.

What's scary is when I realize that I've been on autopilot during that whole time. Like having to stop walking because I don't know where I am, and when I realize where I am, it's scary because I negotiated several intersections and don't know if I was successful or lucky.

It's happened driving too.

And, when around people, they sometimes have to touch me to get me out of it.

But, when I'm alone, I love it. I can literally be in any space or time. It's when I do my best sorting.

Same here. As zkydz hinted at, I am astounded that I have never been run down by a car, given how often walking can induce this state. "Auto-pilot" is a perfect way of describing it.

I get the exact same thing! I don't know if it's related to Aspergers or not though.

That's not a problem. Almost everyone does that. Your mind is supposed to make you do that do that you don't need to think about doing the same things every day. It saves energy.

I've done this whilst playing computer games, and honestly, I actually do better when zoned out. Some of my fastest laps in racing games I've done whilst in cuckoo land. There are plenty of other occasions, but I spend so much time gaming and those tend to be my most successful zone-outs, so they're also the most memorable. Plenty of times, I've done it mid-conversation or during movies or TV shows, but in those cases the absentness is more a hindrance than an aid, as I completely miss everything being said for the duration.

I've done that too. I've been doing some sort of demonstration or another and in the middle of something, I will get distracted and just go off for a bit. Hard to get back on track too because I don't know where I went out at.

It depends on what is meant by "zoning out". If it is intended to mean focusing intensely on one thing, and blocking out others, I do that often. I feel that it's useful.

If it is intended to mean not being present in the moment, or focusing on what one is doing, I do that often, too. It happens when I am thinking about something else while doing something entirely different, and then not paying attention to what I'm doing.

When that happens, I will not remember things that I have done and lose things because I wasn't aware of what I was doing. It's probably not a good thing.

I love handing the wheel to my subconscious because it means that Ican retreat into my mind and ignore my body, and when I am in a conversation it helps because I have more mental resources to work with. I can also relate with the not knowing what to say and going blank thing, that happens to me all the time which is why I am as dependent as I am on memorized phrases.

What do guys do to deal with it. It almost makes me feel inhuman if that makes any sense...Like a robot and it really scares me.

I find the only thing that helps is to find an external stimulus that can snap me out of it.

For example, I will set an alarm clock for even relatively trivial tasks like making sure I eat or go to the shop. That way, I will still get around to doing them, even if I hyperfocus/zone-out and lose all sense of time.

I often do, though I think it's more of an ADHD thing than anything.

I zone out all the time. I wonder if it's more of an ADD thing for me because it always happens if I have to listen to lectures and then I start to day dream. I have occasionally stepped out in traffic because I was zoned out. I also miss details around me like what people do and say. I don't even realize I zone out until it's too late and I had realized something just happened or when I hear someone talking about what they saw and I had totally missed it. I do this out in places and I wonder if it's just my brain's way of coping with sensory input. I know I do it more extreme than others because they still know what goes on around them and I have no memory what went on. My husband even has to call my name a few times to get my attention when I am on my computer. That always happens with my interests. I sometimes lose track of time too.

I zone out almost constantly, have zero control over it. Can be having a conversation with someone and lose the thread completely - as a result, many of the conversations I have tend to confuse me, I couldn't learn anything during lessons at school (had to learn from reading textbooks over and over) and I'm absolutely dead-set against learning to drive as I feel like I could be sat behind the wheel of a car and suddenly be thinking about something completely unrelated. I don't really like public transport either, unless I'm familiar with the system. I miss stops.

I can be walking along the street and have no idea how I've got from one point to the one I'm at. I've stepped out into traffic unintentionally several times this week alone, and it's scary.

I reckon this could be down to ADHD/ADD, but I don't like to put labels on things unless I've been diagnosed with something officially.

I swear it must irritate people around me, and that it must seem like I do it intentionally, but I genuinely can't help it. It's horrible.

My problem is that it happens even when I am truly interested in whatever is going on around me and no amount of cognitive behavioural therapy seems to be able to solve the problem. I going back to college in September, and I'm dreading it.