Confusion about what you're doing, with who and why

Does this ever happen to you? You've been taking care of something that requires your attention and when you start doing something else that needs to be taken care of, something similar like a phonecall for example, but totally different context and people, you suddenly become unsure who you are talking to and what the topic is.

This happened to me today, I was texting at work after I had taken care of some personal stuff on the phone, and then I thought I'm sending it to a family member and it's my mobile phone although it wasn't. I just sat there staring at the mobile trying to figure out why I'm texting work stuff to my family, and I didn't understand the situation for a minute and why I was still at work. I was planning to leave earlier, there were several hours left, but I felt that I had forgotten to leave in time. Strange double exposure feeling.

There have been other times. Once I completely forgot who told me certain important and highly personal things and started to talk about them with the wrong person, and I was so convinced it was him and not the other person.
It's no fun.
Once again I'm fearing that my memory is letting me down.

yes, it's so annoying(or worse) when it happens. Especially, in regards to work.

Once I completely forgot who told me certain important and highly personal things and started to talk about them with the wrong person, and I was so convinced it was him and not the other person.

I remember doing something similar, but in regards to a friend's wedding. I thought it was his wedding, but it wasn't, it was our other friend. His was a month or two prior, I went to that as well, but didn't remember it(the wedding or reception), he was so upset, understandably.

Same with deaths, when DH grandma died, a bit later I was telling him how I couldn't wait to see her again over summer. He was so confused. Eventually he told me(again), his grandma died.

While it seems rational that what you describe could be a DID component....(isn't partial amnesia sometimes present?) I find myself doing that as well just because I didn't get good sleep for more than one night in a row. Someone may greet me in public and I'm thinking "ok...did I see this person on campus? is this someone from church? is this my kid's teacher? And I just smile and wave. Or someone will remind me I just repeated something or ask me 'how did you forget - I just told you yesterday'. I'm under 40...so I'm pretty sure it's not my age...but I don't have DID diagnosis (I'm on here for help with my son)...so maybe it's just sleep or you have some sensory or stress overload. My 2 cents.

This happens constantly. To the point where people start to think Im slow

It happens during the most INCONVENIENT times, like..
example (a)- .when I started working on something, but then I end up doing something else...and then I realize I just wasted all this time doing the wrong thing.
(b) Was walking to one place...but when I got there had no idea why I was there, and people were greeting me and I was like 0____o ....why am I here, and who the heck are you peoples???????? *____*

Im sure this has happened many many other times to me but I cannot recall.

Its incredibly.


frustrating....

It could well be lack of sleep, I've never needed much sleep in the first place and often stay up too late. I'm probably so used to sleep deprivation that I don't recognize it.

I have lots of forgetfulness and a little amnesia, but the feeling is more like seeing and feeling several things/moments at once and trying to tell which is the current one and what you should focus on. I don't know if it's something DID-specific, perhaps more like milder type of dissociation, and I know everyone has dissociative experiences. Like thinking or feeling in stereo, or even more levels. Actually I've described something similar earlier here, when I was driving in dark and bad weather, which made me so nervous that I felt myself divided in three co-existing moods or states of mind which helped me to go on driving.

I felt myself divided in three co-existing moods or states of mind which helped me to go on driving.

One of my old Ts, told me that when this occurs, it's due to a psychotic break of reality. But I think this would be more of a hyper-awareness of reality(as opposed to break). Plus at least for me, I've noticed my reality testing intact, just the perception of internal structure that is altered.

I imagine that one w/o dissociated ego states would experience a similar event, but with the addition of "alters" instead of having the hyper-awareness of one identity or part, it's several all at once, thus giving the layers of moods/states co-existing. Also with that "permeable" dissociative walls that the others were talking about, so you remain distinct, yet aware of each of your parts.

I soooooooo relate to being confused about what I'm doing, with who and why. It feels like I'm constantly confused about who I'm talking to. It's so embarassing too if they comment that I just said the same remark a minute earlier. I feel like they think I'm stupid. I avoid people because of the embarrassment I feel at having memory loss, I don't like people thinking I'm stupid or that I wasn't paying attention when they were talking...

When I have that I sometimes find it difficult to speak fluently, not that I'm very fluent in general but sentences seem too challenging when your mind is trying to locate the here and now, and when you don't remember what you were talking about in mid-sentence.

This is off topic and random, but since it's this thread it doesn't matter. It should go to system mapping thread I started but I'm too lazy to dig it up.
I've always wondered why I've changed so much in my life and so many times. I've felt rootless, like I have no permanent or strong characteristics, like other people. I was never a copycat among my peers, I wanted desperately to find my own life, often suspecting that I'm leading a shadow-life or something like that. Like I should have been someone else, but I didn't know who. Like somethings horribly wrong.
I've recognized three parts who dominated me in my teens & early adulthood, two of whom are similar to two of my protector parts, the cheeky one I call P and then R who is depressed and has bad self-esteem... but perhaps the third one was the one I call Seven, the kid who probably went inside when X started to surface again after I grew up. X used to surface often before my teen years. These are just assumptions.
I've also had this nervous part, who is mostly gone since I separated from my ex ten years ago. Or this is what I've figured, it's not necessarily true.
Anyway, the nervous one could be the source of the layer effect, since it happened a lot with my ex, our relationship was very triggering for me.