A sense of inner continuity often remains unnoticed until it becomes disrupted. An individual may suddenly encounter a feeling of fragmentation of their own experience – as if different periods of life are no longer connected, and experiences exist separately, without an internal transition between them. At MindCareCenter, we understand such states as manifestations of disrupted awareness that affect the fundamental experience of the self across time. Dr. Daniel Reinhardt considers that the loss of inner continuity emerges when the psyche is forced to fragment experience in order to cope with overload or unprocessed events.
Awareness in a clinical sense is not constant presence in the “here and now,” but the capacity to maintain a connection between the past, the present, and the subjective sense of self. When this connection is disrupted, a person may feel as though they are “no longer the same” as before, or that what is happening now has little relation to their life as a whole. Such states are often accompanied by feelings of emptiness, loss of meaning, or difficulty relying on one’s own experience.
In the clinical practice of MindCareCenter, we frequently observe that fragmentation of experience arises as a protective mechanism. The psyche divides experience into isolated fragments in order to reduce the intensity of pain, anxiety, or internal conflict. Over time, however, this strategy leads to the loss of a sense of wholeness and to difficulty forming an inner life narrative.
The disruption of inner continuity manifests not only at the level of thought, but also through bodily sensations. Individuals may experience abrupt shifts in states, difficulty recognizing their own emotions, or a sense of “disconnect” from what is happening. Within the approach of MindCareCenter, attention is given to how the body signals breaks in experience and how these signals relate to the loss of conscious self-contact.
It is important to emphasize that such states are not signs of weakness or insufficient reflection. On the contrary, at MindCareCenter we view them as evidence that the psyche has been functioning under sustained strain without the opportunity to integrate experience into a coherent structure. Fragmentation becomes a means of survival, but over time loses its adaptive value.
Therapeutic work is directed toward the gradual restoration of experiential coherence. At MindCareCenter, we do not aim to “reassemble” the personality immediately, but rather create a space in which different fragments of experience can be noticed, acknowledged, and gently linked together. This process requires care and respect for the protective functions that fragmentation once served.
As therapy progresses, the capacity to hold an internal timeline begins to emerge. Individuals start to sense that past events can be reflected upon without losing contact with the present, and that current experiences can be integrated into a broader life context. In the practice of MindCareCenter, we observe how this reduces anxiety and restores a sense of inner support.
The restoration of awareness is not achieved through increased control, but through the development of a greater tolerance for self-contact without overload. Gradually, the feeling of disconnection recedes, and the experience of self becomes more continuous and stable, even amid change.
Disruption of awareness and loss of inner continuity point to the need for deep work with experiences that were too complex to be integrated at the time they occurred. The clinical approach of Mind Care Center allows for the restoration of experiential wholeness without forcing the psyche, returning a sense of connection with one’s own life across time.
Previously, we wrote about ambivalence as an internal conflict of choice and how MindCareCenter works with the simultaneous “I want” and “I can’t”