Three forms of temporal disorientation: A thematic analysis of subjective reports about Covid-19 restriction periods.
Bastien Perroy, Pablo Fernandez Velasco, Umer Gurchani, Roberto Casati
PloS one January 1, 2025 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0324476 via PubMed
Summary
During the Covid-19 restrictions, people reported unusual disruptions in their experience of time, such as time passing both slower and faster, or feeling unreal. An analysis of 149 subjective reports from France and the UK in March 2021 identified three forms of temporal disorientation: loss of temporal landmarks making orientation harder and causing episodic disorientation; sustained temporal disbelief, an existential form where past perspective was severely distorted; and a future-oriented form marked by anxiety and hopelessness, with inability to project into the future. The findings suggest that providing future landmarks could help those most exposed to dissociative temporal experiences during crises.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Corpus-based thematic analysis and multiple correspondence analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 149 |
| Population | People in France and the UK during Covid-19 restrictions |
| Key finding | Three forms of temporal disorientation—loss of temporal landmarks, sustained temporal disbelief, and future-oriented disorientation—characterized dissociative time experiences during the pandemic. |
Abstract
During the Covid-19 restrictions, people reported various surprising disruptions in their experience of time, such as time simultaneously passing slower and faster, or feeling unreal. This hints at instances of dissociative time experiences in the general public in times of crisis. We investigate the temporal experience of the pandemic through a corpus-based thematic analysis and a multiple correspondence analysis of 149 subjective reports gathered in March 2021, during a period of long lasting and ongoing restrictions in France and the UK. We argue that three forms of temporal disorientation constitute a fitting umbrella over a heterogeneous phenomenology. The loss of temporal landmarks made it harder to orient oneself and induced episodic forms of temporal disorientation. Distinctively, sustained temporal disbelief, an existential form of temporal disorientation, could occur when people's past perspective was severely distorted. Finally, a future-oriented form of temporal disorientation whose hallmarks were feelings of anxiety and hopelessness could occur alongside inabilities to project oneself into the future. Our findings suggest that future landmarks should be provided to those most exposed to dissociative temporal experiences during crises.