Three forms of temporal disorientation: A thematic analysis of subjective reports about Covid-19 restriction periods.
PloS one January 1, 2025 Bastien Perroy, Pablo Fernandez Velasco, Umer Gurchani et al.
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.