For many people, dissociation is a natural response to trauma that they can't control. It could be a response to a one-off traumatic event or ongoing trauma and abuse. You can read more on our page about the causes of
Dissociation can occur in response to traumatic events, and/or in response to prolonged exposure to trauma (for example, trauma that occurs in the context of people's relationships). Dissociation can affect memory, sense of identity, the way the world is perceived and the connection to the physical body 3.
Any kind of trauma can cause dissociation. This could be assault, abuse (physical, emotional, or sexual), natural disasters, military combat, war, kidnapping, invasive medical procedures, neglect, or any other stressful experience.
Sometimes dissociation is a way of coping by avoiding negative thoughts or feelings related to memories of traumatic events. When people are dissociating they disconnect from their surroundings, which can stop the trauma memories and lower fear, anxiety and shame.
Definition and Explanation of Dissociation
There are different definitions of dissociation. When we look at what they all have in common, we can say that dissociation is a form of the fight, flight, or freeze response.
Dissociation involves disruptions of usually integrated functions of consciousness, perception, memory, identity, and affect (e.g., depersonalization, derealization, numbing, amnesia, and analgesia).
Both subjective dissociation states may result from trauma, so dissociation may be considered a psychological mechanisms of defence. This dissociation means the person is emotionally withdrawn from their healthy sense of self and the world, and this cannot protect against future trauma.
For many people, dissociation is a natural response to trauma that they can't control. It could be a response to a one-off traumatic event or ongoing trauma and abuse. You can read more on our page about the causes of dissociative disorders. Dissociation might be a way to cope with very stressful experiences.
'Dissociation is the essence of trauma. The overwhelming experience is split off and fragmented, so that the emotions, sound, images, thoughts and physical sensations related to the trauma take on a life of their own. The sensory fragments of memory intrude into the present, where they are literally relived.
Signs and symptoms depend on the type of dissociative disorders you have, but may include: Memory loss (amnesia) of certain time periods, events, people and personal information. A sense of being detached from yourself and your emotions. A perception of the people and things around you as distorted and unreal.
Dissociation is a natural response to trauma while it's happening. But some of us may still experience dissociation long after the traumatic event has finished. Past experiences of dissociation during traumatic events may mean that you haven't processed these experiences fully.
Eye contact is broken, the conversation comes to an abrupt halt, and clients can look frightened, “spacey,” or emotionally shut down. Clients often report feeling disconnected from the environment as well as their body sensations and can no longer accurately gauge the passage of time.
Trauma-Related Dissociation is sometimes described as a 'mental escape' when physical escape is not possible, or when a person is so emotionally overwhelmed that they cannot cope any longer. Sometimes dissociation is like 'switching off'. Some survivors describe it as a way of saying 'this isn't happening to me'.
A major feature of the experience of dissociation is the freeze response. Freezing is a state of immobility, i.e., the body stops moving.
Symptoms of a dissociative disorder
feeling disconnected from yourself and the world around you. forgetting about certain time periods, events and personal information. feeling uncertain about who you are. having multiple distinct identities.
Sigmund Freud regarded dissociation to be a normal means through which the ego defended itself against unacceptable unconscious thoughts – an expression of unconscious conflict.
Recovery from a dissociative disorder is definitely possible, but it takes time, courage and enormous effort from the person who dissociates.
Their dissociation can lead to lack of attention and, hence, to memory problems and in extreme cases, amnesia. In some cases, they present an extreme difficulty in giving or receiving empathy which can be related to the spectrum of narcissistic personality disorder.
Dissociation is detaching from an experience. Many women who experience betrayal and emotional abuse use dissociation to cope with pain, fear, and devastation. The ability to dissociate may be very helpful for women as they begin to heal, however, dissociation can also be unhealthy.
Dissociation exists on a spectrum that ranges from mild everyday experiences to disorders that interfere with daily functioning. Nearly everyone experiences mild dissociation from time to time. In fact, daydreaming is a prime and common example of mild dissociation.
Zoning out is considered a type of dissociation, which is a feeling of being disconnected from the world around you. Some people experience severe dissociation, but "zoning out" is considered a much milder form. Daydreaming is the most common kind of zoning or spacing out.
There are five main ways in which the dissociation of psychological processes changes the way a person experiences living: depersonalization, derealization, amnesia, identity confusion, and identity alteration.
Dissociation separates a person emotionally from the trauma and, sometimes, from the current setting. It's not always obvious that traumatic stress has been triggered, and the resulting behavior can be off-putting.
Dissociative identity disorder
While the different personality states influence the person's behaviour, the person is usually not aware of these personality states and experiences them as memory lapses. The other states may have different body language, voice tone, outlook on life and memories.
The process of dissociation usually occurs outside your own awareness, though you may also realize it is happening, particularly if it is in the context of anxiety. The experience involves a disconnection between your memory, consciousness, identity, and thoughts.