Dissociation may be a normal phenomenon, but like everything in life, all in moderation. For some, dissociation becomes the main coping mechanism they use to deal with the effects of a trauma response in anxiety disorders, such as PTSD, or other disorders, such as depression.
Transient and mild dissociative experiences are common. Almost 1/3rd of people say they occasionally feel as though they are watching themselves in a movie, and 4% say they feel that way as much as 1/3rd of the time. The incidence of these experiences is highest in youth and steadily declines after the age of 20.
Dissociation is something we all do, and it is a vital part of our ingrained survival system. It is a part of the system that helps us to cope with stressful situations, which may otherwise feel overwhelming (Steinberg and Schnall, 2001). It is built in and is not pathological (Ross and Halpern, 2011).
Dissociation is a disconnection between a person's thoughts, memories, feelings, actions or sense of who he or she is. This is a normal process that everyone has experienced.
Lots of different things can cause you to dissociate. For example, you might dissociate when you are very stressed, or after something traumatic has happened to you. You might also have symptoms of dissociation as part of another mental illness like anxiety.
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.
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. A blurred sense of identity.
Zoning out is considered a form of dissociation, but it typically falls at the mild end of the spectrum.
Mental illnesses such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder may cause similar symptoms to a dissociative disorder. The effects of certain substances, including some recreational drugs and prescription medications, can mimic symptoms.
Dissociation is a way the mind copes with too much stress. Periods of dissociation can last for a relatively short time (hours or days) or for much longer (weeks or months). It can sometimes last for years, but usually if a person has other dissociative disorders.
You suddenly feel confused and as if you can't think clearly. You feel like things are unreal but can't describe exactly why. For some reason, you feel odd, unusual, and that something is not as it should be. You feel something is out of sorts but don't know what it is or how to describe the feeling.
The difference from active avoidance (on purpose avoiding thinking about or doing something) is that dissociation tends to happen without planning or even awareness. Many times, people who are dissociating are not even aware that it is happening, other people notice it.
While dissociation is a way people handle stressful situations, no trained professional would recommend dissociating on purpose. By purposefully dissociating, you risk mishandling stress and could develop unhealthy patterns. Many people who suffer from severe cases of dissociation have trouble later on in life.
In extreme moments of traumatic stress, a person might suddenly “space out.” Whereas they seemed fully present, talking, and participating, they suddenly become vacant, staring into the distance. At such times, they are likely to need help reorienting.
Normal dissociation may feel like daydreaming at a boring work meeting or zoning out when driving down a long highway. But it can also be your mind's coping mechanism when confronted with too much stress, such as a traumatic event.
Dissociation functions as a coping mechanism developed by the body to manage and protect against overwhelming emotions and distress 6. This can be a completely natural reaction to traumatic experiences, and can be helpful as a way of coping at the time.
Much like in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), people with DID often have a history of trauma and/or abuse. But is trauma always a requirement for DID? A history of trauma is not one of the diagnostic criteria for a diagnosis of dissociative identity disorder, according to the DSM-5.
According to Mental Health America, about a third of people experience dissociation on occasion. About 4% of people have more frequent or severe dissociation. People who dissociate might: Seem distracted, not fully present.
ADHD and dissociative disorders may cause similar signs and symptoms, but they are two different conditions that require a doctor's diagnosis.
While dissociation is not a symptom of ADHD, the two are closely related because they are often comorbid. 123 People with dissociative disorders may also show symptoms of ADHD and vice versa.
Visual snow, static, thinking you're seeing things move, blurry vision, floaters etc. You only see them at all because the brain is just looking for something -- anything -- to be the source of the danger.
But dissociation is different from daydreaming in a few key ways. “Dissociation is when [one] feels physically removed from their body or the place they are in,” Cook says. “Dissociation is connected with the fight-or-flight response and usually only occurs when the person feels overwhelmed or threatened,” she adds.
Dissociation involves disruptions of usually integrated functions of consciousness, perception, memory, identity, and affect (e.g., depersonalization, derealization, numbing, amnesia, and analgesia).
Dissociation Symptoms
Memory loss surrounding specific events, interactions, or experiences. A sense of detachment from your emotions (aka emotional numbness) and identity. Feeling as if the world is unreal; out-of-body experiences. Mental health problems such as depression, anxiety, and thoughts of suicide.
Can I recover from a dissociative disorder? Yes - if you have the right diagnosis and treatment, there is a good chance you will recover. This might mean that you stop experiencing dissociative symptoms and any separate parts of your identity merge to become one sense of self.