When Dissociation Goes From Protective to Problematic

"Derek yells at Maya while backing her into a corner and telling her she's stupid, worthless, and a bad mother. Maya has heard this all many times before; this time, Derek won't let up, and she feels afraid. Maya spaces out and cries softly, agreeing with whatever Derek says, waiting for him to run out of steam. Meanwhile, their two children are hiding in Maya's closet. In this repeated scenario, Maya and the children start dissociating."

"Dissociation starts with an uncontrollable brain response to overwhelming events. If you have been through a prolonged or repeated trauma, dissociation might be your "superpower." It helped you survive something unbearable. People learn to dissociate during child abuse, domestic violence, sexual assault, painful medical procedures, and similar experiences. If you dissociated in one situation or relationship, you are more likely to dissociate in another."

"Dissociation has also been described as a broad range of alterations in memory, perception, attention, and consciousness (Herzog et al, 2019) that result from traumatic experiences. When you dissociate, you feel like you are disconnected from yourself or the world around you. You might experience an "out-of-body feeling." You may have trouble remembering what happened during this time. Dissociation is being present but feeling absent-or being present but feeling numb."

Dissociation is an involuntary alteration in memory, perception, attention, and consciousness that often arises from overwhelming or repeated trauma. It can feel like disconnection from oneself or the world, an out-of-body sensation, or being present but emotionally absent or numb. Dissociation develops as a survival response during experiences such as child abuse, domestic violence, sexual assault, and painful medical procedures, and it can generalize across situations and relationships. Unwanted dissociation can impair memory, emotional presence, spontaneity, and may be misinterpreted in legal settings. Grounding techniques can reduce dissociative episodes and help victim-survivors stay present.

Read at Psychology Today