Dissociation is a mental process which the mind uses to help cope with too much stress. When you are dissociating you will feel disconnected from yourself and the world around you. If you dissociate for a long time, especially when you are young, you may develop a dissociative disorder. Let's take a look at what this means
For a lot of people, dissociation is a natural reaction to traumatic events beyond our control and helps to protect our mind. For example, it is common for people to dissociate during wars, kidnappings or physically painful events.
It becomes a disorder when your environment is no longer traumatic but you still act as if it is. It can also mean that you have not been able to process the traumatic events that have occurred. Disorders occur when dissociation is regularly occurring to help you survive a prolonged traumatic experience and during childhood when the brain is developing. Examples of traumatic events include:
Fight or flight are our bodies natural reaction to fear and this helps us to get out of situations which scare us. However, if we are unable to escape the situation our body will use other tactics to help us cope.
Take a look at the different types of dissociation and how they may feel below:
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