Dissociation - Disconnection - Zoning Out
Dissociation – Disconnection – Zoning Out
Dissociation is not a disorder or illness you “get” or have. It is a state of "being" that you
arrive at, or find yourself in, as a coping mechanism or strategy.
It characterized by an unexpected partial or complete disruption of the normal
integration of a person’s conscious or psychological functioning.
Dissociation is a mental process that disconnects a person from their thoughts,
memories, feelings, actions, or sense of identity:
it is a disconnection from one’s inner self and from the “reality” around oneself.
Dissociation can be a response to trauma, and perhaps allows the mind to distance itself
from experiences that are too much for the psyche to process at that time.
Dissociative disruptions can affect any aspect of a person’s functioning. Many
dissociative disruptions involve amnesia (not always – but most frequently).
Since dissociations are normally unanticipated, they are typically experienced as
startling, autonomous intrusions into the person's usual ways of responding or functioning.
Due to their unexpected and largely inexplicable nature, they tend to be quite unsettling.
Dissociative amnesia and fugue states are often triggered by life stresses that fall far
short of trauma.
This mechanism is mostly automatic, an unconscious activity of the mind.
For some folks, it may be the only, or at least the most preferred method of dealing
with the stresses of life.
There are various degrees of dissociation, which can range from normal to problematic in
a person's life.
The Dissociation coping strategy develops in those who have suffered a significant
degree of trauma and/or abuse in their lives. This includes traumatic events such as
accidents, serious illness, etc., and/or any type of abuse: physical, emotional or sexual.
Dissociation is not a disorder or illness you “get” or have. It is a state of "being" that you
arrive at, or find yourself in, as a coping mechanism or strategy.
It characterized by an unexpected partial or complete disruption of the normal
integration of a person’s conscious or psychological functioning.
Dissociation is a mental process that disconnects a person from their thoughts,
memories, feelings, actions, or sense of identity:
it is a disconnection from one’s inner self and from the “reality” around oneself.
Dissociation can be a response to trauma, and perhaps allows the mind to distance itself
from experiences that are too much for the psyche to process at that time.
Dissociative disruptions can affect any aspect of a person’s functioning. Many
dissociative disruptions involve amnesia (not always – but most frequently).
Since dissociations are normally unanticipated, they are typically experienced as
startling, autonomous intrusions into the person's usual ways of responding or functioning.
Due to their unexpected and largely inexplicable nature, they tend to be quite unsettling.
Dissociative amnesia and fugue states are often triggered by life stresses that fall far
short of trauma.
This mechanism is mostly automatic, an unconscious activity of the mind.
For some folks, it may be the only, or at least the most preferred method of dealing
with the stresses of life.
There are various degrees of dissociation, which can range from normal to problematic in
a person's life.
The Dissociation coping strategy develops in those who have suffered a significant
degree of trauma and/or abuse in their lives. This includes traumatic events such as
accidents, serious illness, etc., and/or any type of abuse: physical, emotional or sexual.
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Mental and Spiritual Healing.
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For these people the occurrence of trauma or abuse is almost always present in their history when
dissociation rears its head.
Those who have been traumatized or abused almost always have dissociated to some degree.
Dissociation in general:
Dissociation is actually a natural function of normal life.
Children are very good at dissociation, and this is especially evident in their play.
They can become completely absorbed in the game they are playing, and for the moment, they
BECOME the princess, or the prince, or the fireman, or the nurse, or the doctor, or the good guy,
or the bad guy, or the cat, or the dog, or...
dissociation rears its head.
Those who have been traumatized or abused almost always have dissociated to some degree.
Dissociation in general:
Dissociation is actually a natural function of normal life.
Children are very good at dissociation, and this is especially evident in their play.
They can become completely absorbed in the game they are playing, and for the moment, they
BECOME the princess, or the prince, or the fireman, or the nurse, or the doctor, or the good guy,
or the bad guy, or the cat, or the dog, or...
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If you try to break in on their game, you may find that they are disoriented for a brief moment,
and have not even heard you because they were so involved in what they were doing. They have
been very naturally and normally dissociating.
This is the ability that children may automatically use when facing difficulties that are too much
for them to handle as children.
The child simply "becomes" another person, often without any conscious decision to do so, have the
things happen to that person, not oneself ...
and the child is able to move on in life and survive.
This is because, as far as they are concerned, it never happened to them, or the memory of it has
been significantly minimized to a manageable size, since the experience was borne, or at least
shared by "someone else".
If the event is traumatic enough, it may even be blocked entirely from the child's conscious
memory.
Adults also dissociate naturally:
For example, many people do it while driving. When you have been traveling down the road, thinking
about something else, and then realized that you have missed the turn you were to take, that is
dissociation.
Or if you were staring at a computer screen and not taking anything in, chances are you just had a
little dissociative moment.
It's a state somewhere between sleep and waking, a little of both, simultaneously.
Some folks feel a bit foggy headed, while others find their vision is not as sharp, or images are
fuzzy around the edges.
Some people describe it as if they are looking through a veil, and feeling emotionally numb.
We also use dissociation to help us focus on what we need to in the current task we are doing,
while blocking out other things that could be distractions.
This is normal dissociation. In fact, people who can not keep distractions out have a great deal of
difficulty with concentration and therefore with functioning in life.
Dissociation as a protective coping mechanism is largely automatic.
When a life event occurs that is too difficult for the person's system to handle and process right
away, there is a sort of switch in the brain that is activated, and this blocks out the experience, or
parts of the experience, from conscious memory.
This can occur often in any type of traumatic event. There are many examples:
One example is at accidents where people are in shock and will have trouble relating the events
afterwards.
During the incident they will appear to be conscious and aware - but will sometimes have limited or
no recall of the events within a specific time period.
As their mind and body settles back to normal, the memories of the event can be recalled more
clearly, and they can more coherently describe what happened.
This is a simple, natural way in which dissociation functions: It protects the system from
becoming overloaded and damaged by too much stress and trauma, by not allowing it all to be fully
experienced all at once.
The catch is; it is meant to be a short term thing - for survival.
When the person begins to recover, and their system is more able to process the event, a fuller
memory of what occurred will often return to their normal state of awareness. When this
happens, they will often feel like they are reliving the event all over again.
In some ways, they are, because in many cases some of the experience was blocked off as being
too overwhelming to cope with consciously at the time, and is only now being experienced.
To handle this in a functional manner, those experiences need to be processed, so that they can be
stored as a memory that can be described in words, instead of being lived, and relived, as if they
were occurring again and again in the current time.
The processing is done by allowing the various aspects of the memory to return and working
through and resolving the issues involved in the experience, by using other methods instead of
dissociation.
Dissociation as interference with a functional life:
Unfortunately, dissociation becomes a way of life for some people.
For many, it begins in childhood when faced with difficulties that are too much for a child to handle
– such as abuse.
When this happens, functionally effective healthy coping skills are not developed fully in the
environment in which they grow up.
Dissociation works very well to keep difficulties and struggles undercover, for awhile.
However, since it was never meant to become a habitual way of coping, it eventually begins to
break down.
As life becomes more complex in the adult years, the pressure of keeping everything locked up
inside becomes too much, memories begin to flash back, begging to be paid attention to and
processed, and the old patterns combined with current issues create additional stress.
When exactly this happens varies from person to person, but when it does, it can wreak havoc with
a person's life and relationships.
The Residual Curse of Dissociation:
The memory of a traumatic event can come back to conscious recall suddenly when it is "triggered"
by some experience in current life.
Depending on the amount of dissociation that has occurred, the person may or may not recognize it
as a forgotten event that happened to them.
At times, a person may overreact to current events without knowing why, when there is something
in the current situation that connects to an unprocessed past event that was traumatic for them.
In some situations, the traumatic memory may be locked in at the age and stage of development
the individual was in the first time that major event occurred.
When it is accessed again later in life, the person may respond in the way someone at that earlier
age and stage of life would.
Increased use of dissociation can produce dysfunction in coping with daily life, especially from the
level of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and beyond, as past traumatic memories that have been
blocked off interfere.
Unless these memories are processed and resolved (not dissociated further), they can become
increasingly difficult to manage.
Although a person may seem to be able to function fairly well in the short term with dissociation, in
the long term this actually decreases the ability to cope and function with the stresses of life.
Dissociation caps people’s keyed up and restless energy underneath. It numbs the body (and
emotions/feelings) so that they feel less internal distress.
They may enter psychotherapy and be dissociative but be unaware of its presence. They might not
even know what dissociation is. However, theyu are likely aware of the problems associated with
being in a dissociative state.
When dissociation becomes chronic, it can feel unbearable and many people resort to addictive or
self-injurious behaviors to seek temporary "relief".
Chronic dissociation severely limits our perceptions. At some level we sense we're operating on a
different plane than the rest of the world. Although we know something isn’t quite right, we can't
put a finger on it.
Dissociation can make us feel invisible and powerless. It impairs our ability to connect with others
to such a degree that we are unable to care for ourselves or others (e.g. as a mother might care
for an infant).
You may have been functioning in the outside world but the real you went underground to some
other place. In other words, you are "just not there".
It's most evident in the eyes. When you're experiencing dissociation others might notice you
staring out into space.
You won't notice when you start to dissociate.
Dissociation comes online seamlessly and automatically. That is, you probably won't recognize the
moment you start dissociating.
Dissociation is like fake relaxation. It numbs your body and your emotions so you feel nothing. It
can be akin to a blissful state and as such, can be deceiving to you and your therapist when you
attempt therapy.
Dissociation is also known as a trait, meaning that it is suspected that some people are dissociative
all the time- but in clinical literature the focus is generally on dissociation as a state.
Klaas Tuinman M.A.
-Adapted from various sources
Deerfield, NS
2010
and have not even heard you because they were so involved in what they were doing. They have
been very naturally and normally dissociating.
This is the ability that children may automatically use when facing difficulties that are too much
for them to handle as children.
The child simply "becomes" another person, often without any conscious decision to do so, have the
things happen to that person, not oneself ...
and the child is able to move on in life and survive.
This is because, as far as they are concerned, it never happened to them, or the memory of it has
been significantly minimized to a manageable size, since the experience was borne, or at least
shared by "someone else".
If the event is traumatic enough, it may even be blocked entirely from the child's conscious
memory.
Adults also dissociate naturally:
For example, many people do it while driving. When you have been traveling down the road, thinking
about something else, and then realized that you have missed the turn you were to take, that is
dissociation.
Or if you were staring at a computer screen and not taking anything in, chances are you just had a
little dissociative moment.
It's a state somewhere between sleep and waking, a little of both, simultaneously.
Some folks feel a bit foggy headed, while others find their vision is not as sharp, or images are
fuzzy around the edges.
Some people describe it as if they are looking through a veil, and feeling emotionally numb.
We also use dissociation to help us focus on what we need to in the current task we are doing,
while blocking out other things that could be distractions.
This is normal dissociation. In fact, people who can not keep distractions out have a great deal of
difficulty with concentration and therefore with functioning in life.
Dissociation as a protective coping mechanism is largely automatic.
When a life event occurs that is too difficult for the person's system to handle and process right
away, there is a sort of switch in the brain that is activated, and this blocks out the experience, or
parts of the experience, from conscious memory.
This can occur often in any type of traumatic event. There are many examples:
One example is at accidents where people are in shock and will have trouble relating the events
afterwards.
During the incident they will appear to be conscious and aware - but will sometimes have limited or
no recall of the events within a specific time period.
As their mind and body settles back to normal, the memories of the event can be recalled more
clearly, and they can more coherently describe what happened.
This is a simple, natural way in which dissociation functions: It protects the system from
becoming overloaded and damaged by too much stress and trauma, by not allowing it all to be fully
experienced all at once.
The catch is; it is meant to be a short term thing - for survival.
When the person begins to recover, and their system is more able to process the event, a fuller
memory of what occurred will often return to their normal state of awareness. When this
happens, they will often feel like they are reliving the event all over again.
In some ways, they are, because in many cases some of the experience was blocked off as being
too overwhelming to cope with consciously at the time, and is only now being experienced.
To handle this in a functional manner, those experiences need to be processed, so that they can be
stored as a memory that can be described in words, instead of being lived, and relived, as if they
were occurring again and again in the current time.
The processing is done by allowing the various aspects of the memory to return and working
through and resolving the issues involved in the experience, by using other methods instead of
dissociation.
Dissociation as interference with a functional life:
Unfortunately, dissociation becomes a way of life for some people.
For many, it begins in childhood when faced with difficulties that are too much for a child to handle
– such as abuse.
When this happens, functionally effective healthy coping skills are not developed fully in the
environment in which they grow up.
Dissociation works very well to keep difficulties and struggles undercover, for awhile.
However, since it was never meant to become a habitual way of coping, it eventually begins to
break down.
As life becomes more complex in the adult years, the pressure of keeping everything locked up
inside becomes too much, memories begin to flash back, begging to be paid attention to and
processed, and the old patterns combined with current issues create additional stress.
When exactly this happens varies from person to person, but when it does, it can wreak havoc with
a person's life and relationships.
The Residual Curse of Dissociation:
The memory of a traumatic event can come back to conscious recall suddenly when it is "triggered"
by some experience in current life.
Depending on the amount of dissociation that has occurred, the person may or may not recognize it
as a forgotten event that happened to them.
At times, a person may overreact to current events without knowing why, when there is something
in the current situation that connects to an unprocessed past event that was traumatic for them.
In some situations, the traumatic memory may be locked in at the age and stage of development
the individual was in the first time that major event occurred.
When it is accessed again later in life, the person may respond in the way someone at that earlier
age and stage of life would.
Increased use of dissociation can produce dysfunction in coping with daily life, especially from the
level of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and beyond, as past traumatic memories that have been
blocked off interfere.
Unless these memories are processed and resolved (not dissociated further), they can become
increasingly difficult to manage.
Although a person may seem to be able to function fairly well in the short term with dissociation, in
the long term this actually decreases the ability to cope and function with the stresses of life.
Dissociation caps people’s keyed up and restless energy underneath. It numbs the body (and
emotions/feelings) so that they feel less internal distress.
They may enter psychotherapy and be dissociative but be unaware of its presence. They might not
even know what dissociation is. However, theyu are likely aware of the problems associated with
being in a dissociative state.
When dissociation becomes chronic, it can feel unbearable and many people resort to addictive or
self-injurious behaviors to seek temporary "relief".
Chronic dissociation severely limits our perceptions. At some level we sense we're operating on a
different plane than the rest of the world. Although we know something isn’t quite right, we can't
put a finger on it.
Dissociation can make us feel invisible and powerless. It impairs our ability to connect with others
to such a degree that we are unable to care for ourselves or others (e.g. as a mother might care
for an infant).
You may have been functioning in the outside world but the real you went underground to some
other place. In other words, you are "just not there".
It's most evident in the eyes. When you're experiencing dissociation others might notice you
staring out into space.
You won't notice when you start to dissociate.
Dissociation comes online seamlessly and automatically. That is, you probably won't recognize the
moment you start dissociating.
Dissociation is like fake relaxation. It numbs your body and your emotions so you feel nothing. It
can be akin to a blissful state and as such, can be deceiving to you and your therapist when you
attempt therapy.
Dissociation is also known as a trait, meaning that it is suspected that some people are dissociative
all the time- but in clinical literature the focus is generally on dissociation as a state.
Klaas Tuinman M.A.
-Adapted from various sources
Deerfield, NS
2010
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