What is Dissociation?
Lately you might have heard the term “dissociation” thrown around, especially on social media. A growing number of people are realizing they've had experiences with dissociation—sometimes enough to wonder if it’s more than just a passing experience. While it seems unlikely that cases of severe dissociative disorders have suddenly skyrocketed, this trend highlights something important: dissociation is a potential coping behavior that exists for all human brains. Dissociation is what happens when someone’s conscious attention is disconnected from parts of the brain it normally has access to, like emotions or physical sensations.
Our theory tells us that it is an ability developed in early childhood, where an infant might learn to turn their focus from a stressful situation when other behaviors, namely crying, are not successful in reducing the stressful exposure. Like most behaviors- the more it is practiced, the easier it is. Ever gone on autopilot during a boring drive to daydream or felt numb during a stressful moment? Congratulations—you dissociated! It’s a fantastic survival tool (maybe not while driving…) but it can become problematic if we never revisit and process important emotions or events.
On the most severe end of the spectrum, dissociation can involve shutting down emotionally or memory loss. Picture a partner who seems to shut off completely during conflict. If they started to feel enough distress, their instincts might choose detaching from emotions as the way to ‘survive’ this stressful scenario. Looking at it from the outside, it’s obvious that the danger is unlikely to be life-or-death, however the autonomic nervous system has no way to differentiate extreme stress signals due to emotional pain from those due to survival needs.
Memory loss appears to function in the same way, the brain is protecting itself from overwhelming stress. It highlights something important too, that the ‘decision’ to detach is not typically a conscious one.
The trick is in learning to recognize and manage dissociation if it becomes a problem. Grounding strategies, like focusing on sensations or mental self-talk, can help bring your attention back to your body. These practices can reconnect you with your emotions and remind the nervous system that you’re are safe. For boredom while driving that is causing your brain to seek greener, more entertaining pastures—same principle applies. Grounding yourself by appreciating the taste and texture of a snack, or doing a body scan to notice how you’re holding tension will help your brain practice staying present in the moment.