During times of overwhelming stress, our body will try to protect us by using a coping measure called dissociation. This is when overwhelming stress causes us to disconnect between or feelings, thoughts, consciousness and our memory. While dissociating an individual may feel detached from their surroundings, their thoughts or even their identity. Some common features of dissociation are:
- Depersonalization- this involves feeling detached from owns body or feeling like an outside observer of oneself. They me able to see themselves from a perspective other than their eyes perspective. They may be able to see from the perspective of up in the top corner of the room, and it may be foggy up there and not as clear.
- Derealization- refers to a state of unreality or even a detachment from the real world. It may involve feeling like the environment is distorted like you are in a dream or things are somehow unreal.
- Amnesia- dissociation can lead to gaps in memory where individuals might be unable to recall certain period of times or specific events. This is a protective mechanism to shield the individual from memories associated with trauma.
Dissociation is a spectrum ranging from mild daydreaming to more severe and clinically significant forms found in dissociative identity disorder. Occasional mild disassociation is normal, however chronic or severe dissociation that significantly impairs daily functioning might warrant clinical attention or evaluation by a mental healthcare professional.
