Dissociation is an armor we put on when no other defense is possible.

If trauma has been part of your everyday life, dissociating might have been your only chance to stay sane. Sadly, in the long run, it becomes a problem itself.

When fight and flight don’t work, submitting might be the child’s only way to stay normal. It is your last choice of defense. But when you are overpowered, it might be more sensible than fight and flight.

Zoning out is the most common symptom. Your brain might be zoning out to nothingness. You feel empty, and your thoughts are slower. Your vision can get blurred or even tunnel vision. Problem moving the body or parts of the body can be quite distressing. Especially when you freeze in one position.

And for many people with PTSD, this is the default mode.

Dissociation is a split in your thoughts, feelings, emotions, and actions. Here’s a great article about dissociation

When does it occur?

Triggering events are the most apparent reasons for dissociation. This can be both external and internal.

The external event can be times of the year, places, people, tasted, smells, sounds, tactile sensations.

Internal events can be a racing heart. An emotion, good or bad, but something that fires up the fire-alarm in the brain. Instead of anxiety, it tips over the edge, and dissociation occurs instead.

Dissociation usually comes after discomfort. You might have felt distressed for some time and tried to keep it at bay. Or you didn’t get in contact with your pain, and you are spacing out without warning.

When dissociation goes up, anxiety goes down, and visa Versa.

Dissociation usually goes hand in hand with PTSD.

Here are some of the techniques people use to get out of dissociation:

• Put your hands in cold water
• Move your fingers
• Use your senses, one by one
• Smelling, hearing, seeing, touching
• SafePlace