Breaking Free – February 2023

We live in challenging times and for many of us, who are already living with our own individual challenges, the lack of understanding about what dissociation is and possibilities for healing from dissociation can make our journey more difficult. That’s why it’s so important to continue to educate the community, including the professional community around dissociation and its role when engaging with people with complex trauma experiences.

We are living through a pandemic, global disruptions and a time in which we are speaking more about issues of trauma which were previously hidden. Trauma is more readily recognised than ever before. However, a true understanding of complex trauma and, alongside it, dissociation lag far behind.

The lack of understanding around dissociation is difficult to fathom because dissociation is familiar to us all. In fact, it is a common everyday experience which occurs in our daily lives. For example think about how we detach from the present moment when we daydream, or check out when we drive on autopilot along a highway or become absorbed in a puzzle or a great book. These are common experiences which are not questioned, and which are dissociative in nature.

Dissociation however extends further than these everyday phenomena. It can be seen as a protective mechanism of the mind, which occurs on a continuum. In the context of complex trauma, dissociation effectively locks out overwhelming feelings and experiences. It guards against the unthinkable and the unbearable.

Not only does dissociation occur in relation to traumatic experiences but more recent research has also established that challenging parent-child dynamics also often underpin dissociation – for example when a parent is unable to be protective or nurturing, or is unpredictable. Often this occurs when a parent has experienced their own trauma or other challenges.

Dissociation is not a conscious process – we cannot dissociate when we decide to. Rather it comes into play when our ‘self’ is under threat, such as when we experience ongoing or extreme trauma. In ‘dissociating’ trauma from our sense of self, the mind keeps the traumatic experiences outside of our consciousness and often compartmentalises our experiences or breaks them into parts. This stops our mind from being overwhelmed and from completely collapsing.

Our minds are ingenious and they keep the potentially overwhelming feelings and experiences out of our conscious mind until we are better resourced or supported. When this occurs, some of the experiences return to our conscious mind – often as fragments of emotions, sensations, and movements relived in the form of flashbacks or memories. When they return we have the opportunity to process each of them, as best we can, as much as such experiences can be processed, and as much as possible, in a safe and supported space.

Just as there is no single path to healing from complex trauma there is no single path to healing from ‘dissociation’. Everyone finds their own way and what works for them. For many therapy can be useful, and often ‘talk’ therapy or psychotherapy is particularly useful as it supports people to explore past experiences and strong emotions and build a stronger sense of self over time. Many people have also found EMDR and other therapeutic approaches of help – there is no one size fits all but more a process of building safety and trialling different approaches.

Mindfulness and relaxation techniques which support grounding and help to reduce distress are also supportive for many. Physical exercise which can be hard to commit to, and self-care overall also help to build resources to cope with stress and triggers. It is about a journey over time in which many people do begin to build a stable strong sense of self and a life with fewer triggers or disruptions. For others, challenges may continue to come and go at different times but it is important to know that people who experience dissociation, or are diagnosed with dissociative disorders can and do go on to live full contributing lives.