When does it become a disorder?
Dissociation can be temporary and occasional, without constituting a clinical problem. However, when it occurs persistently or repeatedly, particularly during childhood and adolescence, it can become established as a rigid pattern that seriously interferes with personal, social and occupational functioning. In such cases, we refer to Dissociative Disorders.
Dissociative Disorders
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What is dissociation?
Dissociation is a psychological response in which a disconnect occurs between the mind and the present experience, whether of the external environment or one’s own internal experience. It is a mechanism that is typically triggered by situations of extreme stress or traumatic experiences.
Dissociation acts as a protective strategy against experiences that generate intense emotional distress and a sense of helplessness. Although it momentarily reduces the impact of the trauma, it also hinders the processing and integration of the experience, and can become the mind’s primary response to stress.
It can be triggered by internal or external stimuli related to the traumatic event.
Clinical implications
Dissociative symptoms may occur in isolation or as part of other trauma-related disorders. Furthermore, cultural and social contexts influence how these experiences are interpreted and expressed.
Therapeutic care focuses on understanding the protective function of dissociation, reducing its impact on daily life and facilitating the gradual integration of the traumatic experience, thereby promoting better adaptation, greater emotional stability and a sustained improvement in quality of life.
Common manifestations
Dissociation is a broad phenomenon and can manifest in various ways, which are not mutually exclusive:
Derealisation: the perception of one’s surroundings or other people as unreal, strange or distorted.
Depersonalisation: a feeling of being disconnected from one’s own body and/or emotions; the person may feel like an external observer of themselves.
Dissociative amnesia: difficulty recalling periods of one’s life or relevant personal information.
Dissociative fugue: temporary loss of identity, sometimes accompanied by wandering or the adoption of another identity.
Identity disturbance: the identity is organised into distinct ‘parts’ with their own ways of feeling, acting and relating, and there may be partial amnesia between them.
