When you feel like you can’t control a situation, you may dissociate yourself from the present moment. It is a coping mechanism to protect yourself from painful and overwhelming emotions.
What is dissociation?
Dissociation is being disconnected from the present. Feeling powerless to be able to change or stop a traumatic event from happening may lead to people disconnecting from the situation as a way to cope with feelings such as fear, helplessness, pain, and anxiety. Dissociation can help people get through to the end of the traumatic experience.
After the traumatic experience has passed, sometimes dissociation is a way that people cope through avoidance of negative feelings or thoughts related to memories of the traumatic event. When dissociation is connected to memories or things that remind the person of the traumatic experience, it is considered an avoidance coping strategy.
The difference between this and consciously avoiding something is that dissociation often happens without awareness that is occurring, with no prior plan to dissociate to avoid. This can then have effects for everyday life such as during work and at times we need to pay attention and be focussed on what is occurring here and now.
How does trauma-related dissociation develop?
Dissociation as avoidance coping often happens due to a traumatic event. Many people who have dissociative disorders experienced a traumatic event in their childhood, although dissociation can arise with other types of trauma. People who dissociate while experiencing trauma are more likely to develop a pattern of dissociation as a coping strategy.
5 strategies to cope with dissociation
- Slow breathing. Take a moment to close your eyes, breathe slowly in and then slowly out. Count up and down from 10 while you slowly breathe. This can help with relaxation.
- Use your 5 senses. Name 5 things you see, 4 things you feel, 3 things you hear, 2 things you smell, and 1 thing you taste. This strategy is helpful as it can easily be done anywhere.
- Fill your environment with things that engage your senses. Things like nice smelling perfume or room spray, soft blankets and cushions, ice tray or ice pack in the freezer, lollies to focus on taste. It can be helpful to have these items around home or work (even just in a “rescue box”) to have them available when doing the 5 senses strategy.
- Go for a mindfulness walk. Pay close attention as you walk as to how your body feels as you take each step, and the sounds you hear, and the things you see. Take note of the physical sensations you feel throughout the walk.
- Keep a journal or diary. Try to implement this into your daily routine and take the time to recall your day in detail. As you write, be mindful of noticing any times you may have dissociated throughout the day and what thoughts you may have had leading up to that.
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