Trauma Therapy for Dissociation
Ever been on your morning commute only to arrive at work with no memory of driving yourself there? we have too. This is an example of dissociation, and we all experience it to some degree.
Traumatic experiences, especially when they occur multiple times or over a long period, can lead to a more constant sense of being disconnected from our bodies and the world around us. Our bodies use dissociation as a way to protect us from harm and relieve our fight or flight system. If we’ve experienced long-term trauma or abuse, our bodies have been working really hard to protect us for a long time. This can sometimes lead to us getting stuck in ‘protection mode’ even when we’re safe, resulting in experiences such as:
difficulty remembering things
disconnection from actions and emotions
a sense that you exist outside of your body
feeling like the world around you isn’t real
hearing voices in your mind that conflict with each other
struggling to know who you are or what your core personality is like
Do any of these experiences resonate with you? If so, you might be experiencing dissociation. As strange as it might sound, this is actually a good thing!
Without dissociation playing its vital role in your day-to-day life, it’s likely that things would have been much too heavy and overwhelming for you to continue on as normal. Dissociation is like a big pause button or a stage curtain falling that says, There’s too much here. Let’s take a break. Sometimes we have control of this process, and sometimes we don’t. Sometimes we are aware of it, and sometimes not. This is normal- our bodies are not as predictable, formulaic, or consistent as machines.
So, although disassociation is protective, we also know how difficult it is to live in a body that’s over-functioning and disconnecting when you don’t need it to. Luckily, our nervous system is wired to heal - a trauma therapist on our team would love to support you in this process.