Dissociation – you’re doing it all the time
Dissociation occurs when you disconnect from your mental processes, which can lead to problems such as trouble with concentration, difficulty controlling your emotions, forgetting basic information such as the name of a family member, or even behaving in an uncharacteristic way.
But we all dissociate every day. For example, have you ever arrived somewhere and not remembered the journey? Even while you are reading this post, it is likely that your brain will check out at times, and you miss something.
Your brain has a huge job to do every second of the day and will conserve energy by powering down parts of the brain during certain tasks that it does not feel you need to use conscious energy on. In fact, about 95% of your brain’s activity occurs without you being aware of it.
This is usually not a problem, but when you have disrupted your brain stress system, this efficiency tool becomes problematic, as you can dissociate all the time and create problems in how you function. In other words, dissociation is a common element of functional disorders.
In my book, I share the true story of my patient, Vero, who asked that I use her real name, because she really wants to help others find a way to restore their health. You will read about Vero’s extreme form of dissociation, when she began to lose control of her body, lapsing into a state of collapse, sometimes for hours.
It is understandable that symptoms of dissociation would cause great concern about your brain’s health and yet the fact that you function well between episodes can be reassuring.
Of course, it is necessary to make sure you do not have a neurological condition such as epilepsy, but when this is excluded by your doctor, your focus would need to turn to whatever is activating your brain stress system.
You will read about what can disrupt your normal brain functioning in Chapter 3 in my book. But here is a summary of Dissociation and Dissociative Disorders, which are psychiatric conditions: https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/dissociation-and-dissociative-disorders#what-is-dissociation
In summary,
we all dissociate daily, from memories, experiences, emotions and bodily sensations.
When you have activated your brain stress system, dissociation can become a problem.
If this is severe, it could be deemed a psychiatric disorder.
This range in severity applies to many symptoms. For example, anxiety is a common part of life but can be troubling if you are noticing symptoms. An anxiety disorder can be severely disabling and require intervention for you to function.
In a week, I will tell you how Vero recovered from her dissociative symptoms. Until then, check you are staying in your restorative mode. See you then.