Dissociation

By: Thea Louise Jordal Vikanes

Dissociation is something everyone can experience from time to time and can be described as feeling dissociated from the here and now. Furthermore, it is a mental process commonly used as a coping strategy to avoid thinking of traumatic events or other negative thoughts.

 Next, it appears to be like daydreaming and usually occurs without effort. For instance, it is common that a person who is dissociating is not aware that they are doing so. Although dissociation can appear to be harmless, it makes it more difficult for people to pay attention in their day-to-day lives as well as recover from trauma.  There are several reasons why someone develops a dissociation disorder, it can be triggered by a traumatic event, psychiatric disorder, or an organic cause.

Symptoms include having trouble with memory and self-regulation of emotions. The duration of the symptoms varies, some only experience them for a couple of weeks while others for a much longer period. A study found a positive association between dissociative experiences and hyperaasociativity among college students. The researchers think this could be due to alexithymia and cognitive failures. (Huntjens, 2021) Moreover, alexithymia is when an individual has difficulty experiencing, identifying, and expressing emotions.

Sources:

Martins. S (2021) Psychopathology of consciousness

Huntjens, R., Janssen, G., Merckelbach, H., & Lynn, S. J. (2021). The link between dissociative tendencies and hyperassociativity. Journal of behavior therapy and experimental psychiatry, 73, 101665. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbtep.2021.101665