Trauma survivors can feel disconnected from their own experiences due to dissociation. Dissociation can develop as a protective survival response which helps create distance from overwhelming emotions, sensations, memories, or situations. Dissociation can cause different aspects of an experience (thoughts, memories, body sensations, emotions) to be separated from each other. This can spread out the distress of the event, rather than keeping it in one overwhelming bundle.
In dissociative systems, different parts may hold different aspects of experiences. For instance, one part may have recall of the event but without emotions, which are held by a different part. This can create a sense of distance from your own memories, emotions, or reactions.
Some people worry that feeling disconnected from an experience means it wasn’t important or that it didn’t happen. In fact, the opposite is often true: the experience was so intense or overwhelming that the brain had to mute some of the connection to it.
This page is part of the What Is Dissociation? section of the CommuniDID site, which explains how dissociation works and why it develops.
Explore related topics:
- Questions about dissociation
- How to Recognize When You’re Dissociating
- What Else Could It Be If It’s Not Dissociation?
- Why Can’t I Tell If I’m Hungry or Tired?
- Why Do I Feel Like My Body Isn’t Mine?
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CommuniDID includes nearly 1000 pages of educational content about DID, trauma, dissociation— including articles, Q&As, guides, and practical resources organized by topic.
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