Dissociation is the act of separating something from your awareness.
It is an important defense mechanism that everyone has against becoming
overwhelmed by the noise and visual chaos of daily life. When things get
too much, we simply switch off pieces so we don't have to hear them, see
them, or know about them. Usually we don't actually decide to do this.
Our brain does it automatically for us. When a child is being overwhelmed
by the pain and fear of some traumatic event like being beaten up or raped,
she may use dissociation to mentally escape a situation which she can
not escape physically. Children are especially good at this. They still
have wonderful, unlimited imaginations that allow them to shape their
world beyond the boundaries of "reality". So during trauma they
can float up to the ceiling, disappear into a wall, or sit with Jesus
on a cloud, and so escape experiencing the trauma being done to them.
Multiple personality defence is one variation of this dissociative process.
Alter selves are created by a child to take her place while she is being
traumatised. Dissociation is a highly efficient defence against physical
and emotional pain. It works quickly and thoroughly. Because of this,
it is very addictive. A child who has been traumatised repeatedly learns
to use dissociation as an automatic response to anything dangerous or
frightening. The problem is that she has to dissociate as soon as something
looks like being dangerous, or else she will experience pain. So she becomes
hypervigilant for any signs of potential danger and, the minute she sees
one, she dissociates. She does not wait to find out whether it really
was dangerous or not. After a while, it isn't even her choice. Her brain
and body dissociate have habituated to dissociation. So, even when she
has grown up and the trauma has stopped, she is still living in constant
fear. It's a sad way to live.
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If
you are going to work with ritual abuse survivors, you must also get educated
if you want to be effective. And you must learn to be humble. Trauma survivors
do not need to be around ignorant, modern-day Pharisees. Survivors in
pain need people who will connect with them on an emotional level, get
right down in there where they are, and listen. --Kathleen Sullivan