Dissassociation - Can Someone Explain It

[Deleted member 28812]

What is DID?

 

[joeylittle]

@Lemontree, Dissociative Identity Disorder.

 

[shimmerz]

I am not sure what dissassociation is. Can anyone explain it for dummies please.

In psychology, the term dissociation describes a wide array of experiences from mild detachment from immediate surroundings to more severe detachment from physical and emotional experience. The major characteristic of all dissociative phenomena involves a detachment from reality, rather than a loss of reality as in psychosis.

 

[joeylittle]

detachment from reality,rather than a loss of reality as in psychosis.

I just want to add a little refinement to this - detachment from reality specifically means lack of conscious awareness of the factual present moment. To contrast that with psychosis, we could say that in psychosis there is a conscious awareness of an altered/imagined present moment.

In either case, it's important to note that 'reality' is not subjective. I think when we use reality as a reference point, people can get a little mixed up with how one individual's reality can be perceived by that person as different from others. Whereas, when you talk about awareness of the present moment, it's much more specific. Like, right now I'm sitting in my office. I could dissociate and lose track of where I am at, or I could have a psychotic episode and believe my office is in fact floating in a chasm separate from the rest of the building. It's less to do with detachment or loss and a little more to do with what I am or am not "present" to. Not contradicting @shimmerz, just refining.