@grit
I guess the way I think of it is this. Dissociation is the reaction to overwhelm or in fact a habit/means to escape stress or threat and cope. Personally that habit became so entrenched I would do it habitually even when not in stressful situations and rather as a way to relax at times.
And I think when we are overwhelmed embracing the emotions we are feeling, identifying them and accepting them can be very helpful for overwhelm. I personally find that is one of the things that helps the most when dealing with intense emotional states. Initially I was terrible at identifying them. I did years and years if work on this and continue and it has helped me enormously. I read that emotions are signposts. They tell us what is happening. They tell us what we need. They sometimes indicate to us what are thinking or perceiving. Trying to avoid or push them away creates more pain and backlash and secondary emotional states. Dealing with overwhelm immediately helps the overload switch which is dissociation.
And I think connecting to our emotions and naming them and the cause is a way of grounding and connecting to ourselves rather than escaping them. Therefore less dissociation. Certainly feel that the numbing and distancing of emotional states and the chaotic emotions experienced as a result was and remains at times dissociative for me.
I guess the way I think of it is this. Dissociation is the reaction to overwhelm or in fact a habit/means to escape stress or threat and cope. Personally that habit became so entrenched I would do it habitually even when not in stressful situations and rather as a way to relax at times.
And I think when we are overwhelmed embracing the emotions we are feeling, identifying them and accepting them can be very helpful for overwhelm. I personally find that is one of the things that helps the most when dealing with intense emotional states. Initially I was terrible at identifying them. I did years and years if work on this and continue and it has helped me enormously. I read that emotions are signposts. They tell us what is happening. They tell us what we need. They sometimes indicate to us what are thinking or perceiving. Trying to avoid or push them away creates more pain and backlash and secondary emotional states. Dealing with overwhelm immediately helps the overload switch which is dissociation.
And I think connecting to our emotions and naming them and the cause is a way of grounding and connecting to ourselves rather than escaping them. Therefore less dissociation. Certainly feel that the numbing and distancing of emotional states and the chaotic emotions experienced as a result was and remains at times dissociative for me.
