Coping With Disassociation After Trauma
Coping with disassociation after trauma can be a challenging and overwhelming experience. After enduring trauma, disassociation can emerge as a way for individuals to cope and shield themselves from the intense emotions and memories linked to their past experiences. It can feel like being disconnected from oneself and the world around them.
There are strategies and techniques that can help individuals cope with disassociation in a healthy and productive way. However, it is highly recommended that individuals who are having trouble with disassociation after trauma seek the counsel of a trauma therapist. A trauma therapist is specially trained to help with these sorts of things.
What Is Disassociation In Relation To Trauma?
Disassociation is your brain’s way of protecting you. Your brain may try to bury those traumatic memories by storing them away in the back of your mind. Unfortunately, disassociation provided by the brain after trauma is nothing more than an escape. It is not a healthy way to process trauma. It’s not processing the trauma at all. It’s only masking it. You need to actually process the trauma to heal properly. When disassociation starts interfering with your ability to process the trauma, it becomes a problem.
How Can I Tell If I’m Disassociating?
Disassociating is all about disconnecting from yourself and the world around you. The signs of disassociating can include the following:
- Feeling separate from your body
- Thinking the world around you isn’t real
- Emotional detachment or feeling numb
- Losing your sense of identity
- Forgetting specific events or personal information about yourself
- Feeling little to no pain during disassociation
- In severe cases, developing different identities (Dissociative Identity Disorder)
That last sign exemplifies what can happen if disassociation is left to linger and goes untreated.
The Two Types Of Disassociation
There are actually two different types of disassociation.
- Depersonalization: An easy way to think of depersonalization is as if you’re watching yourself act out a movie in your head. It may feel like an out-of-body experience.
- Derealization: Derealization may feel like you are in a dream. You could experience distorted sounds, and other things may appear to be “unnatural.”
How Can I Cope With My Disassociation?
The best way to handle frequent disassociation is to see a professional trauma therapist. They will be able to ensure that the disassociation doesn’t evolve into a disorder. Additionally, if it has already evolved into a disorder, a trauma therapist would be able to treat it. While undergoing therapy for your disassociation, a trauma therapist may suggest any of the following exercises:
Keeping a Journal
Many therapists recommend that their clients write in a journal to combat various ailments. In relation to disassociation, journaling can help the person remember and understand parts of their experience, fill in any lost gaps, and remember personal information.
Visualization Techniques
Someone suffering from disassociation can utilize visualization techniques to make them more comfortable when reliving the experience. For example, the person can imagine that the event happened in a much safer place for them so that they will feel more comfortable speaking of the event.
Talking to People With Similar Experiences
Support group therapy can be great for those dealing with trauma and disassociation. Speaking with others who have gone through similar events can help the person see that they are not alone and can get through this.
Reclaiming Yourself
Disassociation is not a healthy way to cope with trauma, and it can lead to more severe disorders. Seeing a professional trauma therapist is the best way to deal with trauma and disassociation. A trauma therapist will provide the best course of action for you to take.
If you would like to learn more about disassociation and how it affects your mind, feel free to contact me.