give yourself some say in
who is driving your bus
Dissociation is a normal function of the brain that almost all of us engage in from time to time… but sometimes, for some people it can feel out of control.
By definition, dissociation is a mental process of disconnecting from one's thoughts, feelings, memories or sense of identity. And so all of us do that at least sometimes - whether it’s disconnecting when we start scrolling on our phones, by “not going there” in our minds, or even having to put certain feelings or “parts” of ourself aside when context calls for it (for example, most of us don’t act the exact same way with our friends as we do with our boss).
That said, some people experience the process of dissociation at times that they do not choose it or want it to happen, or in ways that can feel very fractured, or in ways we aren’t even fully aware of. When dissociation starts to create challenges or barriers in someone’s world - there are ways to bring back a solid sense of self and self-control, still.
According to the DSM-5, Dissociative Disorders (opposed to dissociation within a “normal range”) are “disorders characterized by a disruption of and/or discontinuity in the normal integration of consciousness, memory, identity, emotion, perception, body representation, motor control, and behaviour”. These disorder can also, “potentially disrupt every area of psychological functioning”.
Dissociation to this degree is more likely to happen after high trauma or highly stressful life events. It can feel like very strong automatic behaviours that “tune out” our internal experiences or the world. Or, it can even feel like we have multiple parts, identifies, personalities. Or, it can feel like strange gaps in time, or show up through confusing/confounding feedback from others, or it can show up simply as not remembering large parts of one’s personal history. The dissociation itself is there to protect, not hurt you - but it can still have consequences when it becomes a lot. But dissociation IS treatable, and you can get more power and control back, at a pace that feels safe and comfortable for you.
How Dissociation is Treated
After initial grounding and regulation strategies are established, Dissociative Disorders are treated with therapies that help people become more Conscious of the dissociation/”parts” of self; increase Cooperation from all internal “parts”; increase the client’s Choice/Control over the dissociation/parts and when/where they show up; and ultimately build more internal Collaboration or integration between internal functions and/or parts. At Kernel of Wisdom, we use Ego State Therapy (sometimes with Clinical Hypnosis) to support this process.
More about Ego State Therapy
Ego State Therapy International (ESTI) defines Ego State Therapy as, "a powerful and brief therapy based on the premise that personality is composed of separate parts, rather than being a homogeneous whole." Our parts of self (which we believe all people have and experience - just to varying degrees) are another term for “ego states”.
What does this work look like? It is a process of getting to know any and all parts of self that may exist within. There are a variety of ways to discover these. Sometimes someone will “feel” a particular part - they notice in some spaces, or with some people, or within some contexts they feel a particular side of themselves, which feels very different from other times in their life. Sometimes we discover parts through inner conflicts that arise - “part of me wants A”, but “part of me wants B”. Sometimes we discover parts through symptoms or emotions that tend to “take over” and impair control. Sometimes we discover parts through strange/confusing feedback or experiences a client has. And sometimes, clients open to clinical hypnotherapy, will opt to go into a trance state to discover parts within (learn more about clinical hypnosis, here). From there, we collaboratively build a “map” of one’s parts, understand their function and ways they support you, and then build mental/visual spaces to meet with these parts and/or work with them. We may also incorporate trauma modalities for parts. For example, a part of self may have experienced a lot of trauma and/or pain and want to release that pain via EMDR Therapy or another trauma process.
In fact, Ego State therapy is an exploratory process that allows a more complete understanding of self and way to work with yourself. As such, it supports and links in with any other therapy treatment needed - because different parts may have different needs. The difference is, at least now you can address the different needs for different parts of self, rather than feel like therapy (or any experience in life) has to be single-faceted and/or linear.