Disassociation

Dissociation is a defense against extremely distressful, painful experiences. The mind is wonderful in that it will protect you from painful events if you are overwhelmed or not emotionally prepared to deal with those events. At times disassociation can be helpful. Remember when you were in school looking out the window daydreaming while the teacher was talking. Think of the times you had daydreams about a romantic time or event. Even becoming immersed in a book, movie or music is a form of disassociation. Those moments were a type of harmless disassociation.

Dissociation is a wonderful coping mechanism in dealing with trauma which was severe, repeated or occurred at a young age. In respect to veterans who went through traumatic war experiences dissociation was the normal coping mechanism for dealing with these experiences.

With dissociation you wall off painful material and in doing so you have some protection against images and feelings connected with the traumatic event. A problem develops when the material remains embedded in the unconscious mind and body and is not fully processed. Without exploration and processing, the material remains negatively and emotionally charged and will intrude in distressing ways. Intrusions are the minds way of telling us something needs processed and released. Intrusions are not necessarily bad, they are messages. (Hey, look here, there is something the unconscious mind and body needs to process!J)

Dissociation can also occur when you are experiencing extreme stress. You can get in the habit of using disassociation to deal with life which is not particularly healthy. When you do not fully process events they begin to get clogged in you unconscious mind and body which eventually leads to low energy, intrusive thoughts (Hey, notice me, I need to be processed!J) and depression. If ignored long enough they end up as physical illnesses. Dissociation is harmful when when it is not under your control, becomes distressing or makes you feel detached from life.

What are some of the symptoms of dissociation? Dissociation can cause physical, emotional, mental and spiritual fatigue. Following are a list of some of the physical symptoms a person can experience if a person is using disassociation to deal with difficult life events:

• Tension, fatigue, trembling, tingling, nausea, digestive tract problems, panic attacks, hyperventilation, pounding heart, suffocation feelings
• Discouragement, hopelessness, despair
• Irritation, moodiness, fear, loss of confidence, exaggerated emotions
• Confusion, inability to concentrate, remember or make decisions

As a rule unprocessed trauma will continue to intrude until it makes sense – until you have processed it to the point where it can settle into long –term memory.

In hypnosis we have a process called the rewind technique to process traumatic memories in a safe and controlled way.  The rewind technique can be used with various involuntary, unwanted past memories such as nightmares, flashbacks and dreams. As a result of the rewind process you will no longer experience emotional distress when recalling of the event. The technique does not cancel your voluntary recall of the event. You can remember the event if you want to, it just releases any emotion charge connected to the event. If you choose to recall the event you will be in control of your emotions and no longer overpowered by them. In any situation with the use of hypnosis make sure you work with a credentialed hypnotist and develop a trusting alliance with them.

To schedule a discovery session or appointment with Sharron Magyar call 219-483-7200. Yes, we do sessions over skype, so even if you are not in our location we can work with you.