“I just lay in bed all day… dissociating.” “Sorry, I missed what you said. I was dissociating.” “I haven’t checked out; I’d just dissociated for a bit.” These are all sentences one might encounter on social media lately, given that “dissociation” appears to have become an Internet buzzword of sorts. While it might make people struggling with dissociation feel more seen, mental health buzzwords also run the risk of diluting their lived experiences – making it important to understand what dissociation really means and whether it’s actually synonymous with zoning out in the middle of a particularly long lecture.

Dissociation refers to a complex mental process where an individual involuntarily disconnects from their thoughts, feelings, memories, and even their sense of identity. It's not a new concept in psychology, but the growing awareness of mental health – in a world that's still emerging from the mass trauma of the pandemic – has made the word a part of most netizens' vocabulary. Take the fact that the hashtag #dissociation occurred 235,753 times on Instagram, while #dissociativedisorderawareness, #dissociativedisordereducation, and #dissociativedisordersupport, together, didn’t occur even 2,000 times.

At its core, dissociation involves a disruption in the integration of consciousness, memory, identity, and perception. Individuals experiencing dissociation may feel detached from themselves, their surroundings, or their emotions. “Everything feels out of sync – like there's a lag between me making a movement and my body actually moving, like I'm just a passenger in my own body, and someone else is at the wheel… There's also the numbness and what feels like a complete rewiring of how I experience sensations – usually, I'm ticklish, but when dissociated, I'm not and never have been. Whatever pain I might have been feeling before is gone or dulled, and pain just doesn't affect me much, unless [it’s] self-inflicted,” writes one Reddit user, describing what dissociation feels like.

This disconnect one feels when dissociating can manifest in a number of ways – from mild detachment or feeling like one is on autopilot to more severe experiences such as amnesia, identity confusion, or a sense of being outside one's body. “The more I read (here and elsewhere) about this topic, the more I sense that the term is ill-defined and used to mean whatever it means to those who use it… It looks to me like dissociation may be quite personal, and that while it may be similar for Jack and Jill, it may be pretty different for Jerry and Jane,” noted yet another individual with a “considerable experience” of dissociation.

However, not everyone who experiences dissociation can be diagnosed with a dissociative disorder recognized by the American Psychiatric Association. In order for one to be diagnosed, their dissociative experiences must be regular, distressing, and have an effect on their day-to-day functioning. The fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual – commonly known as the DSM-5 – recognizes three major dissociative disorders: dissociative amnesia, depersonalization-derealization disorder, and dissociative identity disorder.

Indeed, everyone experiences dissociation differently – so much so that there are actually a number of terms to encapsulate the vast spectrum of dissociative experiences. According to the U.K.-based charity Mind, if one’s dissociative experience revolves around difficulty remembering personal information, it’s called dissociative amnesia. Describing dissociative fugue, they state: “You might travel somewhere and forget how you got there. You may forget important details about yourself and take on a new identity during this time.” Derealization, on the other hand, is when one feels the world around them is unreal, while depersonalization feels like one is looking at themselves from the outside. Dissociation can also impact one’s sense of identity: when one feels their identity shifting, they’re experiencing identity alteration; when they struggle to define themselves, it’s identity confusion.

One of the key aspects of dissociation is its association with trauma – it serves as a defense mechanism against overwhelming and painful experiences, shielding the mind from situations too distressing to process consciously. For instance, someone who has faced repeated abuse might dissociate as a way to distance themselves from the traumatic events, creating a mental barrier to protect themselves from the intensity of the experience. “Trauma survivors experience higher rates of dissociation and may utilize it as an escape when there is no physical escape from trauma,” highlights a 2022 study. “Dissociative symptoms are also strongly linked to higher rates of revictimization, including sexual assault and intimate partner violence… Although dissociation is adaptive and protective in the face of inescapable trauma, persistent use of dissociation often interferes with the individual’s ability to process cues of danger and discern threatening from non-threatening information by keeping this information outside of awareness.”

Interestingly, it’s dissociation’s association with trauma that has actually enabled people who dissociate frequently to realize they have unresolved trauma. “Dissociation has been both the worst and best thing that has ever happened to me. On one hand, my day-to-day is pretty miserable. On the other, I would never have learned about C-PTSD if it wasn’t for my entering this chronic state a few years ago,” notes an individual, anonymously.

At its core, dissociation is a way for the mind to cope with stress. And so, many people experience dissociation – in varying forms and intensities – throughout their lifetimes. Some experience mild dissociation in their everyday lives – daydreaming and losing track of time – without it significantly impacting their functioning. “If you've ever driven a familiar stretch of road only to realize that you don't remember the last several miles, you've experienced dissociation,” explains an article on Shape. This is, per se, not a mental disorder. Instead, it’s simply a way of the mind exercising its ability to dissociate when there’s nothing demanding its immediate attention and active involvement.

For many others, dissociative experiences can become more severe – interfering, in due course, with their daily lives, relationships, and overall well-being. Therapy and support can play pivotal roles in managing dissociation by helping individuals understand and process their traumatic experiences in a safe environment. Techniques such as grounding exercises, mindfulness, and cognitive-behavioral approaches can help individuals regain a sense of control and integration within themselves.

“Ultimately, the goal is to help incorporate the different aspects of [an individual’s] identity and experience that get fragmented or dissociated to protect them from the trauma,” Sabrina Romanoff, a clinical psychologist in New York, told Forbes.

Understanding, acknowledgment, and proper therapeutic interventions are crucial in supporting individuals dealing with dissociative experiences, allowing them to reclaim a sense of wholeness and well-being.