Knowra Dissociation Dissociation Dissociation is a disruption in the integration of consciousness, memory, identity, perception, or experience. It ranges from brief, common episodes to persistent symptoms associated with mental disorders.
Depersonalization : A sense of detachment from one’s thoughts, feelings, body, or actions. It is one form of dissociation, marked by feeling detached from oneself.
Consciousness : Awareness of oneself and the surrounding world. Dissociation can alter the continuity or contents of conscious experience.
Daydreaming : A waking mental state in which attention shifts from the immediate environment to internally generated thoughts. Ordinary daydreaming involves attentional drift without necessarily disrupting identity or memory.
Dissociative disorders : A diagnostic group characterized by disruptions in identity, memory, consciousness, or perception. This diagnostic family includes disorders in which dissociation is a defining feature.
Structural dissociation theory : A theory proposing that trauma-related disorders involve divisions among psychological systems of action and experience. It offers one influential account of how persistent dissociative patterns may form.
Derealization : A sense that the surrounding world is unreal, distant, or distorted. It is a dissociative experience focused on the external world.
Autobiographical memory : Memory for events and facts from one’s own life. Dissociative memory gaps concern access to personal history.
Psychosis : A state involving impaired reality testing, often with delusions or hallucinations. Derealization can feel strange, but usually differs from psychosis in reality testing.
Post-traumatic stress disorder : A disorder that can develop after trauma, involving re-experiencing, avoidance, altered mood, and arousal symptoms. Some people with PTSD experience dissociation, including depersonalization or derealization.
Dissociative experiences scale : A self-report measure of the frequency of dissociative experiences in daily life. Measurement scores can vary with interpretation and do not settle what dissociation comprises.
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