Essentially, dissociation is an incredibly clever and natural brain mechanism that acts as a protector from stress and harm.
Dissociation can be experienced as a normal, everyday habit used to combat mild stress or boredom, a ‘zoning out’ like reading a book or daydreaming. Then, there is the disassociation that is connected to PTSD or trauma. When someone is experiencing trauma or hurt, their brain responds by essentially attempting to shield them from the hurt. When we experience severe distress, the brain shuts down in order to not have us experience or live through the traumatic moment or series of events.
This can be experienced as a disconnection from emotions, identity, memories, perception and a sense of self, depending on the dissociative disorder. It can feel like things are not real or give you a sense of ‘disappearing’ or ‘disconnecting’.
The important things to remember:
It is the process of our incredible brains making sure that we are not overcome by the stress of the experience.
By learning to manage our stress responses and healing, we will notice dissociative occurrences reduce as time goes on.
A short guide on dissociative disorders
PTSD/Trauma/ Dissociative Amnesia
Gaps in one’s memory, either spanning moments or years. In relation to an event, being unable to remember parts of the event or which part of the day, or unable to recall the event entirely.
Depresonalization and derealistation
Disconnection from your own mind, body or thoughts. Disconnection from the world and reality around you, people and environments around you not feeling real.
DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder)
Previously known as multiple personality disorder. Where two or more distinct personalities are present, each identity with their own way of being, often with different roles being played out.
Where is God in Dissociation?
The whole process of dissociation itself is a God-given, protective mechanism. But the disruption that it may bring to daily life can be extremely tough to live with.
Hope can be found in beginning to cultivate self-compassion and self-reflection, and as we face how we really feel, healing can come into view. There are good people out there who can help this process and therapists can provide us with a place where we can give voice to those thoughts, feelings and experiences. It may not be a quick process but it can be transformative as it provides space to really hear ourselves and be heard.
God loves us - every single part and trace of us - not the future healed ‘version’, but the current reality of who we are. He loves us and longs to listen to us and be our witness as we pay attention to those areas in need of a compassionate voice that may be hidden away.
Our Creator is the One who dreamed us up, who decided who we were, what we look like, sound like, even how we smell! And so, he is the One (sometimes along with other safe people) who can lovingly help us rebuild a sense of self and reconnect with reality in a way that is safe and stable.
God can be present in all that you feel- and all that you don’t feel. As your creator he fully knows all of your brain's responses and doesn’t place any pressure on you to ‘not be that way’ but instead He cares for you. If you feel like your dissociative moments have gone on for too long or are happening too regularly, start with self-compassion and understand that there is always a why behind the what. As we learn to trust him and others we can start walking into healing.
Reclaiming Our True Identity: God’s Role in Healing and Integration
Our own human ‘sense of self’ is so important to our understanding of who we are; our identity as children of God. It’s not just therapy talk, or new age ramblings, but an essential part of being human. The important Biblical teaching that we die to self can become very confusing here, because the implication can sometimes be that ‘we’ as a human with a sense of self, have to leave that behind to become a disembodied being that has a new identity in Christ. Thus, a spiritual dissociation can take place, where we place another layer of disconnection between our core self and God. Do we become more Christlike as we walk with God? Yes. But that doesn’t forsake our humanity and who we are as individuals to him.
If we can regain a sense of inhabiting our own bodies, our own world, we can start to piece together (and he can within us) our original blueprint- who he made us to be and is inviting us back into.
This is where a re-connection with a God of kindness and goodness can take the forefront. An essential part of healing involves practicing kindness to ourselves- it is invaluable in reconnecting with ourselves and God as kind and gentle. In order to practice this kindness, instead of punishing or shaming the mechanism that keeps us safe through dissociation, instead we can practice appreciating the way our brains can keep us safe from tough life experiences.
Regardless of where we are on the healing spectrum, God is there.
Next Steps:
The scale of dissociation is a really important factor in considering next steps.
At the lower end of the scale you’re likely to zone out and use, for example, screens as a way of tuning out uncomfortable feelings. Mild dissociation looks like gaps in memory, being in autopilot, feeling a mild sense of disconnection. Dissociation at the other end of the scale involves losing awareness of time and memories, maybe a sense of not quite inhabiting yourself and can be quite terrifying, and then DID, where different identities are created in order to cope with trauma.
If you are reading this and you recognise or associate with the higher end of the scale described, we recommend that you seek help from a professional with specific training in dissociative disorders.
If you are reading this as a people helper/ pastoral support and you recognise that someone experiences the higher end of the dissociative scale, we encourage you to be confident in where your role begins and ends: unless you are an expert in this field, step aside and let a professional in who can safely bring help and support.
If you can identify with the lower scale of dissociation as described, then you may wish to consider the following:
Start considering how you might practice self-compassion. For example, what does your internal voice sound like? What would a kind, compassionate voice sound like?
Share with someone you trust how you are feeling and what you are experiencing. Know that you are worthy of love and support. They may be able to help you to start asking gentle questions and exploring the why behind the what.
mind.org.uk has an excellent collection of resources on how to care for yourself as you cope with dissociation, and recommendations for further action.
Speak to your GP. Not everyone will find this beneficial depending on how you feel you are coping, but if dissociation is taking over your life, speak to your GP.
Therapy. You may wish to find a specialist in dissociation as not all counsellors and therapists are trained specifically in this area so it’s worth doing your homework to see who can best support you. Organisations such as BACP (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy) , NCPS (National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society) or ACC (Association for Christian Counsellors) all have websites that can help you navigate what you are looking for.