We all dissociate sometimes, perhaps you took a journey from A to B and do not recall all of the journey. Sometimes dissociation is more problematic. Our sense of self, our thoughts, feelings and memories can become disconnected, so it becomes hard to access memories or feel grounded in our identity. This might be caused by trauma where we have disconnected from the situation in order to survive.

There are five types of dissociation…

• Depersonalisation

  Perhaps you feel as if your body is disconnected from you or does not feel quite right. Maybe you look at your hand, aware you are seeing it but somehow it does not seem to be yours. This is known as depersonalisation. You might even feel as if you are observing yourself, almost as if you are watching a movie but it is you you are watching.

• Derealisation

  Similar to depersonalisation, except it is the world around you that might feel unreal. Perhaps colours, shape or sizes in the world around feel dreamlike. For example, you might feel as if you are walking through a busy shopping centre but none of the people around you seem quite real, as if you are walking through a virtual reality game.

• Amnesia

  Some memories might feel missing or incomplete. Perhaps you do not remember how you got to work, or what you have been doing all day. Important information about periods of your life might feel as if they are missing but cant be explained by ordinary forgetfulness.

• Identification Confusion

  You may struggle to understand who you are and be confused about your life.

• Identity Alteration

  You might feel as if you are one person at home, another at work and yet another with your friends. It might feel as though you are not sure which ‘you’ is the real you, especially if each of these identities feels very different.