11/19/2025
In order to understand CPTSD, you have to understand dissociation.
You have to know it’s more than “zoning out.” That sometimes it doesn’t even look like “zoning out.”
You have to understand that dissociation was a way to escape, when you had no way to escape.
You have to understand that dissociation is not a “choice.”
You have to understand that decisions someone makes when dissociated, aren’t real “decisions.”
That’s not an “excuse.” That’s reality.
Dissociation can f*ck us up more than alcohol or drugs.
And, like alcohol or drugs, dissociation can also make certain situations seem more bearable— “seem” being the operative word— at least in the short term.
Dissociation is an involuntary, often rapid, narrowing of attention— to the point where a survivor might experience gaps in our awareness, memory, or even seem to be a different person.
You need to know that dissociation is manageable— but notoriously difficult to catch in the moment, especially if you were unaware it was part of your symptom picture.
You need to know there’s nothing shameful about dissociation.
I guarantee there will be someone in the comments expressing how dissociation “saved their life”— and I get it.
But you also need to know that “parts” we dissociate carry a burden— one they don’t deserve to be left alone with.
You need to know that not all dissociation is Dissociative Identity Disorder— that dissociation is actually an overwhelmingly common CPTSD symptom.
Dissociation, as a reflex, tends to create more problems than it solves.
But the psychological skills that make dissociation possible can actually be harnessed and leveraged into purposeful, effective trauma recovery tools.
It’s for this reason I don’t consider dissociation the “bad news.”
I consider it a starting point.
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