It can be helpful to think of dissociation as a continuum. At one end there are dissociative experiences such as daydreaming and at the other end you are completely disconnected from reality, your body and even your identity. In this video I will explain what is dissociation and how it can be caused by trauma. And watch until the end of this video as I’ll share an exercise that you can use with clients to help them feel more embodied.

🔵 CHAPTERS

0:00 Dissociation as a continuum
0:33 Example of dissociation
1:10 Trauma, dissociation and the body
3:21 The window of tolerance
5:30 Container exercise

🔵 DISSOCIATION AND TRAUMA

Let’s look at an example of dissociation, Jane has battled a binge eating disorder since she was a child. Growing up she suffered physical and emotional neglect. Food was her only source of comfort but childhood obesity only increased her level of isolation. Her self-loathing and loneliness are a constant re-experience of the neglect she experienced as a child. If Jane experiences the slightest stress she will go home and eat anything she can get her hands, during these binges she dissociates.

There is a very strong link between trauma and dissociation. Ongoing trauma and childhood physical, sexual, or emotional abuse are significant risk factors for the development of dissociative disorders. In fact trauma is thought to be the root cause of at least 90% of people who dissociate. Trauma-related dissociation is a form of mental escape when physical escape is not possible. For example Gina was sexually abused as a child and remembers the trauma fully and factually but doesn’t feel any emotion. When talking about the abuse she talks in a flat, monotone and unemotional manner. This is another form of dissociation. Although Gina may appear to have little to no emotion, in reality the trauma is expressed in her body, which is known as somatisation. Gina’s body continues to respond to the trauma even thought her mind blocks the emotion. She experiences gastrointestinal issues, insomnia and deep musculoskeletal pain. Gina’s body learned that she could not defend herself, during the abuse she couldn’t escape from the man that was holding her down, her body wanted to get out of there but was trapped. So what happened was this energy became locked into her nervous system and is still there in a latent form manifesting as physical symptoms. Dissociation is when you fragment your experiences in order to lessen the impact on the self.

🔵 WORK WITH LEWIS PSYCHOLOGY

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🔵 ABOUT TERESA LEWIS

Teresa Lewis is the founder and Director of Lewis Psychology and a Senior Accredited psychotherapist with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (MBACP Snr. Accred). Qualified in 1995, Teresa has been providing counselling and psychotherapy treatment for nearly 30 years. Teresa holds a masters degree in counselling and psychotherapy and is a qualified EMDR Practitioner having completed training accredited with EMDR Europe. Teresa is also a qualified adult educator and an accredited Mindfulness teacher As a recognised expert in her field Teresa is frequently asked to conduct editorial reviews and endorse counselling and psychotherapy books for international publishing houses.

☐ Email: teresa.lewispsy@gmail.com
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🔵 GRAPHICS AND THUMBNAIL

Thumbnail and B-Roll graphics designed by Teresa Lewis. B-Roll video is used in strict compliance with the appropriate permissions and licenses required from Pexels.com and Canva.com in accordance with the YouTube Partner Program, Community guidelines and YouTube terms of service.

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