English to Russian Social Sciences Psychology

Dissociation: When someone has a very painful experience (a trauma), the mind uses various “defense mechanisms”. Dissociation is a common one. The person unconsciously alienates herself from her ongoing experiences by “drifting away”. Some feel they are looking down at themselves from the ceiling, others that they disappear into their own world. It is a sort of mental escape (not to be confused with daydreaming or other milder attention issues).

Sometimes a person continues to dissociate a long time after the actual trauma. It can be in situations where present events bring difficult memories to life. However, contrary to the time of the trauma, the mental escape does not have any purpose anymore. Instead it rather prevents positive development.