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disassociation

disassociation

3 8.4
A mental state where part of a person's memory or feelings feels separate
  • noun
  • /ˌdɪsəˈsoʊsieɪʃən/
  • Specialized
translation icon : disociación
  • For a young person experiencing trauma, disassociation (or the freeze response) is the most intelligent survival response available to them.

I've become addicted to disassociation from feelings.

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Examples

  • And yet he could think of nothing else to explain such an extreme disassociation.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • Points one to four above show a severe disassociation from reality.

    Blog text (2)
  • As I expected, the subjects' first reaction was one of disassociation.

  • Each of these participants revealed disassociation between their perceived sense of self and the prescribed university identity.

    Academic text (2011)
  • She had a feeling of disassociation, a feeling that something wasn't real.

  • As a result, each of these characters shows classic traumatic symptoms of disassociation and withdrawal, including the inability to locate the words to recount their experience.

    Academic text (2008)
  • During therapy, he experienced a moment of disassociation where he felt detached from his emotions.

  • The soldier spoke about his disassociation from the traumatic events he witnessed in combat.

  • She described a profound sense of disassociation during the stressful situation, as if she were watching herself from outside her body.

Synonyms

disconnection
vsdisassociation
9 4.2

Being separate from people, things, or contact, for example losing internet

is specifically an internal mental split of experience rather than general separation
isolation
vsdisassociation
  • Specialized
6 7.7

A way to separate a memory from the feeling it first caused

covers separation of experience more generally, not only memory from feeling
detachment
vsdisassociation
4 6.1

The act of separating something from the thing it is connected to

denotes an internal part becoming disconnected, not just external separation
dissociation
vsdisassociation
  • Specialized
3 8.7

A mental state in which a person feels separated from themselves or their memories

is a general mental state where part of experience becomes separated
depersonalization
vsdisassociation
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A person feels detached from themselves and their identity

focuses on a part of experience separating from the rest, not just identity loss
disengagement
vsdisassociation
1 6.5

The act of stopping a connection or ending involvement with something

is an internal split of experience, not an active behavioral withdrawal
compartmentalization
vsdisassociation
  • Specialized
1 8.7

Separating thoughts or feelings into different groups without thinking to reduce worry

is a broader state of part separation, not only an unconscious coping process
disembodiment
vsdisassociation
  • Specialized
9.7

A feeling of being separate from your body and the feelings in it

is about separation of any experience part, not only bodily sensations

Antonyms

association
  • Specialized
93 3.9

A mental link between ideas, memories, or events

47 4.0

Putting two or more parts together so they work as one

How Severe

psychogenic fugue
  • Specialized
1 9.9
amnesia
  • Specialized
93 6.7
disassociation
  • Specialized
3 8.4
depersonalization
  • Specialized
1 9.9
detachment
21 6.1

Surface Forms

Morphology

disassociation = disassociate (semi-transparent) = dis + associate + ion

The noun is formed in a regular way from the verb 'disassociate' and means the act or state of disassociating.

Etymology

Disassociation comes from the prefix dis- meaning 'apart' and the word associate meaning 'to join or connect', the same root behind social and society. So, in psychology it pictures a part of your feelings, memory, or experience becoming 'apart' from the rest, which explains the sense of not feeling fully present.