To understand dissociation one must comprehend the meaning of the word, the definition is, dissociation: noun. a breaking up or disconnecting; separation.
(Holt, Rinehart & Winston of Canada Ltd., Publishers).
Although the definition is clear and a convolution of clinical analysis and observations seems to makes sense to us(regarding day to day existence); it is the acute dissociation that we cannot fully comprehend, unless we have been stricken with it.
Acute dissociation can manifest itself when an individual is under constant stress with feelings of overwhelming fear and self-doubt, high anxiety and emotional upheaval.
Many males in the late teen, early 20’s stage of maturity have been “un-done” by dissociation and complete nervous breakdowns have resulted as well.
Societal pressures for young men regarding achievement, relationships, responsibility and success can be too overwhelming for some. Experimentation with drugs and/or alcohol along with these pressures can lead to this experience.
Acute Dissociation is not always attributed to witnessing a traumatic event or the experience of one.
Those that are in the dissociative state of mind will not seek help. It is as if the world they’re in is artificial, all the people are fake, they move and talk, but nothing they say is of any meaning, the smiles they wear are just masks. The trees they see, the grass, even the animals, are all made up like plasticine figures. They are as if, on display, there is nothing real even if it is tangible. To touch it makes it even more fake. To move from one room to the other is a terrifying experience because of the fear of being alone in nothingness, because you are so alone, separate from it all! There is no safe place to be, you feel you are in a black, endless, void, like a hell all around you; and if any of this fake reality falls away, you will see the void that you are in, you will see you are alone in nothingness.
Some will hide away in their room and not want to come out at all, they will disconnect from friends, family and acquaintances. All that brought them some semblance of joy will no longer, they do not want to speak to anyone about it as words have no meaning any more and everything seems rehearsed.
Fear is always present and relentless, this state of mind is not impossible to overcome as some have made it through.
If depression becomes too overwhelming and the fear paralyzing, the person afflicted may commit suicide.
This type of dissociation is a most terrifying experience and it is very difficult to actually comprehend the utter desperation and loneliness one feels, as if abandoned by God himself.
I have had the privilege of meeting a survivor of an acute dissociative state, he described it to me as best he could, and I hope I relayed the experience accurately.
As for all of us living in our own disconnect, I believe are minds do this only because we are lazy, are minds love repetition and we are creatures of habit.
It is much easier for us to see only what we want to see, as for judging what is important or relevant in ones daily life, that is relative.
We all have are bad experiences and in time the negative feelings lessen; and if a loved one dies for whatever reason, we will always miss them. The passage of time and other events in ones life, slowly fills the hole we made when they left us. All that is becomes is a memory in time, we can let it affect us or we can let it be.
We may think we aware and in control of all aspects of our daily lives but the truth is we are usually on automatic pilot. We do not see with the eyes of a child any longer and we live in perpetual routine and do not even realize it.
