Everyone experiences dissociation to some extent. 

Mild dissociation can include getting “lost in a book” or daydreaming. 

Moderate dissociation can manifest as a feeling that nothing is real, or a disconnection from what is. 

Severe dissociation can result in amnesia (loss of memory) or take the form of a Dissociative fugue (when a person forgets their identity and takes on a new identity), and at times can turn into Dissociative Identity Disorder (formerly known as Multiple Personality Disorder) and Depersonalization Disorder.  

Severe dissociation is most likely brought on by an equally severe level of trauma that causes a person to separate certain thoughts, feelings or experiences and go on as if “it never happened”. 

When a child is being abused dissociation may be the best tool at their disposal to deal with the trauma at hand.  In fact, dissociation is an invaluable survival skill.  Dissociation can “transport” a person far away from all of the pain.   However, once dissociation has become a habitual pattern in one’s life it can be challenging to let go of and control.   When the abuse is over it is common for the dissociation to remain, especially if the abuse happened more then once.  Dissociation may develop into amnesia (a loss of memory) or take the form of a Dissociative fugue (where a person forgets who they are and takes on a new identity) or can manifest in a Dissociative Disorder such as Depersonalization Disorder or Dissociative Identity Disorder.