Child Abuse: Can Child Abuse Cause Someone To Dissociate As An Adult?

In recent years, a lot has been said about the importance of being present and living in the moment. Numerous books have been written about it and there have even been programs on TV that go into this. 

This surely shows that this is something that is a challenge for a lot of people; if this wasn’t the case, there would be no reason for this to be given so much attention. When someone is present and in the moment, they are going to be firmly rooted in their body.

Here, Now

Through being in their body, they will be able to embrace what is taking place in the present moment. As a result of this, it will be possible for them to respond to life as opposed to react to it.

They will be aware of what their feelings and needs are, too, which will make it easier for them to live a fulfilling life. Not being stuck in their head is going to stop them from getting caught up in what has happened and what may happen in the future.

Less Pressure

Living in this way is going to allow one to lead a life that is far less stressful than that it would be otherwise. By living in the moment, one won’t try to work everything out; they will be able to trust in the process of life.

Furthermore, by living in the now and doing what they need to do, their life is more likely to go in the right direction. If they were somewhere else, this wouldn’t happen and they would be setting themselves up for all kinds of problems further down the line.

A Real Challenge

However, while living in the moment will allow one to function at their best and to embrace the life that they have been given, it doesn’t mean that they will be able to do this. Or if they can, it could be something that rarely takes place.

In general, they could have very little connection to the present moment or themselves for that matter. When this takes place, it could be as if they are somewhere else and are not rooted in anything substantial.

Not Real

This could then be a time when it is as though they are watching someone else experience life, not actually living life themselves. And through being disconnected from their body, they could wonder if they even exist.

There could be times when their mind goes blank and it might take a while before they are able to come back down to earth, so to speak. Once they are able to reconnect to themselves, it might not be long until the same thing happens again.

The Consequences

Living in this way is going to make it a challenge for them to be present that much is clear. What this is also likely to do is to make it hard for them to know what their needs are, and this could cause them to neglect themselves, to over or under eat, and to be late for appointments, amongst other things.

Another thing they may struggle with is remembering what people tell them and remembering to do things. This is likely to come down to the fact that they have the tendency to zone out when they are around others.

Both Areas

If this is so, being this way is likely to have a negative effect on their career and on their personal relationships. It may have stopped them from being able to move forward in their career and it may have even caused them to lose at least one job.

As for their relationships, they may have been accused of not listening to what other people say. One can then come across as rude or indifferent, yet this won’t be something that they are choosing to do.

What is going on?

If they were to try to be present and to longer disconnect from themselves during moments like this, they may find that they don’t get very far. Thanks to this, they could end up blaming themselves and believing that there is something inherently wrong with them.  

If they were able to take a step back and reflect on what takes place before this happens, they may find that they feel overwhelmed. Taking this into account, they would be able to embrace the present moment more if they didn’t spend so much time feeling overwhelmed.

The Trigger

What this is likely to show is that they are carrying trauma and, whenever this trauma is triggered, they end up dissociating from themselves. This trauma can be brought up to the surface whenever they hear a certain smell, sound or word.

Then again, simply being around someone else or other people can be enough to bring it up. This could be trauma that one has carried since the beginning of their life, with this being a time in their life when they were abused and/or neglected.

A Traumatic Time

During this part of their life, their whole system would have been overwhelmed on a regular basis. To handle what was taking place and to stay alive, they would have had to disconnect from their body.
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Their being would have been too undeveloped to handle what was taking place and they wouldn’t have been able to do anything about what was going on. Leaving their body would have been a survival mechanism that was utilised without them needing to do anything.

Awareness

Many years will have passed since this stage of their life, but the trauma that they experienced will still be inside them. Until this is dealt with, it won’t take a lot for them to be overwhelmed

If one can relate to this, and they are ready to change their life, they will probably need to reach out for external support. This is something that can be provided by the assistance of a therapist or a healer.

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Oliver JR Cooper
http://www.oliverjrcooper.co.uk