First things first, what does dissociation mean? Dissociation is basically a state in which emotions, thoughts, memories or sensations are disconnected from your psyche.

Dissociation usually occurs when there exists a trauma in one's personal psychology and dissociation is used a mechanism to defend the self from hurt.

Some of the symptoms that occur when dissociation happens are the following: de-personalization (an experience wherein the person feels a sense that he is losing grips of reality and that the world seemed to lack any significant value), de-realization (a sense that the world around seems not real and very unfamiliar), psychogenic amnesia (this kind of amnesia arise almost spontaneously as a reaction to stress or conflict).

Relax and have no fear though, it has been discovered by the APA or the American Psychiatric Association that almost eighty to ninety percent of the population have had experiences that are classifiable as mildly dissociative.

There has also been recorded cases in which dissociative disorder has been involved in criminal murder trials, wherein the issue is if a person that claims to have dissociative disorder could be considered as responsible for any actions he has committed.

Generally though, dissociative disorder affect one's consciousness thereby causing a relevant interference in the way that person functions at work or in a social setting or personal relationship.

So what happens when one has a dissociative disorder?

A person with this disorder usually compartmentalizes particular thoughts or memories from consciousness. These contents meanwhile stay in the mind and may spontaneously resurface when it gets triggered by certain events or things present within the person's immediate environment.

What triggers a dissociative disorder?

Again, relax. Usually, dissociation occurs across a severity spectrum. A mild form of dissociation occurs when some forms of physical stressors are present. These include lack of sleep for a prolonged period of time, dental surgery that involves laughing gas, a minor accident.

Also, dissociation also occurs when a person is engrossed too much in a book or movie that the passing of time is not noticed.

Dissociation that is in its most moderate to severe form are those that have been caused by an experience that is traumatic. These could include abuse, an attack that is criminal in nature, during combat, or any natural or man-made disaster.

Patients who have post-traumatic stress disorder may also be susceptible to symptoms involving dissociation.

What is the main reason for dissociative disorders?

Basically, the human mind stores traumatic memories in a way that is different compared to how it stores normal and non-traumatic memories. These traumatic memories are split or dissociated from each other and may spontaneously erupt over time with no warning whatsoever.

The person having these memories may be unable to control them. In time, these two sets of memories exist together, parallel from each other.

Another form of dissociative disorder is dissociative fugue. In this disorder, a person would temporarily lose his sense of identity and travel to a new place and assume an identity that is new. Usually, this type of disorder comes after a major trauma or a stressor. These stressors usually are caused by war or a natural disaster.

All in all, dissociativeness is a complex psychological disorder that has causes that range from the traumatic to the less severe reason of lack of sleep. Depending on its severity and how it affects the way a person leads his life, professional help is needed.