Our brain often provides us with emotional and mental support in ways that can feel mysterious. One such way is by completing important tasks at the expense of immediate comfort. Let’s explore how mindful practices can help manage dissociation.
Your thoughts influence your feelings, and by concentrating on every part of your body, you are prompted to engage in a reality check that refreshes your conscious awareness.
When faced with trauma, we typically respond in one of two ways: we confront the stressful situation and its aftermath, or we disconnect from ourselves, others, or our surroundings.
Introduction
Dissociation occurs when you emotionally step away from an event, keeping your feelings and memories separate as a form of protection. It’s a coping strategy that can vary from simply zoning out to experiencing memory loss.
There isn’t an instant solution, but could practicing mindfulness offer some relief? Definitely – let’s explore…
Grounding Techniques
If you’ve lost touch with the present and aren’t allowing yourself to feel your emotions, grounding techniques can help you reconnect. These practices anchor you by engaging your senses.
Practical Examples
For example, holding an ice cube or taking a cold shower can shift your focus onto the sensory experience, bringing you back to the present. Alternatively, remove your shoes and step outside, letting your awareness melt into the earth. Feel the grass brushing against your skin and the sensation of your toes sinking into the ground as you release the numbness that trauma has caused.
While outdoors, try a 5-4-3-2-1 grounding method to reset your nervous system. Identify five things you see, four things you can touch, three sounds you hear, two scents you detect, and finally, one taste you experience. Your senses are powerful tools for pulling you back to the present moment. Grounding reconnects your body and mind.
Body Scan Meditation
Dissociating from emotions can also lead to detaching from our physical selves, resulting in numbness and a feeling of heaviness. This detachment can lead to insomnia and increased blood pressure due to unprocessed stress.
Engaging in body scan meditation can help you reconnect with your body and nervous system, offering various physiological benefits.
This straightforward form of mindfulness meditation can enhance your sleep quality, lower blood pressure, and boost your mood. Think of it as a “detox” from negativity and emotional overload. It’s especially helpful to practice before feelings of dissociation creep in, preventing the numbing effect of unacknowledged emotions.
Heightened awareness of your physical self can counteract the numbness and support you in recognizing and accepting your body and mind.
How to Practice
A body scan meditation is quite simple and only takes a few minutes. Find a comfortable position either lying down or sitting in a quiet place, close your eyes, and take a deep breath. Begin by directing your focus to the top of your head, noticing any sensations there while breathing deeply in and out as your focus gradually moves downward.
Next, pay attention to your face—how do your eyes, eyebrows, nose, and mouth feel? Are your facial muscles relaxed, or is there tension? Continue this process until you reach your toes.
When you encounter any tightness, imagine a warm light soothing that area, alleviating tension. If your mind wanders back to past events or negative feelings that create discomfort, take deeper breaths, acknowledge these thoughts, and then release them.
Your thoughts impact your emotions, but concentrating on each part of your body encourages a reality check that refreshes your conscious awareness.
Deep Breathing Exercise
“Okay, we understand the situation and know what we should do. Let’s focus on some breathing exercises. We’ll be alright.”
Did you know that your breathing can influence your heart rate? You can reset your natural rhythm, soothe yourself, and recalibrate your awareness through mindful breathing techniques.
Picture a transparent box that expands and contracts as you inhale and exhale. Begin by inhaling for four counts, holding your breath for another four, and then exhaling fully for four seconds. After a brief pause, take another deep inhalation for four counts.
Practice this often, allowing the rhythm of “inhale, hold, exhale, and pause” to clear your mind and energize your body.
Movement
When feelings of being overwhelmed arise, the instinct might be to withdraw from the world. Although trauma can diminish your motivation for physical activity, movement is crucial for refocusing and creating feelings of well-being. Mindful practices like tai chi and yoga can help align your thoughts with reality.
Even dancing provides rhythmic movement, which enhances your connection to your body and can pull you out of a dissociative episode by demanding your physical and mental attention. Engaging in mindful movement without judgment can significantly improve your psychological well-being while reducing stress, anxiety, and depression.
Journaling
Self-reflection through journaling is a valuable mindfulness practice, allowing you to include sensory details and connect the dots between dissociative experiences and reality. Writing or doodling increases your self-awareness and helps process emotions, making it easier to identify triggers and stay grounded.
Incorporating mindful exercises and gratitude journaling into your routine can enhance your mental health and overall life satisfaction by renewing your focus.
Taking Charge of Dissociation
By understanding dissociation and recognizing your triggers, you can consciously boost your self-awareness and mindfulness through meditation, grounding techniques, breathing, movement, and journaling.
Counteract tendencies to withdraw by building connections between your thoughts and feelings rather than resorting to numbness as a coping strategy.
While dissociation serves as a defense mechanism, it does not facilitate healthy healing or trauma processing. By using mindfulness techniques, you can explore the origins of your episodes and actively move forward in your life.
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Beth is the mental health editor at Body+Mind. She has over five years of experience writing about behavioral health, particularly focusing on mindfulness-based cognitive therapy. Beth also explores how human design can reveal our fullest potential and purpose. You can follow her on X @bodymindmag.