What is dissociation? | ASK Episode 7

Added: 2026-06-01

[00:00:00]Hi, welcome to Ask. Today's question is, what is dissociation?

[00:00:04]>> Hi, I'm Dr. Britney Sterling. I want to talk to you today about dissociation.

[00:00:09]It's the process through which we try to mentally disconnect from thoughts or feelings um which can range anywhere from something mild like our minds wandering off or daydreaming to something more severe like in the case of trauma. Um when we are trying to help ourselves or a friend through a situation like this, we can either try to shock the system or um bring ourselves back to the present through some grounding strategies. A popular one would be the 5 4 3 2 1 method where we notice five things we can see, four things we can touch, three things we can hear, two things we can smell, and one thing we can taste. could also use strategies like tapping our faces, stomping our feet, or trying to shock our systems through something like plunging your face in ice cold water or sucking on a warhead. I hope this helps.