eli5 what is disassociating? Tried looking online but I don’t understand.
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If you are talking about psychology, it is a state where “you” are not experiencing reality as it is normally, functionally experienced.
Typically “you” are experiencing the world around you through your own senses and making decisions based on your interactions with that world. Subject to limitations of perspective, the reality that you describe will be consistent with what others around you also describe.
Somebody dissociating may no longer feel like they are inhabiting their own body. There’s somebody over there who you know is “you” but you are not controlling that person directly, or experiencing what they are experiencing, or feeling what they are feeling.
Another example is if you have created a false reality that “you” are sure is correct. You distinctly remember having a conversation with a friend about a certain topic, but that friend claims it never happened, and others support their claim.
In both cases, you are not experiencing reality in a functional way.
Why can this happen? Personally, I have narcolepsy, and like most people with the condition, my dreams are cinematic. It’s like they are really happening. False memories are easy to generate if you dwell on those dreams. Combine that situation with the “brain fog” that comes from a lack of proper sleep that is also part of narcolepsy, and both forms of dissociation described above can occur all too easily. I constantly fight to stay centered in reality, refusing to dwell on my dreams, and continually reminding myself to stay in the moment during my waking hours.
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