ABSTRACT
Dissociation is generally considered to be experienced along a continuum that begins with a nonpathological detachment from one's immediate surroundings, such as walking on a beach or driving on a highway. The dissociative reaction is distinguished from a psychotic reaction by the fact that, in dissociation, a person becomes detached from reality, attempting to be spared from the pain of past trauma or the possibility that a new stressor could deepen the original traumatic wound. Dissociative fugue reaction occurs even more rarely than the rare dissociative amnesia reaction—few clinicians ever encounter it—and represents a significantly higher level of pathology. In the four domains of mental illness dissociative identity reaction, the self as active agent takes its defensive strategy a step further by distributing to multiple centers of identity the pain that usually originates in a physical, psychological or sexual trauma.
