First off, I’m sorry if this is against the sub’s rules. (I checked and it doesn’t seem like it would be, but just in case).

I’m a medical student, and although I’ve never been diagnosed with BPD, I sometimes wonder if I have it; I lurk in this sub to better understand what it’s like, whether it is to recognize it in myself, and/or to be a better future physician.

Every time I study defense mechanisms, I can never quite understand the way my books describe “dissociation.”

I get it enough to get the questions right on tests, but I want to really be able to understand and recognize it in real-life scenarios (perhaps even in myself if I ever do it).

My main book says:

&gt;Temporary, drastic change in personality, memory, consciousness, or motor behavior to avoid emotional stress. Patient has incomplete or no memory of traumatic event.[^(Source)](https://www.amazon.com/First-USMLE-Step-2020-Thirtieth/dp/1260462048)

I've also read that it's really a continuum, and when on the mild end — it's normal, equivalent to distraction:

&gt;Dissociation is ... a normal process that everyone has experienced. Examples of mild, common dissociation include daydreaming, highway hypnosis or “getting lost” in a book or movie, all of which involve “losing touch” with awareness of one’s immediate surroundings.  
&gt;  
&gt;During a traumatic experience such as an accident, disaster or crime victimization, dissociation can help a person tolerate what might otherwise be too difficult to bear. In situations like these, a person may dissociate the memory of the place, circumstances or feelings about of the overwhelming event, mentally escaping from the fear, pain and horror. This may make it difficult to later remember the details of the experience, as reported by many disaster and accident survivors.[^(Source)](https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/dissociative-disorders/what-are-dissociative-disorders)

**What is dissociation really like, from your experience?**