Dissociation Counselling in Maple Ridge, BC

Dissociation is a protective response. It can feel like spacing out, emotional numbness, brain fog, feeling unreal, or a sense of being disconnected from yourself and your surroundings.

For many people, dissociation developed as a way to cope with overwhelm. When experiences felt too intense, unpredictable, or unsafe, the nervous system learned to pull back.

What Dissociation Can Look Like

Dissociation may include:

• Feeling detached from your body

• losing track of time

• memory gaps or fuzzy recall

• emotional numbness

• feeling unreal or distant

• zoning out during stress or conflict

Some dissociation is subtle. It may not feel dramatic - just a quiet disconnection that’s hard to name.

And some dissociation can feel big and scary.

Dissociation and Trauma

Dissociation often develops in the context of chronic stress or trauma, particularly when escape or protection wasn’t possible. It is not a defect. It is an adaptive survival strategy.

Over time, however, dissociation can interfere with connection, memory, and emotional presence.

Therapy moves slowly in this work. Stabilization and safety come first.

Dissociation and Structural Patterns

For some people, dissociation involves parts of self holding different emotions, memories, or ways of functioning that feel separate or difficult to integrate.

You might notice:

• shifts in emotional state that feel sudden or confusing

• feeling unlike yourself at times

• strong internal conflicts between parts of you

• difficulty accessing certain memories or experiences

• feeling present in some areas of life but disconnected in others

These patterns can develop when the nervous system needed to compartmentalize overwhelming experiences in order to keep functioning. This is sometimes described as structural dissociation - where different aspects of experiences become organized into distinct parts rather than fully integrated.

Therapy in this context moves gradually and intentionally. The focus is on increasing communication, stability, and cooperation within your internal system before approaching deeper processing.

A Stabilization-Focused Approach

At Healing Quest Counselling, dissociation work prioritizes:

• Nervous system regulation

• Grounding and orientation

• Strengthening present day safety

• Parts-informed exploration and integration when appropriate

• Trauma processing only when sufficient stability is established

The goal is to increase steadiness and expand capacity. We don’t force memories or intensify experiences.

Dissociation shifts gradually. Therapy respects that pace.

If you want an approach that prioritizes safety and stability, we’d be glad to connect.

Reach out today