Dissociation

Here, I describe briefly another concept that I have recently found fascinating. Why is it that some people act on their impulses without insight and judgment? Is the mind really so powerful that it can override our own lucid self? Of course it is. We can act on fanatical burning impulses even if there is an internal conflict rendering us to struggle with justifying our actions. This can be thought of as a state of dissociation from our own ‘self’. There is a part of us that doesn’t want to act this way, but another part which is fueling the impulsion overpowers and makes it happen. This need not be something as dramatic as suicidal or homicidal encounters. Little things like a diabetic indulging in chocolate to a point where his or her sugar levels surge beyond the controllable range or a man walking on the road hitting a kid just for the fun of it. Whatever the impulsive action, it can possibly happen. In most people, rational thinking prevails and they can stop such disruptive behaviour because these two conflicting minds that we have, integrate over the years in a positive social context to give you the ability to reason and justify your actions. When this ability is lost or has not developed over the years as a result of socially inappropriate encounters, vulnerability to these two disintegrated battling minds (dissociative in nature) increases. Because you are in a dissociated state when you act in a certain way, you may not remember it or even approve of that action immediately after. This is just one of the ways that impulsive and brash behaviour can be studied. In fact, this can be linked to any behaviour that you may contend with. Interesting really!!!