It can vary honestly but for me it's like sometimes I get lost in my own head or thoughts like trapped in there till I'm jersey back to reality. Other times its almost a out of body experience, I can see and hear what's going on but it's like I'm not able to move cuz I'm not in my body. Sometimes it's I stare off into space and can't stop till my attention is interrupted. Othertimes you don't realize your doing it and you have people repeat what they say or lose different spans of time. I'm not sure if it can be a diagnosis as it comes with ptsd, add/add, trauma etc.

oh that makes sense. My friend made it sound like she was diagnosed, maybe she was just talking about symptoms of her ptsd. I never knew whether to call what I was dealing with dissociation or just a weird panic attack without the intense panic😂 idk

My therapist thinks my dissociating is due to my PTSD. She said that it’s part of how my brain has been protecting me in a way because it helps you feel less and not be as much in moments of trauma and pain. But becomes an issue of course when you’re not in any danger that could “benefit from it”. For me it feels like all of a sudden I am not apart of my body. Almost as if I’m my spirit and my body is just some vessel I’m apart of but doesn’t feel like it belongs in. I’m hyper aware of my body movements. I feel like I don’t recognize myself. I have trouble walking sometimes if it’s extreme too. Just like overthink how everything is moving and how I’m connected to it all. Which of course leads to panic attacks which make the symptoms worse!

disassociation is a protection mechanism think of what makes you feel unsafe or uncomfortable that can be a huge trigger

Like others have mentioned, dissociation is a coping mechanism to handle stress. It's an escape. Dissociation is normal in times of stress, especially during and after a traumatic event, but it becomes a disorder once you are doing it consistently every time you are stressed or anxious. (Then it becomes Depersonalization and/or Derealization) It's kind of complex but I've noticed for me I developed a disorder because I was not fully 'there' for a very long time after a traumatic incident, but once I started doing trauma therapy and accepting what happened I'm slowly feeling more grounded.