Dissociative Detachment Research Articles

Trauma, Dissociation, and Relational Authenticity

Relational trauma can be understood as a psychological injury that occurs in the context of abusive interpersonal relationships and appears to be correlated with a wide array of mental illnesses. However, one potential harm of trauma that has not received much attention from philosophers is the threat it poses to authenticity. To understand why relational trauma potentially creates impediments to authentic agency, we need to consider two other phenomena that are commonly associated with it: (i) dissociation, and (ii) diminished habitual trust. Whereas trauma-related dissociation commonly involves bodily alienation and detachment from the self, diminished habitual trust often leads to alienation from others. I maintain that dissociative detachment and diminished habitual trust often are mutually reinforcing and that, together, they can cause agents to become disconnected from themselves, others, and the reality of what has happened to them. What implications does this have for authentic agency among traumatized individuals? After outlining existing conceptions, I emphasize the important sense in which authenticity is relational and scaffolded by social connections. I also discuss several competencies that undergird authenticity and argue that the interplay between dissociative detachment and attenuated habitual trust can make it difficult for traumatized individuals to develop and sustain these competencies. Thus, the trauma they have experienced impedes their ability to conduct their lives in accordance with their genuine cares and desires.

Examining the causal effects of social exclusion on shame and dissociative detachment

Background and objectivesDissociative detachment experiences (e.g., derealization, absorption) underpin much psychopathology and are often researched in relation to co-occurring affective states such as shame, the latter being known to occur in situations involving actual or perceived negative social evaluation. The association between shame and dissociative detachment may also be moderated by individual differences in people's need to belong. The goal of the present study was to experimentally investigate the effects of social exclusion on shame and dissociative detachment depending on perceivers' need to belong. MethodsAfter measuring individual differences in need to belong and shame proneness, the Cyberball paradigm was utilized to communicate either social inclusion or exclusion. Following Cyberball, a sample of 281 participants completed measures of state shame and state dissociation. ResultsSocial exclusion increased dissociative detachment, and these effects were mediated by increases in state shame. These effects were particularly evident among people with a high need to belong. LimitationsOther individual differences such as rejection sensitivity may also moderate the relationship between exclusion and shame. While Cyberball can be used to investigate shame, it can only induce shame via social exclusion, whereas shame can also be elicited in other ways such as performance failure. ConclusionsSocial exclusion can elicit shame, which is most acutely felt by those with a strong need to belong, and this aversive experience appears to be managed by dissociative detachment.

Loss of CO2 from Monodeprotonated Phthalic Acid upon Photodissociation and Dissociative Electron Detachment.

The decarboxylation (CO2 loss) mechanism of cold monodeprotonated phthalic acid was studied in a photodissociation action spectrometer by quantifying mass-selected product anions and neutral particles as a function of the excitation energy. The analysis proceeded by interpreting the translational energy distribution of the generated uncharged products, and with the help of quantum calculations. In particular, this study reveals different fragmentation pathways in the deprotonated anion and in the radical generated upon electron photodetachment. Unlike the behavior found in other deprotonated aryl carboxylic acids, which do not fragment in the anion excited state, a double loss of CO2 molecules takes place in the phthalic monoanion. Moreover, at higher excitation energies the phthalic monoanion experiences decarboxylative photodetachment with a statistical distribution of product translational energies, which contrasts with the impulsive dissociation reactions characteristic of other aryl carboxylic anions.

Modeling the Ultrafast Electron Attachment Dynamics of Solvated Uracil.

Electron attachment to DNA by low energy electrons can lead to DNA damage, so a fundamental understanding of how electrons interact with the components of nucleic acids in solution is an open challenge. In solution, low energy electrons can generate presolvated electrons, epre-, which are efficiently scavanged by pyrimidine nucleobases to form transient negative ions, able to relax to either stable valence bound anions or undergo dissociative electron detachment or transfer to other parts of DNA/RNA leading to strand breakages. In order to understand the initial electron attachment dynamics, this paper presents a joint molecular dynamics and high-level electronic structure study into the behavior of the electronic states of the solvated uracil anion. Both the valence π* and nonvalence epre- states of the solvated uracil system are studied, and the effect of the solvent environment and the geometric structure of the uracil core are uncoupled to gain insight into the physical origin of the stabilization of the solvated uracil anion. Solvent reorganization is found to play a dominant role followed by relaxation of the uracil core.

Beyond internalizing and externalizing symptoms: The association between body disconnection and the symptoms of Internet gaming disorder

As the vast majority of online videogames imply the immersion into an alternative reality where a virtual body is also involved, the current cross-sectional study aims to investigate the contribution of low body awareness (i.e. low attention to sensory cues indicating bodily state) and body dissociation (i.e. low emotional connection with one’s own body) in predicting Internet gaming disorder (IGD) symptoms, after controlling for internalizing (i.e., depression, anxiety, and stress) and externalizing symptoms (i.e., aggression). A total of 370 online-game players (73% men; mean age 29.63 ± 7.64 years) recruited in online player communities took part in the study and were given a survey that included gaming characteristics, the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale −21, the Aggression Questionnaire, the Body Disconnection Scale, and the Internet Gaming Disorder Scale- Short Form. A hierarchical regression analysis showed that low body awareness and high body dissociation predicted IGD scores after controlling for all the other factors. Moreover, we found an interaction effect between physical aggression and body dissociation in predicting IGD scores. On the one hand, these results provide support to previous studies that stressed the potential association between dissociative detachment (in terms of bodily disconnections) and problematic videogaming; on the other hand, the current study provides first evidence of the opportunity to focus on the integration of bodily experiences in clinical practice with people suffering from problematic gaming, as this factor might be incisively related to their aggressive and internalizing symptoms.

Acute shame in response to dissociative detachment: evidence from non-clinical and traumatised samples

ABSTRACT Two studies employed a dissociative detachment induction technique to examine if experiences of dissociation increased acute shame feelings. Study 1 recruited college participants, while Study 2 enlisted adults attending treatment for childhood sexual abuse. Two hypotheses were explored: (1) more shame would be reported following a dissociative detachment induction than a relaxation induction; and (2) shame would increase when detachment was induced in the relationship context of a close other than when alone. Study 1 (N = 81) effectively induced detachment and participants reported higher shame in this condition compared to the relaxation condition. This effect was maintained when state anxiety was controlled. The relationship context produced no impact on dissociation or shame. Attributions around feeling flawed predominantly linked detachment experiences with subsequent shame feelings. In Study 2 with clinical participants (N = 28), regression analyses showed state shame was predicted by acute detachment after controlling for state anxiety, gender, and trait shame and dissociation. The most common appraisals offered for why detachment led to feelings of shame was being flawed and exposed. Collectively, our findings suggest that increased acute shame results from detachment experiences, making more specific the relationship between shame and dissociation.

Dissociative detachment of the fluoroformate anion.

Dissociative photodetachment of the FCO2- fluoroformate complex by intense laser pulses is studied using 3D coincidence fragment imaging. The main channels are found to be CO2 + F and FCO + O. Cleavage of the C-F bond is attributed to dissociation on the B[combining tilde]2A1 excited state of the neutral FCO2 radical with significant internal excitation of the molecular fragment, while reductive dissociation of the CO2 moiety is assigned to higher lying states. The measured dissociative ionization products of double-photodetachment are discussed and attributed to intense-laser ionization of dissociative photodetachment products.

No Time Like the Present: Thinking About the Past and the Future Is Related to State Dissociation Among Individuals With High Levels of Psychopathological Symptoms.

Several short-term pathways have been implicated in relation to dissociative experiences, among them are daily stress, sleepiness, and rumination. In addition, it has been claimed that mechanisms contributing to dissociative experiences may differ, according to specific psychopathological symptoms. Accordingly, this study had two aims. The first was to sample moment-to-moment increases or decreases in current stress, sleepiness, and rumination, in order to assess their temporal relations with state dissociation. Rumination was broken down to its basic two subcomponents: the negative value of the thoughts and thinking about the past (in comparison to present or future), in order to differentiate it from other repetitive thought patterns (e.g., worry). The second goal was to explore whether depression, anxiety, and obsessive–compulsive symptoms may moderate the links between the three mechanisms and specific state dissociation scales [specifically, depersonalization-derealization (DEP-DER) and absorption (ABS)]. Ninety-nine undergraduate students completed trait questionnaires and then answered state items four times a day for 4 days. These experience sampling data were analyzed using multilevel linear modeling (MLM) with Level 1 state measurements and Level 2 demographic and trait variables of the participants. Moments of stress, sleepiness, thinking about the past and negative thoughts were all associated both with state DEP-DER and with state ABS. Dissociation, negative thinking, stress, and sleepiness were positively associated with moments of thinking about the past and the future but inversely associated with moments of thinking about the present. Finally, in accordance with our expectations, the links between DEP-DER and hypothesized mechanisms were mostly moderated by depression and anxiety symptoms, whereas the links between ABS and hypothesized mechanisms were moderated mainly by obsessive–compulsive symptoms. Our findings are in accordance with literature on the efficacy of mindfulness as well as the maladaptive correlates of mind-wandering, as they suggest that dissociative detachment from one’s present occupation is associated with decreased well-being.

Desire as the Experience of Self Arising Awareness: A Phenomenology

El deseo es la experiencia de la automanifestación del campo de la conciencia. El deseo surge de la plenitud del ser y del impulso creativo del ser que se despliega. El deseo primordial es el sentido de la automanifestación de la esencia de la conciencia eterna que se manifiesta en el tiempo y en el espacio. El deseo es el corazón dinámico de la existencia vital. La vitalidad es el aspecto energético del ser. El desapego disociativo del deseo es una negación de nuestra no dualidad con el ser.AbstractDesire is the Experience of Self Manifestation of the Field of Awareness. Desire arises out of Being’s fullness and Being’s unfolding creative momentum. Primordial desire is the felt sense of the self-manifestation of the essence of timeless awareness manifesting in time and in space. Desire is the dynamic heart of vital existingness. Vital-ness is the energetic aspect of Being. Dissociative Detachment from Desire is a Negation of Our Non Duality with Being.

Intense-Field Multiple-Detachment of F2¯: Competition with Photodissociation.

The competition of intense-field multiple-detachment with efficient photodissociation of F2¯ is studied as a function of laser peak intensity. The main product channels are disentangled and characterized by 3D coincidence fragment imaging. The presented kinetic energy release spectra, angular distributions, as well as two-color pump-probe measurements allow identification of competing sequential and nonsequential mechanisms. Dissociative detachment, producing two neutral atoms (F + F), is found to be dominated by a sequential mechanism of photodissociation (F¯ + F), followed by detachment of the atomic anion fragment. In contrast, dissociative ionization (F + F+) shows competing contributions of both a sequential two-step mechanism as well as a nonsequential double-detachment of the molecular anion, which are distinguished by the kinetic energy released in the dissociation. Triple-detachment is found to be nonsequential in nature and results in Coulomb explosion (F+ + F+). Furthermore, the measured kinetic energy release for dissociation on the 2Σg+ state provides a direct measurement of the F2¯ dissociation energy, D0 = 1.26 ± 0.03 eV.

The relationship between dissociation and auditory verbal hallucinations in the flow of daily life of patients with psychosis

Primary objectives: It has been proposed that dissociation plays a role in the aetiology of hallucinatory experiences. The present study examined the relationship between reports of auditory hallucinations and dissociative experiences in the daily lives of patients with psychosis. The influence of everyday stressors on dissociation and on the hypothesised relationship between dissociation and hallucinatory experiences was also investigated. Finally, this study examined the association between hallucinations and other non‐dissociative dysfunctional strategies used to suppress unpleasant mental events (i.e. experiential avoidance). Method: Forty‐two patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia spectrum disorder and 23 healthy controls were studied for six days using the Experience Sampling Method (ESM), a structured self‐assessment diary technique. Results: Patients who hallucinated during the assessment period (n = 21) reported elevated levels of dissociation compared to non‐hallucinating patients and healthy controls. Within the hallucinating patient group, auditory hallucinations were significantly predicted by both dissociation and experiential avoidance, although only the effect of dissociation remained significant after controlling for comorbid paranoia. Dissociation predicted the occurrence of auditory hallucinations especially under high stress. Hallucinating patients also reported a greater increase in dissociation in response to minor daily life stress compared to clinical and non‐clinical controls. Conclusions: These results further support the link between auditory hallucinations and experiences of dissociative detachment, and might inform future investigations into the mechanisms underlying this association. Interventions designed to reduce dissociation should be studied as potential treatments for auditory hallucinations.

Electronic photodissociation spectra and decay pathways of gas-phase IrBr62−

We report photodissociation action spectra for the dianion IrBr(6)(2-) in the range of 1.08-5.6 eV. The photoproducts observed are IrBr(6)(-), IrBr(5)(-), IrBr(4)(-) and Br(-). Comparison of the action spectra to the aqueous absorption spectrum of K(2)IrBr(6) leads to the determination of solvatochromic shifts of between 0.02 and 0.16 eV in the visible region and approximately 0.3 eV in the ultraviolet. The fragmentation branching ratios vary greatly as a function of photon energy. This behavior can be attributed to differences in the fragmentation mechanisms as well as differences in the excited states that are accessed at different energies. Absorption in the visible region favors fragmentation into IrBr(5)(-) and Br(-), whereas a number of fragmentation channels and mechanisms are active in the ultraviolet region. These mechanisms include fragmentation as well as electron detachment and dissociative electron detachment.

Photon-initiated charge transfer in iodide-pyrrole clusters: Direct detachment and dipole bound states

Photoelectron imaging studies of I−·Pyn cluster anions, (Py = pyrrole, n = 1, 2) reveal two distinct photodetachment signatures. Transitions in which the binding energy is independent of the detachment wavelength are ascribed to direct detachment. Additional, low energy features showing a binding energy dependence on the detachment wavelength are the result of dissociative detachment via an excited, dipole bound state of the cluster anion.

Electron-impact detachment fromPOn−(n=0–3)

Electron detachment from PO{sub n}{sup -} (n=0-3) by electron impact was studied for incident-electron energies in the range from 0 to 50 eV. In all cases, the cross section for electron detachment exhibits a well-defined onset at a threshold energy that is significantly higher than the electron binding energy. For P{sup -}, PO{sup -}, and PO{sub 2}{sup -}, the overall shape of the detachment cross section is represented fairly well by a classical model cross section. For PO{sub 3}{sup -}, however, deviations occur. It is suggested that deviations appear because the detachment process is dependent on the relative orientation of the molecular ion with respect to the incoming electron. For all the molecular ions studied here, the dominant reaction channel is pure detachment without fragmentation of the molecule. At higher energies, electron impact furthermore results in dissociative detachment where a P-O bond is broken. Three- and four-body fragmentation is found to be negligible.

Recovered Memory and the Daubert Criteria

Research during the past two decades has firmly established the reliability of the phenomenon of recovered memory. This review first highlights the strongest evidence for the phenomenon itself and discusses the survey, experimental, and biological evidence for the varying mechanisms that may underlie the phenomenon. Routes to traumatic amnesia from dissociative detachment (loss of emotional content leading to loss of factual content) and from dissociative compartmentalization (failure in integration) are discussed. Next, an argument is made that false memory is a largely orthogonal concept to recovered memory; the possibility of one phenomena is largely irrelevant to the potential for the other. Furthermore, some aspects of the false memory research offer supportive data for the recovered memory researcher. Finally, the issue of error rates in making the Daubert case is explored. It is concluded that the weight of the evidence should allow the recovered memory victim to come before the court.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Litigation: Guidelines for Forensic Assessment

ROBERT I. STMON, ED.: Posttmumatic Stress Disorder in Litigation: Guidelines for forensic Assessment. American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc., 2003, 238 pp., $42.00, ISBN 1-58562-066-1. This book is a second edition edited by Robert I. Simon, M.D., Clinical Professor of Psychiatry and Director, Program in Psychiatry and the Law at Georgetown University School of Medicine. The first edition, published in 1995, was the result of a conference attended by lawyers, psychologists, and psychiatrists to develop standards for the forensic assessment of PTSD claimants. This expanded edition includes four of the five participant authors of the first edition in addition to four new authors who offer guidelines to assess the incident specific nature of PTSD pertaining to children and adolescents, worksettings and neurophysiological verification. Daniel W. Shuman, J.D., addresses the challenge that stress-produced emotional impairment presents to the law. The legal rules governing the admissibility of evidence changed radically when psychiatry began sharpening the concept of stress-produced emotional pain early in the twentieth century. The expansion of litigation has become inevitable. Shuman insists that psychiatry must continue to refine its tools, as well as relate effectively to the juridical process in order to render justice to both and defendant alike. Dr. Bonnie L. Green's study of risk indicates that intensity of stress and kind of stress, such as rape, increases the risk for development of PTSD. Preexisting factors, such as borderline personality disorder, as well as multiple exposure to objectively defined stress increases risk. Comorbidity is difficult to assess due to its relationship as to cause or effect in the development of PTSD. She urges continued longitudinal research to study duration and prevalence. Dr. Simon's thorough chapter on assessment guidelines sets out the primary symptomatic PTSD criteria that have undergone clinical scrutiny: intrusive, vivid recall or reexperiencing of the trauma, numbness of feelings, dissociative detachment, and increased arousal. Both Green and Simon, as well as other authors in the book, allude strongly to the requirement that these symptoms must be related specifically and objectively to the stressful event. This is reflected in the more rigorous stress criteria set out in DSM-IV that omits the phrase the range of usual human experiences (DSM-III-R, 1994, p. 427) but continues to require event or events that involved actual or threatened death or serious injury or a threat to the physical integrity of self or others (DSM-IV, 2000, p. 467). This latter criterion lends itself more to the objective dose-related criterion even though stress not outside the range of common experience increases the possibility of malingering and makes the issue of individual vulnerability and comorbidity a more prominent issue. Dr. Simon addresses the obscure eggshell plaintiff (p. 61) concept by citing the legal precedent that recovery is feasible only when the alleged harm could be expected to occur in the ordinarily (p. 61) vulnerable person. It is often a daunting forensic task to assess the effect of predisposing or preexisting factors on stress-related emotional pain. Litigation itself rekindles a stress reaction while the lure of financial gain can lead to the exaggeration of symptoms and the motivation for malingering. Phillip J. Resnick, M.D., a leading authority on malingering, offers clear guidelines on its detection and his chapter is well worth repeatedly reviewing. Diane H. Schetky, M.D., adds an overview on the neglected area of PTSD Assessment in Children and Adolescents, citing data indicating that sexual abuse is by far the most common cause of PTSD in children and adolescents, particularly female children. …

Dissociative detachment and memory impairment: Reversible amnesia or encoding failure?

The authors propose that clinicians endeavor to differentiate between reversible and irreversible memory failures in patients with dissociative symptoms who report “memory gaps” and “lost time”. The classic dissociative disorders, such as dissociative amnesia and dissociative identity disorder, entail reversible memory failures associated with encoding experience in altered states. The authors propose another realm of memory failures associated with severe dissociative detachment that may preclude the level of encoding of ongoing experience needed to support durable autobiographical memories. They describe how dissociative detachment may be intertwined with neurobiological factors that impair memory, and they spell out the significance of distinguishing reversible and irreversible memory impairment for diagnosis, patient education, psychotherapy, and research.

Potential energy curves for the HF − and CH 3F − anions: a coupled cluster study

Very accurate ab initio calculations using the single-reference (SR) coupled cluster (CC) theory were performed for HF, CH 3F and their negative ions. The CC theory with singly and doubly excited clusters (CCSD approach) and its non-iterative counterpart accounting for connected triexcited components (CCSD(T) approach) were used as primary theoretical methods, and the HF and HF − systems were also investigated using the complete active space self-consistent field (CASSCF) approach. Emphasis was placed on the stability of the negatively charged ions and the potential energy curves for dissociative electron attachment in HF and CH 3F. In agreement with the majority of earlier calculations, the HF − and CH 3F − anions are unstable (i.e. have negative electron affinities) and can only capture an electron when the HF and CF bonds are significantly stretched. It is demonstrated that electron capture by HF and CH 3F correlates quite well with the maxima in the corresponding dipole moment functions. The potential energy curve for HF − is attactive, i.e. without a barrier for electron attachment, representing the HF molecule plus free electron near the equilibrium geometry of HF and crossing the neutral HF curve at the HF internuclear separation of 2.2 bohr in order to reach the H(1 s 2S) + F − (2 6 p 1S) limit (the equilibrium HF bond length is 1.733 bohr). The stretching of the HF bond and the energy required to capture an electron, resulting from CC calculations, are lower than in earlier calculations. The potential energy curve for CF bond breaking in CH 3F − has barriers for the dissociative electron attachment ( ΔE ‡ a ) and associative electron detachment ( ΔE ‡ d ) at the CF distance of approximately 3.7 bohr (the equilibrium CF separation is 2.612 bohr). Both barriers resulting from CC calculations, which are lower than in earlier calculations (CCSD method gives ΔE ‡ a = 1.67 eV , ΔE ‡ d = 0.28 eV ; CCSD(T) results are ΔE ‡ a = 1.56 eV , ΔE ‡ d = 0.20 eV ), are sensitive to many-electron correlation effects. The dissociative electron attachment in methyl fluoride is accompanied by a strong variation of the angle describing the umbrella motion of the methyl group and the appearance of a shallow (approximately 2 kcal mol −1) van der Waals' minimum in the corresponding CH 3F − curve representing the CH 3·F − complex. The implications of our findings for electron transfer phenomena, in particular for the photoinitiated charge transfer processes of the harpooning type, are discussed. The role of diffuse functions in the calculations for the temporary anion states and the role of the basis set and the theoretical approach in the modelling of potentials for electron attachment to a molecule are also briefly discussed.

Dissociative detachment relates to psychotic symptoms and personality decompensation

Previous studies have addressed the prominence of psychotic symptoms in conjunction with multiple personality disorder (now dissociative identity disorder). The present study examines the relation between psychotic symptoms and a more pervasive form of dissociative disturbance, namely dissociative detachment. Two hundred sixty-six women in inpatient treatment for severe trauma-related disorders completed the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES), and 102 of these patients also completed the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI-111). A factor analysis of the DES yielded two dimensions of dissociative detachment: detachment from one's own actions and detachment from the self and the environment. Each of these DES dimensions relates strongly to the thought disorder and schizotypal personality disorder scales of the MCMI-III. We propose that severe dissociative detachment, by virtue of loosening the moorings in inner and outer reality, is conducive to psychotic symptoms and personality decompensation.

On the collisional detachment of two electrons from C4

Double ionization of C 4 - anions has been studied in collisions with Ar at an impact energy of 30 keV. Both non-dissociative and dissociative double detachment occur. The dominant channel leads to formation of C ++C 3 fragments. Branching ratios are investigated as a function of the voltage on the cathode of the Cs vapour sputter source of anions; results indicate that C 4 anions are overwhelmingly produced in the ground electronic state over a wide range of operating conditions of such a source. Consideration of the energetics leads us to postulate that the vertical ionization energy (IE) of C 3 is higher than the IE of C; a lower limit of 11.3 eV is placed for IE(C 3).