Dissociation Anchor

Goal of the Technique:

Dissociation describes a separation of perceptual and memory content that is normally associated. In concrete terms, this means that sensory impressions from different modalities are no longer perceived as coherent or are no longer organized spatially and temporally.

Dissociation Techniques

For people who tend to be too associated in the wrong situations (e.g., during escalating conflict), it is recommended to practice techniques that allow for more detachment and distance from the situation. Dissociation techniques help a person become more dissociated. These techniques are the counterpart to association techniques. Both can occur in all representational systems.

To dissociate visually means, for example, to view a scene from the outside. In a dissociated visual memory, you see the recalled scene from the outside—you see yourself as part of the scene. In a dissociated auditory memory, you hear what was heard back then from a distance. If you were speaking in the scene, then in a dissociated memory you hear your own voice from far away.

Other examples of dissociation include imagining:

• you are behind a thick glass wall and can observe the scene from there,
• you are surrounded by a protective shell of light,
• you are behind a barrier of light that blocks all harmful rays.

In highly distressing memories or in scenes that “ambush” someone (e.g., in phobias), a double or triple dissociation can be helpful. In a double dissociation, an additional meta-level is constructed: I (from level 3) watch myself (in level 2) sitting and watching the scene at level 1, where I can be seen.

Installing a Dissociation Anchor

1. Recall a situation in which you felt emotionally particularly neutral. In this memory, your feeling was completely independent of external events, even though you could clearly see and hear everything happening.
2. Now intensify this memory by recalling all the images related to that experience from your memory, and look at everything there is to see.
3. As you recall these images, check what sounds, voices, and inner commentary are stored in your memory along with them.
4. As you now re-experience these visual and auditory impressions, also recall the associated feeling of neutrality.
5. So now you’re seeing and hearing these remembered images, sounds, and voices—and you feel completely neutral and calm. Emotionally, you are "above it all."
6. Also notice your posture, breathing, and any gestures while you strengthen this feeling of calm and neutrality.
7. At the peak of this recall of calm and neutrality, mentally anchor this ability. To do this, become especially aware of the key characteristics (e.g., breathing, posture, feeling, inner voice) and actively reinforce this mental image as you dive deeper into the memory. For example, if you choose breathing, breathe in or out in the way that matches this memory for you. If you choose the feeling, place one or both hands on the body part where you feel this neutrality most strongly. If you choose the inner voice, say those key words internally. You can use the same approach with any perception that belongs to your sense of neutrality and calm.
8. To conclude the exercise, imagine a potential problem situation in the future (a possible trigger for overreaction), and activate this newly installed emotional interrupter as a test. What change can you already perceive in yourself?