April 2025
The two types of dissociation: detachment and compartmentalization
Dissociation is often treated as a single, unified concept, but it actually encompasses two distinct psychological mechanisms: detachment and compartmentalization. This post outlines the critical differences between them, showing how each operates, manifests, and becomes pathological in different ways. While detachment involves a disconnection from reality or emotion (as in depersonalization), compartmentalization involves the rigid separation of memory, perception, and self-experience—and lies at the core of dissociative identity disorder (DID). I argue that DID is best understood as a disorder of pathological compartmentalization, not as the presence of “multiple identities”. This distinction is essential for making sense of dissociative experiences without relying on oversimplified or culturally dominant narratives.
compartmentalization conceptualization detachment DID mechanism
9 minutes