Dissociative Absorption and Its Pathological Manifestations

Dissociative absorption and imaginative involvement is the tendency to become spontaneously deeply immersed in internal or external stimuli (e.g., daydreaming, a movie or book) to the point of obliviousness to one’s surroundings and “automatic” behavior. It is popularly referred to as “non-pathological dissociation” and some have even construed it as a tendency for altering consciousness that is not essentially dissociative. However, it has important linear links with psychopathology in general, and specifically, with “pathological” dissociation, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and maladaptive daydreaming. The nature of absorption as a dissociative trait and its links with psychopathology will be discussed.