Dissociation, a form of hypnotic trance, helps children survive the abuse…The abuse takes on a dream-like, surreal quality and deadened feelings and altered perceptions add to the strangeness. The whole scene does not fit into the 'real world.' It is simple to forget, easy to believe nothing happened.
child-abuse mental-illness mental-health unreality survivors abuse-survivors perceptions dissociation unreal surreal trance-states numb numbness trance perception-of-reality child-sexual-abuse dissociated numbness-quote depersonalization repressed-memories trauma-memories trauma-memory dissociative-amnesia hypnotic-trance surreal-quotes