Dottie,

You wrote,

"When my husband had his brain tumor...he would beat me severely. I remember my spirit leaving my body..each time.."

That is what happened to my Dad. He had cancer of the spine which traveled to his brain. Back in 1967 they thought it was slipped discs. I watched him turn into a monster. It was very confusing to me all those years after his death trying to remember the good dad, so I forgot him instead. Hard for a child to understand all that.

You also said,

"But I was told that this was Disassociation."

That's right. It is.

There are many different disorders that fall under the Dissociation umbrella, and many degrees of dissociation.

Sometimes people think dissociation just means DID {dissociative identity disorder} but that is not the only dissociation disorder there is.

Dissociative amnesia, dissociative fugue, dissociative identity disorder, dissociative disorders not otherwise specified, depersonalization disorder and derealization. The literature even sometimes describes DID as complex and/or chronic PTSD.

I'm fortunate that it doesn't happen too often anymore unless I'm in the height of acute stress or I'm having a PTSD flare-up.

Sorry to hear so many can relate.

Petunia