Compartmentalizing was the only coping mechanism I had for a long time. Not realizing I was doing it, a T once likened it to having a shelving unit with boxes in my mind. When something happens, I would put it in a box and shelve it for later. The problem is is that we don't always take the boxes back down to deal with them and sometimes it does not happen until triggered. Then the box is too heavy or not everything fits in the box, and is too burdensome to work with, becoming overwhelming.

However, compartmentalization can be a natural response to trauma and events as a protective mechanism, with advantages and disadvantages. It can also be helpful to develop other coping strategies as well so things do not get "boxed" or "compartmentalized" away and instead dealt with in the moment, so not so overwhelming later. Facing things in the moment and intergrating them, as mentioned above by Critterlady, has changed the process as there are fewer things that trigger me now because the emotions and events were not blocked and stored for later.

I don't know if this makes any sense but the visual person that I am, this was helpful for me to understand compartmentalization.