My experience is similar to yours. When I am in session I will dissociate and others will talk during session. I am there, at least I believe I am but sometimes later in the day I don't remember all of what we talked about in session. And it is difficult sometimes to find the info. I don't feel like I lose time but I do have gaps when I look back and try to remember session from start to finish. I use an ice pack or cold water to ground myself. It works well for us. I have tried to keep a journal in the past. What I found is that when I go back to read it I don't recall writing about a third of it. Often when I am reading something I have written I will have a rush of emotions like anger, anxiety and confusion. Usually that will cause me to stop reading and I most often don't go back to finish reading. Having said that I do think keeping a journal has helped me. As far as what is normal and what is dissociation I have almost no idea, because I don't know what it is like to function without dissociating. It is all I have known since I was small. Even when "normal" people explain how their brain works I have no working concept of what that feels like or how it would present in my brain. What I have experienced on a few occasioins are moments of clarity. Moments when I find myself looking out instead of in. I hope some of this helped. Take care.