Those of us who develop a dissociative disorder are genetically wired that way.

My sister asks me why I developed a dissociative disorder, when people, abused much worse than I, do not develop it. I told her it is genetic. It is biology. It is brain wiring.

I was kept in non-stop emotional pain and under non-stop psychological stress from the day I was born until five. Most of the abuse came from my two-year older brother but my Mom had no parenting skills and she traumatized me also. There was continual physical abuse from my brother and mother but it generally was not violent or scarring.

Some people say that the development of a dissociative disorder is a defense mechanism but a toddler's brain is not developed enough to consciously plan anything. The toddler's brain simply gets broken before it has a chance to develop.