I wonder if anyone has any experience of this, ie the similarities between these states of being?

I have CPTSD from child abuse and am attempting to be a fiction writer (it's not a new thing. This has pretty much always been a useful escape for me).

I keep looking at this list (below).

During fiction writing, I suppose identity can disappear completely.

But memory doesn't. Trauma gives one excellent recall!

Consciousness? I don't know about that.

Awareness of surroundings... Extremely low. But self, yes. I am intensely connected to all the past me's.

This is one of the definitions of dissociation:

- Dissociation disrupts four areas of personal functioning that usually operate together smoothly, automatically, and with few or no problems:

Identity
Memory
Consciousness
Self-awareness and awareness of surroundings
"Breaks" in this system of automatic functions within yourself cause the symptoms of dissociation.