IRB Media Summary of Marlene Steinberg M.D. & Maxine Schnall's The Stranger in the Mirror

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Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview: #1 Dissociation is not always the worst case scenario you may think it is. It is a continuum that runs along with many other symptoms, and it can affect people in different ways. It can be mild, moderate, or severe, and it can be caused by a dissociative disorder or not.#2 The public's unfamiliarity with dissociative symptoms has caused dissociation to become the silent epidemic of our time. Without being tested for dissociative symptoms, people who have undetected dissociative disorders can be in therapy for a long time without making any real progress.#3 A secretary was working at her desk in the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995, when a bomb exploded. She was severely burned and bleeding from flying glass, but she was able to make her way out of the building to safety.#4 The human trauma response is to dissociate, which is a natural coping mechanism for people in grave danger. It helps them detach from the situation and focus on quickening thoughts of self-preservation.