Final answer:
Dissociation is the psychological process of disconnecting from a traumatic event, feeling, or memory leading to a sense of detachment or memory loss, and is significant in treating disorders such as PTSD.
Step-by-step explanation:
In psychological terms, the process of feeling disconnected from a traumatic event, mentally cutting off a thought, feeling, or memory, resulting in a 'complete loss of memory' is known as dissociation. This defense mechanism allows individuals to cope with trauma by allowing a mental escape from the stress or pain of the experiences. Dissociation can cause people to feel detached from their emotional state or to feel as if the traumatic event is not actually happening to them.
Such dissociative experiences are considered an automatic psychological response to high stress or trauma. This defense mechanism is different from other mechanisms like repression, where anxiety-causing memories are blocked from consciousness. The concept of dissociation is relevant, especially in treatment approaches for disorders like post-traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD), where the recollection of traumatic events can be disabling.
Research has shown that cognitive processes, including memory, may be affected, altered, or even falsely recalled, particularly under states of hypnosis or meditation. Additionally, memories of traumatic events may be repressed and later recovered, although this remains a controversial topic with differing views in the psychological community.