To a Dissociate who has suffered deep abuse "self absorption" is absorption in a falsely created shadow self.

To a Dissociate who has suffered deep abuse "self absorption" is absorption in a falsely created shadow self. A true external entity. A false image. This gives a hint of explanation for the strangest thing of all about malignant Dissociates: they are as out of touch with themselves as they are with the rest of the world!

We all can get out of touch with ourselves and lose track of how we actually feel. This comes from being too intensely focused too much of the time. Especially with sedentary work. In this state, the brain learns to filter out sensation. One of the benefits of Eastern practices like Yoga and Tai Chi is that it helps us get back in touch with ourselves.

What goes on in a dissociate is essentially the same thing but to a bizarre degree.

How bizarre? Well, I'm afraid you'd have to see it to believe it.

How do dissociates get so far out of touch with themselves? We suspect they do it simply by keeping focused on something all the time. They fill the gaps between daily work and appearances before mirrors with distractions. One thing I've noticed about narcissists is that they must always be busy, busy, busy. And when there's nothing to do, they bury their nose in a book or newspaper, or they glue themselves to a TV -- anything to avoid a moment of quiet reflection. Blaring radios, sleep, TV, aimless busywork, useless reading — anything to keep burying that repressed corpus delicti (their true self) so it doesn't surface to consciousness in a moment of self awareness.