" Dissociation in its more serious forms is a psychological defense mechanism that keeps traumatic memories, sensations, and feelings out of conscious awareness. It is a key defense used by abused children. In the face of overwhelming danger from which there is no physical escape, it is an ingenious bit of mental gymnastics—in the words of therapist Eliana Gil "a life-saving, pain-sparing survival strategy". Mind and body separate. Pain is anesthetized. The individual feels depersonalized: numb, unreal, outside oneself, a dispassionate observer rather than an anguished participant. For example, a sexually abused girl may feel as if she is leaving her body, floating up to the ceiling, and watching the abuse—as if it is happening to somebody else—from a safe and detached spectator's distance. She can't remove her body from danger, but she can leave it emotionally. "

― Marilee Strong , A Bright Red Scream: Self-Mutilation and the Language of Pain