I've been realizing more and more that I have the amazing, but sometimes severely detrimental talent of disassociating. It has it's uses for sure, like the way I can forget every conflict I've had with my friends as long as the issue was resolved.

But the fact that I disassociate still catches me off guard. It may be useful, but it's a little unsettling for someone to tell me a conversation blow by blow and not even remember a tiny hint of it. It's like there is a black hole in my brain and I don't even know it's there. When I realize that things actually disappear into it and never come out I get a little nervous. What else is hiding back there?

Of course, it's useful to forget resolved conflicts because I don't dwell on them, but what about when I try to forget unresolved pain and hurt? Those things don't stay hidden nicely. They leave a growing cancer on the subconscious mind which slowly overtakes the thought patterns and perceptions. Then one day I find that I am a mass of bitter angriness and wonder how I got that way.

So, what is the healthy way to deal with pain and hurt when it's not possible to resolve it right away? A person can't continually walk through their life thinking how hurt they are.... In a way, they have to disassociate in order to survive, but when does that go too far?