Inspired by both personal history and intellectual curiosity, researcher Molly Scott examines the impact of bodily disconnect on responses to touch in those who have experienced trauma.
My Experience of Bodily Disconnect
As a teenager, I often felt disconnected from my body, but was unaware that this disconnect could be caused by stressful or traumatic experiences. I didn’t know that trauma does not always match the stereotypes we’re used to seeing. Media tends to focus on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in veterans, or those who have been victims of severe violence. But trauma and PTSD can be caused by any distressing experience, regardless of whether one witnesses something traumatic, hears of it happening to someone close to them, or was directly impacted themselves (American Psychiatric Association 2013, 272). There are also individual differences in traumatisation, in that a particular experience could cause one person to develop PTSD, while that same experience might leave another individual entirely unaffected.
I was surprised to discover that traumatic experiences are relatively common, with 50% to 70% of people experiencing some type of trauma during their lifetime (PTSD UK n.d.). Recently, the consequences of trauma have been discussed more frequently, with research emphasising how trauma can relate to feeling disconnected from the body. This can sometimes be referred to as dissociation, or the dissociative subtype of PTSD (American Psychiatric Association 2013, 273).
I was fascinated to find that feeling disconnected from the body, or from the world, can be a protective mechanism for those who have felt unsafe due to stressful or traumatic experiences (Coates et al. 2025, 8). I realised there was research to support my own experience of feeling disconnected from myself and the world.
Since my first experience of bodily disconnect, I was curious. I wanted to understand why this strange feeling was so persistent in my life. Possibly due to concurrently starting my Psychology GCSE, I also became interested in how this could be observed in the brain.
Nine years later, I began my PhD. My research focuses on how trauma can affect the bodily self. This can include internal bodily sensations such as hunger and feeling our own heartbeat, and external sensations such as touch. I focus specifically on touch, questioning how traumatic experiences, PTSD, and dissociative symptoms such as depersonalisation (feeling disconnected from the body) and derealisation (feeling disconnected from the world) can affect responses to this sense.
In this piece, I use both my research expertise and lived experience to examine how feeling disconnected from the body can affect responses to touch in those who have experienced trauma, as well as its potential impact on the brain.
The Body and Interoception
Interoception can be defined as the ability to recognise internal bodily sensations. It is an essential mechanism for understanding one’s body and self. Interoception can help us recognise emotions, as well as physiological sensations such as hunger, fullness, heart rate and body temperature (Coates et al. 2025, 2; Herbert et al. 2021, 128). However, levels of interoception can be disrupted in those who have experienced trauma.
At the beginning of my research into interoception, I noticed that I lack awareness of my own bodily sensations. I have always struggled to notice when I feel hungry, or whether my body temperature is too high. This is especially true when I feel stressed and, therefore, more detached from my body. I found this fascinating.
I wanted to find out more.
Interestingly, a review by Coates et al. (2025, 6-9) suggested that childhood trauma and interpersonal violence, in comparison to other types of trauma, have sometimes been associated with lower levels of interoception and awareness of body sensations. While unrelated to my own experiences of trauma, it is intriguing how different types of trauma can impact levels of interoception. Lower levels of interoception can sometimes be described as a dissociative response, with an avoidance of internal sensations being a defence mechanism following prolonged exposure to trauma.
Personally, I blocked out my emotions as a child, due to feeling ashamed about how sensitive I was to everything at school. This became so automatic that I began to feel numb and detached, with low levels of interoception and a difficulty in recognising my emotions.
Conversely, some individuals with PTSD (without dissociation) experience heightened levels of interoception. This means they can become anxious or distressed due to their bodily sensations. The review by Coates et al. (2025, 18) suggests that interoceptive responses may initially be heightened after a traumatic experience but become diminished as a consequence of long-term stress or trauma.
Touch
Touch has many psychological benefits. Those who receive touch from a romantic partner, such as holding hands, have been proven more likely to believe they can overcome a difficult situation (Jakubiak & Feeney 2019, 2928). But people affected by trauma may not experience the same psychological benefits of touch. For example, I often feel startled by touch if it is unexpected. This reaction does not change whether I know a person very well, or if they are a stranger. However, I do find touch to be a pleasant experience if it is expected and from my partner.
Research suggests that touch from another person is often perceived as unpleasant by those who have experienced trauma or have a diagnosis of PTSD (Strauss et al. 2019, 637). This can be explained by symptoms such as: an increased startle response, being hyper-aware of surroundings, and possibly experiencing flashbacks during touch if this evokes a reminder of the traumatic experience (American Psychiatric Association 2013, 272). Such responses are more likely in those who have experienced interpersonal trauma, or violence from another person.
Differently, dissociation—especially depersonalisation—can affect experiences of touch by causing separation from bodily sensations and the self (Dewe et al. 2016, 380-82). Research has found that those with dissociative symptoms reported feelings of body dis-ownership when receiving touch; they feel like their body does not belong to them (Moffatt et al. 2025, 2). This suggests that touch is less likely to be pleasant or beneficial for those with dissociative symptoms.
Despite often feeling disconnected from my body and the world, my experience of feeling startled when I am touched may suggest that the distinction in touch responses between PTSD and dissociation is not as clear as it seems. Specifically, it seems likely that these two disorders can co-occur, with symptoms overlapping or interchanging at times.
The Brain
A key aspect of my PhD is looking at how traumatic experiences can affect the brain, which I find the most fascinating part of my research. I question whether my brain is ‘different’, like research suggests, due to the experiences I have had in my life.
For example, the volume of the hippocampus, a brain region related to memory, has been found to be reduced in those with PTSD (Del Casale et al. 2022, 5-6). The hippocampus deals with fear-based memories, with the reduced volume potentially explaining the unwanted, distressing memories of the traumatic experience (Del Casale et al. 2022, 5-6). For example, reduced hippocampal volume can relate to less connectivity between the hippocampus and brain regions related to emotional processing, such as the amygdala (Levy-Gigi et al., 2015, 7). Ultimately, this can result in difficulties learning that a traumatic memory or situation is no longer dangerous (Levy-Gigi et al., 2015, 7), suggesting that distressing memories may be a protective factor to prevent a similar situation from occurring.
Research has also identified reduced volume of the amygdala, which is the region of the brain that deals with regulating and processing emotions. For example, the amygdala evokes fear responses to threatening situations. However, in PTSD, fear responses can be triggered by non-threatening situations, particularly if this relates to previous trauma.
Touch responses can also appear differently in the brain, in those with symptoms of dissociation. For example, Adler et al. (2016, 148-158) found that brain activity did not differ between observing touch on the self and observing touch on another person. This does not relate to my own experience of dissociation, as it is not as severe as it previously was, but I find it interesting that those with different symptoms may struggle to separate touch on the self from touch on others. Hopefully, through more research, there will be a way to improve symptoms.
The real-world impact of this research
Researching the link between trauma and the body is essential, as trauma can affect the body physically, psychologically and physiologically. This work could enable a greater understanding of how trauma can impact all aspects of the body, encouraging research into body-focused therapies as a potential treatment for trauma and PTSD.
Conclusion – Why does trauma lead to feelings of disconnect?
Overall, feeling disconnected from the body is likely a protective mechanism that develops following a traumatic experience. Research has emphasised that this relates to reduced levels of interoception and can affect sensory experiences such as touch. However, feeling disconnected can also be described as a brain response that develops due to trauma.
In relation to my own experience of bodily disconnect, I have been fascinated by the research I have read throughout my PhD. It has been healing for me, to understand why I sometimes feel disconnected from my body, making the numbness a much less frightening experience than it was when I was a teenager. While I have discovered during this time that other factors, such as autism, have impacted my own experiences, the understanding I have gained in this process has been invaluable. Knowledge has always been healing for me, but one shouldn’t require PhD in Psychology to understand their experience. More research into effective treatments for bodily disconnect, as well as PTSD, should be encouraged. Everyone deserves the opportunity to heal.
About the author
Molly Scott is a PhD student in the Department of Psychology at the University of Essex, researching how trauma affects the bodily self. From her personal experiences, she became interested in how trauma impacts all areas of life, from perceptions of ourselves and the world, to sensory experiences and the brain.
References
Adler, Julia, Nadine Schabinger, Matthias Michal, Manfred E. Beutel, and Helge Gillmeister. 2016. “Is that me in the mirror? Depersonalisation modulates tactile mirroring mechanisms.” Neuropsychologia 85: 148-158. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2016.03.009
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Coates, Dominiek, Suzanne Lewis, and Genevieve Burge-Ferrow. 2025. “The relationship between interoception and experiences of stress, trauma, and mental illness: A scoping review.” Psychotherapy and Counselling Journal of Australia13, no. 2. https://doi.orcoatesg/10.59158/001c.146359
Del Casale, Antonio, Stefano Ferracuti, Andrea Steven Barbetti, Paride Bargagna, Paolo Zega, Alessia Iannuccelli, Federico Caggese et al. 2022. “Grey matter volume reductions of the left hippocampus and amygdala in PTSD: A coordinate-based meta-analysis of magnetic resonance imaging studies.” Neuropsychobiology 81, no. 4: 257-264. https://doi.org/10.1159/000522003
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Herbert, Beate M., Olga Pollatos, and Verena Klusmann. 2021. “Interoception and health.” European Journal of Health Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1027/2512-8442/a000064
Jakubiak, Brett K., and Brooke C. Feeney. 2019. “Interpersonal touch as a resource to facilitate positive personal and relational outcomes during stress discussions.” Journal of Social and Personal Relationships 36, no. 9: 2918-2936. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407518804666
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Moffatt, Jamie A., Marte Roel Lesur, Bigna Lenggenhager, Marieke L. Weijs, Valerio Maglianella, Hugo D. Critchley, Sarah N. Garfinkel, and Kathryn Greenwood. 2025. “Trait dissociation is associated with dissociative experiences arising from disrupted multisensory integration.” Scientific Reports 15, no. 1: 12553. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-97320-9
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Strauss, Timmy, Fabian Rottstädt, Uta Sailer, Julia Schellong, J. Paul Hamilton, Claudia Raue, Kerstin Weidner, and Ilona Croy. 2019. “Touch aversion in patients with interpersonal traumatization.” Depression and anxiety 36, no. 7: 635-646.https://doi.org/10.1002/da.22914
