--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Further evidence for the pathogenic role…" description: "\"“Further evidence for the pathogenic role of dissociation has come from a largescale clinical and community study of traumatized people conducted by a ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77a/judith-lewis-herman-19218_disorder_further-evidence-for-the-pathogenic-role_3085395.jpg" --- # Further evidence for the pathogenic role of dissociation… ![“Further evidence for the pathogenic role of dissociation has come from a largescale clinical and community study of traumatized people conducted by a task force of the American Psychiatric Association. In this study, people who reported having dissociative symptoms were also quite likely to…” quote by Judith Lewis Herman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77a/judith-lewis-herman-19218_disorder_further-evidence-for-the-pathogenic-role_3085395.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77a/judith-lewis-herman-19218_disorder_further-evidence-for-the-pathogenic-role_3085395.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77a/judith-lewis-herman-19218_disorder_further-evidence-for-the-pathogenic-role_3085395.jpg) > ““Further evidence for the pathogenic role of dissociation has come from a largescale clinical and community study of traumatized people conducted by a task force of the American Psychiatric Association. In this study, people who reported having dissociative symptoms were also quite likely to develop persistent somatic symptoms for which no physical cause could be found. They also frequently engaged in self-destructive attacks on their own bodies. The results of these investigations validate the century-old insight that traumatized people relive in their bodies the moments of terror that they can not describe in words. Dissociation appears to be the mechanism by which intense sensory and emotional experiences are disconnected from the social domain of language and memory, the internal mechanism by which terrorized people are silenced.”” [Judith Lewis Herman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-lewis-herman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Dissociation links trauma to unexplained physical symptoms and self‑harm, showing terror is relived in the body when words fail. **In simple terms:** Trauma causes dissociation, leading to physical symptoms and self‑harm. Key Takeaway Address trauma with integrated mind‑body care. Themes trauma dissociation psychosomatic self‑harm Mood concerned hopeful Type clinical educational When to use this quote - therapy sessions - support groups - medical evaluation Key Concepts psychological integration embodied memory clinical research Questions to Reflect On - How can we better recognize dissociative symptoms? - What therapies best reconnect body and mind? A Different Perspective Complex cases may need multidisciplinary treatment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Disorder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disorder/) [Dissociation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dissociation/) [Dissociation Appears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dissociation-appears-5281470/) [Dissociative](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dissociative/) [Dissociative Symptoms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dissociative-symptoms-1740806/) [Dissociative-disorders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dissociative-disorders/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Role Dissociation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/role-dissociation-5281472/) [Self - injury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-injury/) [Self harm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-harm/) [Silence speaks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silence-speaks/) [Silenced](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silenced/) [Somatic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/somatic/) [Terror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terror/) [Traumatized](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/traumatized/) [Words Dissociation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/words-dissociation-5281471/) ## Related quotes > [“Extreme versions of DID occasionally develop in response to particularly horrific ongoing trauma (e.g., children exploited through involvement in years of forced prostitution), with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-chu/extreme-versions-of-did-occasionally-develop-in-response-to/) [James A. Chu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-chu/) > [“Early identification of patients who suffer from dissociative symptoms and disorders is essential for successful treatment, because these disorders do not resolve spontaneously. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-steinberg/early-identi-cation-of-patients-who-suffer-from-dissociative-symptoms/) [Marlene Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-steinberg/) > [“Dissociative symptoms—primarily depersonalization and derealization—are elements in other DSM-IV disorders, including schizophrenia and borderline personality disorder, and in the neurologic syndrome of temporal lobe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-chu/dissociative-symptoms-primarily-depersonalization-and-derealization/) [James A. Chu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-chu/) > [“Early identification of patients who suffer from dissociative symptoms and disorders is essential for successful treatment, because these disorders do not resolve spontaneously.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlene-steinberg/early-identi-cation-of-patients-who-suffer-from-dissociative-symptoms-2/) [Marlene Steinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlene-steinberg/) > [“This was a characteroloical prelude, but it wasn’t chemical or somatic. It was the anatomy of melancholy, not the anatomy of his brain.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/this-was-a-characteroloical-prelude-but-it-wasn-t-chemical-or-somatic/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [“Movement is how the body remembers itself. It is how survival shifts into recovery. It is how safety is relearned, one step, one stretch,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasmin-tzortzakakis-malik/movement-is-how-the-body-remembers-itself-it-is-how-survival-shifts/) [Jasmin Tzortzakakis Malik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasmin-tzortzakakis-malik/) > [“Some wisdom lives in your body before your mind can explain it. Trust what your bones know.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-nault/some-wisdom-lives-in-your-body-before-your-mind-can-explain-it-trust/) [Lawrence Nault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-nault/) > [Somatic Exercises can change how we live our lives, how we believe that our minds and bodies interrelate, how powerful we think we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hanna/somatic-exercises-can-change-how-we-live-our-lives-how-we-believe/) [Thomas Hanna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hanna/) > [“If your body is screaming in pain, whether the pain is muscular contractions, anxiety, depression, asthma or arthritis, a first step in releasing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-van-m-derbur/if-your-body-is-screaming-in-pain-whether-the-pain-is-muscular/) [Marilyn Van M. Derbur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-van-m-derbur/) > [“There were corporeal, psychic, and spiritual people. Somatics, psychics, and pneumatics, they called them, from the Greek. Equality goes against nature, however rightly one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olga-tokarczuk/there-were-corporeal-psychic-and-spiritual-people-somatics-psychics/) [Olga Tokarczuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olga-tokarczuk/) > [“Somatic Symptoms: People with Complex PTSD often have medical unexplained physical symptoms such as abdominal pains, headaches, joint and muscle pain, stomach problems, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzette-boon/somatic-symptoms-people-with-complex-ptsd-often-have-medical/) [Suzette Boon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzette-boon/) > [“All emotions, even those that are suppressed and unexpressed, have physical effects. Unexpressed emotions tend to stay in the body like small ticking time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-van-m-derbur/all-emotions-even-those-that-are-suppressed-and-unexpressed-have/) [Marilyn Van M. Derbur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-van-m-derbur/) > [“The symptomatology of PTSD. In PTSD a traumatic event is not remembered and relegated to one's past in the same way as other life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/babette-rothschild/the-symptomatology-of-ptsd-in-ptsd-a-traumatic-event-is-not/) [Babette Rothschild](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/babette-rothschild/) > [“It's not your mindset that's holding you back — it's your nervous system.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-morse/it-s-not-your-mindset-that-s-holding-you-back-it-s-your-nervous-system/) [Elizabeth morse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-morse/) > [Somaaesthetics can be provisionally defined a the critical meliorative study of one's experience and use of one's body as a locus of sensory-aesthetic appreciation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-shusterman/somaaesthetics-can-be-provisionally-defined-a-the-critical/) [Richard Shusterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-shusterman/) ## More by Judith Lewis Herman > [“Therapy requires a collaborative working relationship in which both partners act on the basis of their implicit confidence in the value and efficacy of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-lewis-herman/therapy-requires-a-collaborative-working-relationship-in-which-both/) [Judith Lewis Herman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-lewis-herman/) > [“In situations of captivity the perpetrator becomes the most powerful person in the life of the victim, and the psychology of the victim is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-lewis-herman/in-situations-of-captivity-the-perpetrator-becomes-the-most-powerful/) [Judith Lewis Herman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-lewis-herman/) > [Many abused children cling to the hope that growing up will bring escape and freedom. But the personality formed in an environment of coercive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-lewis-herman/many-abused-children-cling-to-the-hope-that-growing-up-will-bring/) [Judith Lewis Herman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-lewis-herman/) > [The guarantee of safety in a battering relationship can never be based upon a promise from the perpetrator, no matter how heartfelt. Rather, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-lewis-herman/the-guarantee-of-safety-in-a-battering-relationship-can-never-be/) [Judith Lewis Herman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-lewis-herman/) > [“Psychological trauma is an affliction of the powerless. At the moment of trauma, the victim is rendered helpless by overwhelming force. When the force…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-lewis-herman/psychological-trauma-is-an-affliction-of-the-powerless-at-the-moment/) [Judith Lewis Herman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-lewis-herman/) > [“The vast majority of incest begins years before the earliest conceivable age of consent. p4”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-lewis-herman/the-vast-majority-of-incest-begins-years-before-the-earliest/) [Judith Lewis Herman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-lewis-herman/) > [The ordinary response to atrocities is to banish them from consciousness. Certain violations of the social compact are too terrible to utter aloud: this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-lewis-herman/the-ordinary-response-to-atrocities-is-to-banish-them-from/) [Judith Lewis Herman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-lewis-herman/) > [“The study of psychological trauma has repeatedly led into realms of the unthinkable and foundered on fundamental questions of belief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-lewis-herman/the-study-of-psychological-trauma-has-repeatedly-led-into-realms-of/) [Judith Lewis Herman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-lewis-herman/) > [After a traumatic experience, the human system of self-preservation seems to go onto permanent alert, as if the danger might return at any moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-lewis-herman/after-a-traumatic-experience-the-human-system-of-self-preservation/) [Judith Lewis Herman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-lewis-herman/) > [“The horror of incest is not in the sexual act. but in the exploitation of children and the corruption of parental love. p4”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-lewis-herman/the-horror-of-incest-is-not-in-the-sexual-act-but-in-the-exploitation/) [Judith Lewis Herman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-lewis-herman/) > [“Underlying the attack on psychotherapy, I believe, is a recognition of the potential power of any relationship of witnessing. The consulting room is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-lewis-herman/underlying-the-attack-on-psychotherapy-i-believe-is-a-recognition-of/) [Judith Lewis Herman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-lewis-herman/) > [“when traumatic events are of human design, those who bear witness are caught in the conflict between victim and perpetrator. All the perpetrator asks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-lewis-herman/when-traumatic-events-are-of-human-design-those-who-bear-witness-are/) [Judith Lewis Herman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-lewis-herman/) > [... in practice the standard for what constitutes rape is set not at the level of women's experience of violation but just above the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-lewis-herman/in-practice-the-standard-for-what-constitutes-rape-is-set-not-at-the/) [Judith Lewis Herman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-lewis-herman/) > [“In this climate of profoundly disrupted relationships the child faces a formidable developmental task. She must find a way to form primary attachments to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-lewis-herman/in-this-climate-of-profoundly-disrupted-relationships-the-child-faces/) [Judith Lewis Herman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-lewis-herman/) > [“Father-daughter incest is not only the type of incest most frequently reported but also represents a paradigm of female sexual victimization. The relationship between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-lewis-herman/father-daughter-incest-is-not-only-the-type-of-incest-most-frequently/) [Judith Lewis Herman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-lewis-herman/) [Explore all 33 Judith Lewis Herman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-lewis-herman/) ## More Disorder quotes > [There is a nationwide shortage of drugs for Attention Deficit Disorder. The FDA says they're not sure how it happened. I guess somebody wasn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/there-is-a-nationwide-shortage-of-drugs-for-attention-deficit/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [Sometimes labeling is only useful, like with OCD. Once you're labeled you can be treated. On other occasions labeling leads to tyranny, like with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/sometimes-labeling-is-only-useful-like-with-ocd-once-you-re-labeled/) [Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/) > [Having an eating disorder doesn't show ‘strength.’ Strength is when are able to overcome your demons after being sick and tired for so long.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demi-lovato/having-an-eating-disorder-doesn-t-show-strength-strength-is-when-are/) [Demi Lovato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demi-lovato/) > [Metaphor isn't just a fancy turn of speech. It shapes our thoughts and feelings, reaches out to grasp new experience, and even binds our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-richardson/metaphor-isn-t-just-a-fancy-turn-of-speech-it-shapes-our-thoughts-and/) [James Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-richardson/) > [love is a mental illness, an obsessive-compulsive disorder romanticized!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-jerome-dickey/love-is-a-mental-illness-an-obsessive-compulsive-disorder-romanticized/) [Eric Jerome Dickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-jerome-dickey/) > [What you call disorder is nothing else than one of the laws of the order you comprehend not and which you have erroneously named…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/what-you-call-disorder-is-nothing-else-than-one-of-the-laws-of-the/) [Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/) > [“The word is dissociate. There is no 'a' before the 'ss'. People invariably say dis-a-ssociate, which, if you're suffering Disso-ciative Identity Disorder/Multiple Personality Disorder,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-jamieson/the-word-is-dissociate-there-is-no-a-before-the-ss-people-invariably/) [Alice Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-jamieson/) > [Disorder in the society is the result of disorder in the family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-ann-seton/disorder-in-the-society-is-the-result-of-disorder-in-the-family/) [Elizabeth Ann Seton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-ann-seton/) > [If you're spending so much time at the gym that your mail is forwarded there, you're not dedicated - you've got a mental disorder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-john/if-you-re-spending-so-much-time-at-the-gym-that-your-mail-is/) [Dan John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-john/) > [“although those who exhibit structural division of the personality commonly exhibit altered states of consciousness, only relatively few individuals who experience altered states of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-frewen/although-those-who-exhibit-structural-division-of-the-personality/) [Paul Frewen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-frewen/) > [We study health, and we deliberate upon our meats and drink and air and exercises, and we hew and we polish every stone that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-donne/we-study-health-and-we-deliberate-upon-our-meats-and-drink-and-air/) [John Donne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-donne/) > [Begbie offers an additional valuable contribution by rejecting the traditional emphasis on beauty, in its Platonic sense, and instead suggesting that beauty be reconceived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-walford/begbie-offers-an-additional-valuable-contribution-by-rejecting-the/) [John Walford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-walford/) > [The more people talk about eating disorders, the more people get the real story about what they're like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scarlett-pomers/the-more-people-talk-about-eating-disorders-the-more-people-get-the/) [Scarlett Pomers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scarlett-pomers/) > [You know, entropy is associated thermodynamically, in systems involving heat, with disorder. And in an analogous way, information is associated with disorder, which seems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/you-know-entropy-is-associated-thermodynamically-in-systems-involving/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [The increase of disorder or entropy is what distinguishes the past from the future, giving a direction to time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/the-increase-of-disorder-or-entropy-is-what-distinguishes-the-past/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) [Browse all 1,080 Disorder quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disorder/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Further evidence for the pathogenic role of dissociation has come from a largescale clinical and community study of traumatized people conducted by a task force of the American Psychiatric Association. In this study, people who reported having dissociative symptoms were also quite likely to develop persistent somatic symptoms for which no physical cause could be found. They also frequently engaged in self-destructive attacks on their own bodies. The results of these investigations validate the century-old insight that traumatized people relive in their bodies the moments of terror that they can not describe in words. Dissociation appears to be the mechanism by which intense sensory and emotional experiences are disconnected from the social domain of language and memory, the internal mechanism by which terrorized people are silenced.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Judith Lewis Herman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-lewis-herman/further-evidence-for-the-pathogenic-role-of-dissociation-has-come/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Disorder" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-lewis-herman/further-evidence-for-the-pathogenic-role-of-dissociation-has-come/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77a/judith-lewis-herman-19218_disorder_further-evidence-for-the-pathogenic-role_3085395.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77a/judith-lewis-herman-19218_disorder_further-evidence-for-the-pathogenic-role_3085395.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/77a/judith-lewis-herman-19218_disorder_further-evidence-for-the-pathogenic-role_3085395.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Further evidence for the pathogenic role of dissociation has come from a largescale clinical and community…” — Judith Lewis Herman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Judith Lewis Herman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-lewis-herman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Further evidence for the pathogenic role...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-lewis-herman/further-evidence-for-the-pathogenic-role-of-dissociation-has-come/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-lewis-herman/further-evidence-for-the-pathogenic-role-of-dissociation-has-come/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```