About absence, numbness and the intelligent defense There is pain that makes noise. And then there is pain that becomes completely silent. Dissociation is not chaos. It is absence. Not because there is nothing to notice – but because there was once too much . When the body can't escape – and can't fight Dissociation often occurs where there was no way out. Where fighting was impossible. Where escape was not an option. Then the body did the only thing it could: It pulled away