Dissociation can be detrimental in trauma cases but adaptive if it allows for narrative distancing and rational assessment.

“Similarly, you'll find a beautiful literature, research and clinical literature, that will say that dissociation is terrible in the case of trauma. In fact, it can put people in positions of repeating a behavior over and over that's damaging to them, but because they can disengage or they're dissociated from it that they continue the behavior, or dissociation can be very adaptive and beneficial if it allows people, for instance, to create some narrative distancing so they're not getting pulled into every argument, or if someone screams at them, they don't necessarily think that it's their fault.”