You're asking how OCD-style rumination can be fitted into Liotti’s attachment-based model of dissociation. It turns out this really aligns—and contemporary research confirms the bridges.
🔄 OCD Rumination & Dissociation: Theoretical Links
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Inward Absorption → Dissociative Detachment
Studies show that in OCD, rumination and obsessive thought involve intense inward-focused attention, which can lead to dissociative experiences like absorption or detachment when the “thought loop” ends Wikipedia+14Frontiers+14digitalcommons.spu.edu+14Wikipedia+3PMC+3Frontiers+3. -
Common Mechanisms in OCD, Rumination & Dissociation
Rumination, dissociative symptoms, anxiety, and depression are frequently interrelated, especially in individuals with histories of trauma or insecure attachment Wikipedia+1Scribd+1.
🧠 How This Maps onto Liotti’s Model
Liotti describes dissociation arising when interpersonal defenses break down under overwhelming activation of the attachment system:
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Disorganized early attachment fosters fragmented internal working models.
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Later, when attachment wounds are triggered in adulthood, these internal defenses collapse—producing dissociative symptoms CiteSeerX+3ResearchGate+3PubMed+3.
OCD rumination fits this pattern:
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Attachment insecurity leads to emotional dysregulation and compensatory strategies like rumination to soothe or manage distress.
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These repetitive, self-focused loops can both reflect and precipitate dissociative detachment.
🧩 Integrating Rumination with Attachment‑Dissociation Model
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Rumination as an emotion-regulation defense
Individuals with insecure attachment may ruminate when attachment vulnerabilities are triggered, using rigid internal loops to control or understand distress nel.edu+15news.isst-d.org+15ScienceDirect+15Wikipedia. -
Escape via dissociation
If rumination becomes compulsive or overwhelming, the switch into dissociative absorption or depersonalization may act like a release valve—for example, by disengaging from embodied affect when the mental loop becomes intolerably immersive . -
Attachment insecurity exacerbates both
Fear of self-compassion (common in anxiously attached individuals) and fear of receiving compassion (common in avoidant types) mediate OCD severity by fueling shame and self-criticism, which further energize both rumination and dissociative coping uwspace.uwaterloo.ca.
📊 Summary Table
| Component | How It Relates |
|---|---|
| Attachment insecurity (anxious/avoidant) | Increases vulnerability to shame, self-criticism, and fear of compassion—triggering rumination. |
| Rumination/obsessive loops | Serve as cognitive attempts to regulate attachment-based distress. |
| Dissociation | Emerges when the mental loop overwhelms, leading to detachment or absorption—disrupting conscious integration as per Liotti. |
| OCD symptoms | Maintained by the compounding effect: insecure attachment → emotional dysregulation → rumination → dissociation → chronic obsessive cycles. |
✅ Final Thought
Your intuition is sound: OCD-style rumination sits comfortably within Liotti’s broadened attachment‑dissociation framework. Thought loops can begin as emotion-regulation attempts tied to attachment insecurity and eventually collapse into dissociative states when overwhelmed.
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