Body Mind Intentional Split

I think a really great example of the "body/mind" divide lies within the concepts of "repressed memories." I have had a very minimal incident with a "repressed memory" but a member of my immediate family has, apparently, several incidents which she has only recently "remembered."

My experience, which I've mentioned before in a blog post, is what has been referred to as a "rage blackout." I have no recollection of screaming at a peer in my dorm cafeteria though it's something that happened, based on accounts from people that were with me at the time. I think this is a great example of the body/mind split because my mind actively disengaged from my body and senses... almost "state of nature" (shout out to Tommy Hobbes!) like. I didn't murder anyone but I think my "instincts" took over, if only for a very brief moment, and it's reminiscent of the Hobbes idea that everyone is essentially looking out for Numero Uno all the time.
What's especially interesting to me though, is the fact that I do not at all remember this incident except for a feeling of irritation towards this girl for a couple seconds. I'm intrigued by the Cartesian idea that my mind and body are two totally separate entities that chose to disengage from each other for a moment in order to protect something about my being (dignity? feeling of control?).

In the other case that I mentioned, a woman close to me was raped and she had eradicated the memory from her mind completely until recently. I don't know a lot about the situation or the memory repression, but it leads to questions about traumatic incidences and how people are able to deal with them. The Cartesian split can, in some ways, be damaging to people (i.e. I have to sit in a classroom all day because the "mind" is not only prized over the body but oftentimes regarded as the only part of a human being that matters), but it can also help people overcome tragedies in their lives- at least for awhile... until they have the mental or emotional stability or simply the time to ponder over scary things. But THAT begs the question about how dealing with traumatic stuff undoubtedly makes you a stronger person that has learned how to cope with "life events." In the case of the rape I don't know if the woman I know would be a "stronger" person than she is now (though it's hard to believe she could be stronger!) if she had always lived with knowing what happened to her or if she woudln't have been able to handle it and would've dropped out of school, ignored friends, or worse.