The Dissociative Disorders category of the DSM-IV-TR, is characterized by a disruption in the functions of perception, identity, consciousness, or memory. The disorders in the Dissociative Disorders category include Dissociative Amnesia, Dissociative Fugue, Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), Depersonalization Disorder and Dissociative Disorder Not Otherwise Specified.
All of the disorders in the Dissociative Disorders category need to be distinguished from conditions which are due to a General Medical Condition or the use of a Substance. Moreover, Dissociative Amnesia is within the diagnostic criteria for Dissociative Fugue, Dissociative Identity Disorder, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Acute Stress Disorder and Somatization Disorder; hence, an additional diagnosis of Dissociate Amnesia is not given. Dissociative Amnesia must be differentiated from Age-Related Cognitive Decline and nonpathological forms of amnesia.
Dissociative Fugue should be distinguished from the wandering which can happen when a person experiences a complex partial seizure. Moreover, if a person is diagnosed with DID, then he will not get an additional diagnosis of Dissociative Fugue. However, if a person is experiencing depersonalization and dissociative fugue, then he will only be diagnosed with Dissociative Fugue and Depersonalization Disorder should not be diagnosed. Dissociative Fugue should be distinguished from a Manic Episode by taking into account any travel associated with grandiosity. Dissociative Fugue is distinguished from Schizophrenia because people with Dissociative Fugue generally do not have the psychopathology connected to schizophrenia. Finally, malinger fugue states may occur in people who are attempting to flee a situation to gain p...
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...common theme among the disorders that intrigue me the most (Borderline Personality Disorder, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and DID): stress or side effects from childhood abuse.
In conclusion, there are several disorders in the Dissociative Disorders category and they are characterized by a disruption in previously integrated cognitive functioning. DID is the overarching diagnosis which encompasses several of the other diagnoses’ diagnostic criteria. Hence, if a person is diagnosed with DID, then he will not receive a comorbid diagnosis of another Dissociative Disorder.
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Dissociation can occur any time in our life and there is two kinds of dissociation, childhood and adulthood. Child dissociation is different from adult dissociation. Child dissociation occurs when the child is actually experiencing some sort of trauma, like abuse. Adult dissociation happens in situations like stress or family related issues. Another difference is that child dissociation does not last very long (usually a hour), but adult dissociation lasts for a longer period of time. Dissociation occurs when something so painful is happening that the mind leaves the body to go elsewhere. In Martha Stout’s essay “When I Woke up On Tuesday, It Was Friday,” she defines dissociation as the mind leaving the body and transporting our awareness to a place so far away, it feels like the person is watching from outside their body. In her essay, she tells her audience about the dangers of dissociation, such as blackout, unable to relate to others, a sense of not knowing who one is, and the sense of lost time. She also includes some of her patient’s stories and experiences with dissociation, how they struggle for sanity and how she helps them see a new meaning of life. She tells her audience that often when patients or people dissociate they have lack of self-control and self-awareness. Dissociation can happen to anybody in a dire situation, for instance a child getting abused or some other traumatic event. Martha Stout has her audience/reader rethink about dissociation particularly the harmful side of it. She has help me see that although dissociation is helpful, it could lead to suicide thought, accidents, loss of identity and sanity.
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Cognitive therapy, which involves changing dysfunctional thought patterns. Family therapy, which helps to educate the family about the disorder, recognize its presence as well as work through issues that have developed in the family because of dissociative identity disorder. And also Hypnotherapy which can be used in conjunction with psychotherapy and can help clients access repressed memories, control problematic behaviors, such as self-mutilation and eating disorders, and help fuse thier other personalities during the process. Some indications that therapy might be needed include sysmptoms like: memory loss, a sense of being detached from themselves and their emotions, distorted Perception, a blurred sense of identity, significant stress or problems in life, inability to cope well with emotional or professional stress, and mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors. DID requires a medical diagnosis, and treatment should always be conducted by professionals that specialize in dissociative identity disorder as it is a rare and challenging condition to treat. There are also contraindications onvolving the treatment of DID. Caution needs to be taken while treating people with DID with medications because any effects they may experience, good or bad, may
Tackett, J. L., Lahey, B. B., van Hulle, C., Waldman, I., Krueger, R. F., & Rathouz, P. J. (2013).
There are four more different types of dissociative disorders: the first one is Dissociative Amnesia which is when someone blocks out certain information, normally being from a stressful or traumatic event. Second on the list is Dissociative Fugue; fugue is the Latin word for “flight” and those with dissociative fugue temporarily lose their sense of personal identity and can impulsively wander or travel from where they are currently located. Depersonalization disorder is the next one on the list. When depersonalization disorder happens, the person persistently or repeatedly has a sense that things around them are not real; they get the feeling that they are observing themselves from outside of their bodies. Next is dissociative disorder, which happens normally when you get lost in a good book or a movie. But in this case someone with dissociative disorder can escape reality in many different ways that are invol...
Dissociative identity disorder, a condition that has plagued and altered the minds of those who were diagnosed for many years, represents the condition in which an individual displays multiple personalities that overpower his or her behavior around others and even alone. Such personalities or identities can have staggering differences between them even being characterized by a disparate gender, race, or age. One of the sides of them can even be animal-like and display feral qualities. Also, the disorder severs the connection between the victim’s sense of identity, emotions, actions, and even memories from their own consciousness. The cause for this is known to be a very traumatic experience that the person had gone through previously and fails to cope with it, thus they dissociate themselves from the memory in order to keep their mental state in one piece. All these results from the disorder do not begin to tell of the rest of the horrors that gnaw away at the affected human.
Dissociative disorders can affect someone’s memory and make someone forget some of the important things in his or her life suck as their own identity. “When a dissociative identity disorder comes in to a person life it normally can make that person seem very distant and never aware of the other people in their lives.” (Diseases; 1) Which means that this person has absolutely no socials life. This person, when having a traumatic childhood, he or she can establish two or more different sets of personality. As an adult, this person may see an object that triggers the other personalities to come out; meanwhile, attempt to take control over the body.1a. SV; conj. adv, SV.) This other personality can be a different gender and he or she will most likely go by a different name. When this personality is in play the person’s original personality will have no memory of what the other being inside of him or her may have done.
Many people may wonder what specifically defines Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). This disorder is a mental illness that involves the sufferer experiencing two or more clear identities or personalities, also called alters, each of which has their own way of seeing and connecting themselves to the world (1). This disorder was formally known as Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD), and is frequently called split personality disorder (1). The actions of victims with DID are determined by the personality that is dominant at a specific time (7). “In the category of Dissociative Disorder there are four main disorders: depersonalization, derelization, dissociative fugue and dissociative identity disorder (8). Furthermore, “DID is a severe form of dissociation, a mental process, which produces a lack of connection in a person's thoughts, memories, feelings, actions, or sense of identity” (www.webmd.com). Having a thorough understanding of the meaning of DID is exceedingly significant for the doctors that diagnose and treat patients.
Living a normal life seems to be everyone’s ultimate lifestyle, but there are some people that cannot control what happens in their lives because it can be a social, behavioral, or environmental effect that can troublesome their daily tasks of life. There are so many disorders that can cause issues for an individual’s well-being, and one disorder is the dissociative identity disorder (DID). According to Zimbarodo (2009), “Dissociative identity disorder is a complicated, long-lasting posttraumatic disorder, which was previously called multiple personality disorder” (p. 550). In some cultures, DID is explain by the presence of demon or spirit possessions, but in the Western society, this disorder has been vindicated to seek serious attention and is now included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition (Kluft, 2005, p. 635).
What is Dissociative Identity Disorder? A proper explanation of DID necessitates a dissection of the name itself. Dissociation is “a mental process, which produces a lack of connection in a person's thoughts, memories, feelings, actions, or sense of identity.”1 In other words, there is a disruption in the way in which these usually integrated functions communicate. Daydreaming, highway hypnosis, or “getting lost” in a book or movie are all examples of very mild dissociation.
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According to Barlow, Durand & Stewart (2012), Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is one of several dissociative disorders in which a person experiences involve detachment or depersonalization. They go on to explain that people with DID ha...
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Barker, V., Giles, H., Hajek, C., Ota, H., Noels, K., Lim, T-S., & Somera, L. (2008).