Download Dissociative Disorders

Dissociative Disorders
• Part of an individual’s personality is
separated or dissociated, from the rest, and
for some reason the person cannot
reassemble the pieces.
Minor examples of Dissociation
• You become so absorbed in a book or movie that
you lose all track of time.
• You daydream your way through class, snapping
to attention only when your name is called for the
third time.
• You are so preoccupied w/ your thoughts while
driving that when you get to your destination, you
remember next to nothing about the trip.
Dissociative Disorders
• The Dissociative experiences are more
extreme and frequent and severely disrupt
everyday functioning.
• Dissociation is a form of avoidance—self
protection.
• Dissociation is a common in PTSD (anxiety
disorder)
1. Dissociative Amnesia
• Partial or total inability to recall important
information that is not due to a medical
condition.
• Amnesia develops for personal events and
information.
• People have gaps in their memory, which
may span a few minutes to years.
• After tests are done to rule out other
possible causes, psychological testing helps
identify the disorder.
Dissociative Amnesia
Cause:
• Stress, trauma, family and/or marital
problems, combat, physical abuse, etc.
Dissociative Identity Disorder
(DID)
• Involves extensive memory disruptions for
personal information along with the
presence of two or more distinct
identities/personalities (alters), within a
single person.
Diagnostic Criteria
• A. At least 2 or more personality states
recurrently take control of the person’s
behavior.
• B. Not due to physiological effects of a
substance.
• C. Inability to recall personal info. that is
too extensive to be explained by ordinary
forgetfulness.
Alters: 2 to 100; 10 to 15
• Short for “alternate personality”. Alters are
dissociated parts of the self.
• Alters are parts of the individual’s overall
personality.
Alters
• Co-consciousness: Awareness by one alter
of the experience of other alters within the
internal system of an individual with DID.
Important terms
• 1. Fusion: Two alters coming together to
form a single state.
• 2. Switching: Changing from one
personality state to another. Several
(possible) indicators: changes in physical
appearance, vocal patterns, mood.
Common: severe headaches.
Physiological Data
• (Henninger) “Physiological differences are
difficult and in many cases impossible to
fake”.
• Differences in visual functioning
• Diff. responses to medication
• Diff. responses to allergies
• Diff. handiness
• Diff. Brain-wave patterns.
Cause of DID
• Extreme physical or sexual abuse in childhood
• Over time alters are created to deal w/ the
memories and emotions associated w/ intolerably
painful experiences.
Current Research
• DID is both a neurobiological response to
threat and a psychological defense.
Treatment for DID
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Cure: maybe?
Psychotherapy
Medications
Hypnotherapy
Adjunctive therapies
Treatment: long-term, intensive, and painful.
Therapists of all professional backgrounds.
The End
• Psychology
2. Dissociative Fugue
• involves one or more episodes of sudden,
unexpected, but purposeful travel from home
during which people cannot remember some or all
of their past life, including who they are (their
identity). These episodes are called fugues.
• Cause: traumatic events, Extreme stress, etc.
• It is much more common among people who have
been in wars, accidents, or natural disasters.
• Affects men
Dissociative Fugue
• Dissociative fugue affects about 2 of 1,000
people in the United States.
• A fugue may last from hours to weeks,
months, or occasionally even longer.
Fugue
• What happens when they “awaken” from
the fugue state?