Dissociative disorders

Question 1

dissociative disorders

Answer 1

people with dissociative disorders experience a major disruption of their memory and identity
- part of the memory becomes dissociated or seperated from the rest

Question 2

Three kinds of dissociative disorders

Answer 2

1. dissociative amnesia
2. dissociative identity disorder
3. Depersonalization

Question 3

Dissociative amnesia

Answer 3

• forgetting specific parts of extreme event ; personality intact
• more extensive than normal forgetting
• usually triggered by an upsetting event
  Maybe be
  
  • localized- most common type (loss of all memory of events occurring within a limited period
  • Selective- loss of memory for some but not all
  • generalized-lose of memory beginning with an event may lose sense of identity; fail to recognize friends and fam
  • continuous- forgetting continues into the future; rare

Question 4

Dissociative fugue

Answer 4

• extreme version of DA
• forget personal identity and details of past
• may flee to a entirely diff location
• may be brief - hours or days
• may be severe- travel far from home, take new name and relationships, new line of work and new personality characteristics

Question 5

DID (multiple personality disorder)

Answer 5

• two or more distinct personalities (subpersonalities)
  
  • each with own set of memory, behav, thought, emo
• Transition is sudden and dramatic
• most first diagnosed in late adolescence or early childhood (typically before 5)
• 3X more likely in women

Question 6

DID generally has three diff kinds of relationships

Answer 6

1. mutually amnesic relationships
   
   • subpersonalities have no awareness of each other
2. mutually cognizant patterns
   
   • each subpersonality is aware of each other
3. One way amnesic relationships
   
   • most common; some personalities are aware but awareness is not mutual

Question 7

How do sub personalities differ

Answer 7

• identity features
  
  • age, sex,race, fam hist
• Abilities and preferences
  
  • able to drive, speak diff lang, play instrument
• Physiological responses
  
  • diff in autonomic nervous system, blood press, allergies

Question 8

How do theorist explain dissociative disorders?

Answer 8

• psychodynamic view
  
  • caused by repression, most basic ego defense mech
  • fight off anxiety by unconsc preventing painful memories, thoughts, and impulses
  • DA and DF are single episodes of massive repression
  • DID is result from lifetime of excessive repres, motivated traumatic childhood events
• behavior view
  
  • dissoc grows from normal memory processes and is a response learned through operant conditioning:
    
    • momentary forgetting of trauma leads to a drop in anxiety, which increases the likelihood of future forgetting
• state dependent learning
  
  • People learn something in a state of mind, are likely to remember it best when in the same state
  • study high+test high= high scores
  • hypnotic amnesia

Question 9

How to treat Diss Disorders

Answer 9

DA
- often recover on own
- rarely require treatment
DID
- usually req treatment to regain lost memories and develop integrated personality
- leading treatments are
- psychodynamic, hypnotic, and drug therapy

Question 10

How do therapist help individuals with DID

Answer 10

• Integrating subpersonalities
  
  • merge diff personalities into single integrated identity
  • many patients distrust
  • subpersonalities see integration as a form of death

Question 11

Depersonalization disorder

Answer 11

• categorized as a diss disorder but not characterized bt memory difficulty
• A change in ones experience of self in which ones mental functioning or body feels detached

Question 12

derealization disorder

Answer 12

• The sense that ones surroundings are unreal or detached
• feels separated from body and observing from outside
• persistent or reoccurring causing distress and interference make a disorder