Dissociative Disorders

Question 1

Dissociative Disorders vs. Somatoform

Answer 1

• similar to somatoform in some ways
• • Often not that concerned about memory loss
• • Often can be seen as a form of escape

Question 2

Types of Dissociative Disorders

Answer 2

• Depersonalization disorder
• Dissociative amnesia (Generalized vs. Selective)
• Dissociative Fugue
• Dissociative Trance Disorder
• Dissociative Identity Disorder (formerly Multiple Personality Disorder)

Question 3

Dissociative Disorders

Answer 3

• Involves sudden and temporary alteration in functions of consciousness -> alteration of self and reality
• Avoids stress and gratifies needs in manner allowing person to deny personal responsibility
• Escapes from core personality and personality processes
• Quite rare
• People who experience them tend to be very suggestible, egocentric, immature, and/or have experienced a traumatic event

Question 4

2 key characteristics of Dissociative Disorders

Answer 4

• Depersonalization: When the sense of your own reality is altered (your personality and sense of self may be fragmented)
• Derealization: When your sense of reality to the external world is altered -> feels unreal and unfamiliar

Question 5

Characteristics of Depersonalization

Answer 5

• Feeling that you’re an outside observer of your thoughts, feelings, body, etc. (like you’re floating in air above yourself)
• Feeling like a robot – not in control of speech or movements
• Sense that body is distorted in some way
• Emotional or physical numbness
• Sense that your memories lack emotion or that they’re not your own

Question 6

Characteristics of Derealization

Answer 6

• Feeling alienated from or unfamiliar with your surroundings (like you’re in a movie or dream)
• Feeling emotionally disconnected from others (separated by glass wall)
• Surroundings appear distorted, blurry, colourless, 2-dimensional/artificial, or heightened awareness and clarity of surroundings
• Distortions in perception of time (ex. Recent events feeling like distant past)
• Distortions of distance and size/shape of objects

Question 7

PDM: Dissociative Disorders

Answer 7

• Affective: loss of sense of one’s body, alien, sharp anxiety, panic, or strange indifference or calm
• Cognitive Patterns: intense preoccupation
• Somatic States: anxiety, depression, somatic numbness or anesthesia
• Relationship Patterns: shallow, needy, emotionally hungry, inconsistent and seemingly ambivalent

Question 8

Dissociative Amnesia

Answer 8

• Usually presents as a retrospectively reported gap or series of gaps in recall for aspects of the individual’s life history
• Duration of events forgotten can be minutes to years
• 4 subtypes: localized, generalized, selective, and continuous

Question 9

4 subtypes of Dissociative Amnesia

Answer 9

• Localized (most common): Fail to recall events that occurred during a circumscribed period of time (usually first few hours following a profoundly disturbing event)
• Generalized: Unable to remember anything, including their sense of who they are; may be a lifelong condition
• Selective: Person can recall some, but not all events during a circumscribed period of time
• Continuous: Person fails to recall events subsequent to a specific time up to and including present

Question 10

Dissociative Fugue

Answer 10

• Sudden unexpected travel away from home or place of work with inability to recall one’s past
• Confusion about personal identity or assumption of new identity
• Ex. Police officer

Question 11

Dissociative Identity Disorder

Answer 11

• Previously called Multiple Personality Disorder (not schizophrenia)
• Presence of two or more distinct identities or personality states
• Quite rare
• Some believe DID reflects a failure to integrate various aspects of identity, memory, and consciousness
• Sometimes the alternate personalities are aware of each other, sometimes they’re not
• Doesn’t improve on its own (but switches happen less frequently with age)
• People with DID usually severely abused during childhood