Lecture 7: Dissociative Disorders: Chapter 8 (tot 246) Flashcards
What is the main characteristic of a dissociative disorder?
A person’s consciousness is disturbed
What is the main characteristic of a somatic symptom disorder?
Person complains about physical symptoms that suggest a physical defect or dysfunction.
Sometimes there is no physiological basis found and for others the psychological response is excessive
What are 3 types of dissociative disorders?
- Dissociative amnesia
- Depersonalization/derealization disorder (DDD)
- Dissociative identity disorder (DID)
What is dissociation?
An aspect of emotion, memory or experience is inaccessible consciously
What is dissociation in depersonalization/derealization disorder?
Dissociation is characterized by detachment where the person feels removed from the sense of self and surroundings
What kind of dissociation is there in people with dissociative amnesia and dissociative identity disorder?
Person can’t access important aspects of memory
Give an example of a mild dissociation everyone can experience
Losing track of time while studying
What is pathological dissociation?
An avoidance response that protects a person from consciously experiencing stressful events
What can trigger dissociation?
Naturalistic and experimentally induced sleep disruptions
What are 4 characteristics of depersonalization/derealization disorder?
- Depersonalization: experience of detachment from one’s own mental processes/body
- Derealization: experiences of unreal surroundings
- Persistent or recurrent symptoms
- Symptoms not explained by psychosis or other psychological or medical conditions
When is the onset of DDD and how are the symptoms triggered?
Begins in adolescence and it’s usually triggered by stress
During a lifetime, about …% of people with DDD will experience anxiety disorder or depression
90%
What are 2 defining symptoms of dissociative amnesia?
- Inability to remember important autobiographical information, usually of a traumatic or stressful nature, that is too extensive to be ordinary forgetfulness
- Specify fugue subtype if the amnesia is associated with bewildered or apparently purposeful wandering
How long does dissociative amnesia last and what is the chance of recurrence?
Can last several hours to several years. It disappears as suddenly as it began
Complete recovery of memory and a very small chance of recurrence
What is the fugue subtype of dissociative amnesia?
More extensive memory loss. The person typically disappears from home and work and can wander of in a bewildered manner.
What does psychodynamic theory say suggest about dissociative amnesia? What is some evidence on this view?
Traumatic events are repressed from consciousness
Stress tends to enhance rather than impair encoding memories of negative event, so not repression