notes in class cont. Flashcards
what is dissociation a symptom of
every disorder we have talked about, characterized as a symptom with high frequency and depth
what are some characteristics of dissociation
memory loss or lack of attention on moment somatic/physical symptoms (feel like you are out of body, body feels different weight), psychological symptoms
what do dissociative disorders tend to be from
traumatic event
what are the kinds of dissociative disorders
dissociative amnesia and dissociative identity disorder
what is dissociative amnesia usually characterized by
dissociative fugue, comes from a mental trauma and not a physical one
how has dissociative identity disorder changed over the years
used to be known as multiple personality disorder (changed because it is not personality, it is identity)
-people get this confused with schizophrenia (which means split mind, the functions of the mind are split), it may seem like these two are the same but they are not even if there is some layover
what are the characteristics of dissociative amnesia
cannot recall information that was upsetting (trauma), but causes a broader scope of memory loss not just the memory loss of the traumatic event which leads to psychological crisis and impairment
- cannot remember important life information (usually anything tied to traumatic event)
- do tend to get memories back eventually, kind of like a defense mechanism
why is dissociative amnesia not like PTSD
you cannot find perspective like you can in pTSD because you don’t even know what the trauma was/ memory loss was about
what is dissociative fugue
state where you lose your entire identity, whole memory system is thrown out and you flee, leave current location and go somewhere else (have no memory of this)
-when someone is in fugue state they have to be reminded who they are consistently because doing this initially causes dissociation
these states are more commonly shorter, a few hours and dont last as long
what is dissociative identity disorder and what is it usually caused by
multiple identities inside one person, average is 8-11 but can be as many as 100
caused by unexplainable gaps in memory, trauma and brutal abuse- the gaps in the memory are the different identities
there is no adult onset, if you have it you have had it because it happens as a child
what is the host in dissociative identity disorder
the original identity, tends to be meek, quiet, traumatized and confused
how is dissociative identity disorder a misunderstood disorder
it is Iatrogenic which means it is caused by suggestion by clinican
who is aware of when the identities switch
the host is not aware of when the identities switch but the different identities are
what are the different kinds of amnesia within dissociative identity disorder
1) mutual awareness: identities aware of each other
2) one way amnesia: some identities aware of others but this does not go both ways
3) mutual amnesia: no identities know about each other
what is the quiet observer identity in dissociative identity disorder
the identity that does not really do anything, just pays attention to other identities (this is how clients and therapists get insight)
how are there physiological responses to different identities
different heart rates, different languages, skill sets, different tastes in food, etc
explain the split brain diagram in those with dissociative identity disorder
identity of kid becomes split by trauma and this eventually causes more and more splits (show circle diagrams on paper)
- segmented or divided person, not integrated like different personalities are integrated in people without this disorder
- disintegration
who is more likely to get dissociative identity disorder
women, three times more likely
-reflection of society not women in general
what is the treatment/ cure for dissociative identity disorder
when therapist recognized DID they have to get to know identities (long treatment) using video and audio recordings to show host so they believe in the identities
- this starts to help them recognize what triggers the identities and work on different identities
- the host has to acknowledge they have these identities
when recognized will all identities want to integrate
no, some are happy to integrate but others are not and have the principle of life (want to live on)
-identities think they are real and might interfere with therapy
what is the end treatment goal for dissociative identity disorder
reintegration
how does the therapist help with reintegration
teach and help client gain control over switching
- therapist gets to know each identity and why they are there and what purpose they serve (these identities might know the host is being abused while the host themselves represses it)
- eventually lower the triggers that cause different identities
how do we know that dissociative identity disorder is not just a psychotic episode with person having memory loss?
even if it was, the treatment is still the same
- switching is similar to psychotic episodes (so it doesnt really matter what it is, mental illness is hard to quantify in general)
- people still look at DID weird, so there is belief that the name might change in the future
why is it hard to catch dissociative identity disorder at a young age
because kids are already so volatile and out of control
can people ever become fully reintegrated
100% is rare, especially with more identities (usually a residual effect going on)
what is false memory syndrome and two examples
the tendency for people to implant false memories into their past
ex. people can say “are you sure this didn’t happen when you were a kid?” and people play something in your head and it eventually is implanted as a false memory
ex. photoshopped pictures can also work to implant false memories
why are people prone to false memory syndrome
we cannot really prove whether something did or did not happen
people, especially kids, are horrible eyewitnesses (memories are flawed, we are prone to false memories)
-traumatized children are prone to memory inaccuracies
when does dissociative amnesia occur again
after traumatic event, resolves itself because it is psychological not organice
what are the 4 kinds of dissociative amnesia
1) localized
2) selective
3) generalized
4) continuous
what is localized dissociative amnesia
most common type
- memory loss is localized to specific thing that caused trauma
- memory comes back after a little
(diagram)
what is selective dissociative amnesia
- remember parts of trauma
- defense mechanism is not working so well
(diagram)
what is generalized dissociative amnesia
overcompensates, forget more than just the trauma
ex. forget past year
- could come back eventually, defense mechanism in moment
(diagram)
what is continuous dissociative amnesia
most severe
- memory loss goes both ways
- can remember for a second and then forget again
what does it mean that dissociative amnesia is nonorganic
have to rule out actual head trauma to know it is just psychological trauma
what is depersonalization/derealization disorder
- self/reality seems strange and alien
- happening sometimes is normal but not constant like the disorder
- high co-occurrence with eating disorders
