DISSOCIATIVE DISORDERS

Dissociative Disorder

A condition in which a normal cognitive processes are severely disjointed and fragmented. Creating significant disruptions in memory, awareness, or personality that in length from a matter of minutes to years, also known as splitting.

Normal people do this when (for an example) your house gets broken into and your blood runs cold and you freeze in that spot, until you realize that the threat is gone, then you go back to normal.

Dissociative Identity Disorder

According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is the presences of two or more distenked personalities at different times that takes control of the individuals behavior.

Can also have depersonalization and/or derealization. (a feeling threat they or the surroundings are not real somehow) DID was once known as Multiple Person Disorder. Was thought to be rare to have until starting in the 1980’s

Now is to be as common as schizophrenia and more common than anorexia nervosa.

There is evidence of it being around the Pal eolithic Era (750,000 years ago)

Factors

No one knows yet what causes DID there are two main theories:

1) Iatrogenesis- iatrongenesis literately means physician origin. This means that it, DID, is made up by the therapist. It works like the Theory of Hypnosis. Suggesting the concept of DID and the patent goes on with it.

2) Sever childhood trauma, though it is not enough to actually cause DID, you need the following; The Capacity/ability to dissociate Experience sever abuse that over whelms the child Secondary structuring Lack of soothing or restorative experiences

Symptoms/ Severity

Though childhood abuse is seeming to be the head cause of the disorder the symptoms are usually seen in adults.

Some symptoms are Lost memories Time lapse Hearing other voices in your head

There really is not a more sever case in the way you or I think. It goes as how many “people” you have. Some people who have DID have only 2 alters where there have been recorded up to 50 alters in a single host body.

Health

Physically these people are healthily however many suffer from depression and have suicidal thoughts. Many of them also do not work in fear of having black out moments and not knowing what they are doing.

They may also turn to drug and or alchol to help them deal with what is happening

Triggers •an innate ability to dissociate easily •repeated episodes of severe physical or sexual abuse in childhood •lack of a supportive or comforting person to counteract abusive relative(s) •influence of other relatives with dissociative symptoms or disorders The primary cause of DID is severe and prolonged trauma experienced during childhood. This trauma is associated with emotional, physical or sexual abuse, or some combination of two or more. One theory is that young children, faced with a routine of torture, abuse, sexual abuse or neglect , dissociate themselves from their trauma by creating separate identities. A separate personality may suffer while the primary identity "escapes" the unbearable experience. Dissociation, which is easy for a child to achieve, becomes an easy defense. This strategy displaces the suffering onto another identity usually a child . Over time, the child, who on average is around six years old at the time when the first identity is created and then it branches. It usually starts with the child, then a protector of the child and can fracture even more from there depending on the number of episodes of abuse and the severity.

Treatments

Psychotherapy: Through psychotherapy a patient can start to mend relationships in their lives and find positive support. Which also lessens the anxiety and can make episodes fewer and less sever.

Hypnosis: Though said to be the hardest part of treatment for patients. Hypnosis is the most effective because it brings the person back to the moment of trauma and as an adult they can start to understand why and what happened. Hypnosis can also bring the identities to know each other with is a big part of healing.

Medications: Medications are used to treat other mind disorders associated with DID. They lessen the symptoms of impulse control and anger and depression.

Self help: Through group therapy and knowing they are not the only person that suffers from this disease they can begin to feel the release from anxiety. Which can assist in other aspects of treatment such as psychotherapy.

Famous cases

Sybil born Shirley Arndell Mason. Was the most famous case of DID. She had 9 distinctive personalities. She was a teacher and an amateur artist. Her art is on display in Lexington Kentucky.

The reason for Shirley's diagnosis is because her therapists believed her mother a schizophrenic was sexually abusing her. Sybil was the most famous she has a book written about he and 2 movies the most recent came out in 2007. The movie stars Sally Field. Its called the 3 faces of eve.

Billy Milligan was a college student with 24 separate personalities. Not much is known about what caused his DID. Speculation says it was most likely abuse from his father in his early childhood .

He raped several women. Was charged for the rapes but was acquitted due to mental illness. One of the identities claiming to have raped the women was female. He was fluent in Arabic yet he had never gone to the country or studied the language. he experienced a phenomenon known as xenoglossy: speaking languages not taught or experienced. This is common among people with DID.

Other Dissociative Disorders

Major types of dissociative disorders defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual:

Dissociative Amnesia: patient loses autobiographical memory for certain past experiences

Dissociative Fugue: patient loses entire autobiographical memory and often relocates and assumes a new identity

Depersonalization Disorder: patient feels detached from their own body and experiences

Dissociative Disorders Not Otherwise Specified: patient has dissociative symptoms, but does not qualify for any other diagnosis

Causes

Dissociative Disorders are not caused by brain injury or obvious disease and are thought to be psychogenic in nature

Dissociative Amnesia usually occurs soon after a traumatic event but can also be caused by ongoing internal conflict or an intolerable situation

Neurological causes are being researched, but nothing definitive has been found

Diagnosis

Dissociative disorders are rare and difficult to diagnose

Some dissociative disorders may be over diagnosed due to recent media coverage

Many clinicians have limited experience with dissociative disorders

Patients are often afraid to talk about their symptoms because they are afraid of being misunderstood

Patients recovered memories could be inaccurate and could be affected by their therapists’ suggestions—including suggestions made while the patients are hypnotized

Triggers, Treatments and Famous cases of

Dissociative Fugue- The sudden loss of memory for one's personal history, accompanied by an abrupt departure from home and the assumption of a new identity.

& Dissociative Amnesia- The sudden loss of memory for significant personal

information

TriggersAccording to the following websites: http://my.clevelandclinic.org/disorders/dissociative_disorders/hic_dissociative_fugue.aspx

http://my.clevelandclinic.org/disorders/dissociative_disorders/hic_dissociative_amnesia.aspx

and http://www.minddisorders.com/Del-Fi/Dissociative-fugue.htmlDissociative Fugue and Dissociative Amnesia

are both caused by severe stress as the result of:

● War● Abuse● Accidents● Disasters● Extreme violence

TreatmentsAccording to the following websites:http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/294508-overview#aw2aab6b3,http://my.clevelandclinic.org/disorders/dissociative_disorders/hic_dissociative_fugue.aspxandhttp://my.clevelandclinic.org/disorders/dissociative_disorders/hic_dissociative_amnesia.aspx

Dissociative Amnesia and Dissociative Fugue are treated the same ways, very slowly, through

● Psychotherapy- Psychological techniques that help the person gain insight into problems and communicate conflict.

● Cognitive therapy- changes dysfunctional thinking patterns and the feelings involved.

● Medication- Can't cure dissociative disorders, but can help ease symptoms.

● Family therapy- Teaches patient's family about the disorder(s).

● Art and music therapy- Helps patient express feelings creatively.

● Clinical hypnosis- Uses intense relaxed and concentrated focus to alter the patient's state of awareness.

Famous CasesAccording to the following websites:http://whatispsychology.net/dissociative-fugue-case-studies/andhttp://www.clinicalgeriatrics.com/node/3609

Dissociative Fugue● In 1926, famous author

Agatha Christie vanished. She was found in a hotel in England over a week later. She had no idea what happened for her to arrive at the hotel.

● The case of David Fitzgerald, of London, was televised as he tried to recover his memory lost from dissociative fugue.

Dissociative Amnesia