DISSOCIATIVE DISORDERS

By Kelton White, Oliver Osborne,

Kenan Stafford, and Gabe Cowley.

DISSOCIATIVE IDENTITY

DISORDER

Symptoms and Facts

Different Kinds Of Symptoms

Depression Headaches Out of Body Experiences

A person with Identity Dissociative Disorder may act like or find themselves doing things that they normally wouldn’t do. Example a good charitable person wouldn’t randomly act greedy and yet some say they wouldn’t have choice in doing it .

Symptoms( cont.)

Alcohol Abuse Drug Abuse Panic Attacks Suicidal Tendencies Seeing Hallucinations

Mary Kendall

Mary Kendall was a social worker at the age of 35 who had be diagnosed with many symptoms of DID like gap memory loss. She stated that when she got home from work that her car’s gas tank was full. However during the next morning she claims that her gas tank was nearing empty. What was found out was that she was traveling 50 to 100 miles during that time. Mary’s alternate personality Marian then explained that it was her that took the car to sort out her problems. Soon later it was told that six other personalities emerged had had conflicts with one another.

TREATMENTS

Psychotherapy

Medicine

Self Help

Treatments Psychotherapy is a process focused on helping you heal and

learn more constructive ways to deal with the problems or issues within your life. It can also be a supportive process when going through a difficult period or under increased stress.

medications such as tranquilizers or antidepressants are prescribed for MPD patients, they are often diagnosed as having anxiety or depression rather than the multiple personality disorder. The treatment of MPD lasts an average of four years

MPD facts MPD is diagnosed nine times more often in

females than in males. A history of severe abuse is thought to be

associated with MPD. Signs and symptoms of MPD include

memory lapses, blackouts, being often accused of lying, finding strange items among one's possessions, having strangers recognize them as someone else, feeling unreal, and feeling like more than one person.

Common MPD Questions What is MPD? MPD is a survival tactic. It is the creative attempt of highly

traumatized children to protect themselves from the trauma and abuse (e.g.: "It isn't happening to me.")

Is MPD the same thing as schizophrenia? Most people think that schizophrenia means "split personality."

Actually, this is totally incorrect. "Split Personality" is MPD, not schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a chronic form of psychosis due to a biochemical/genetic disorder of the brain. SCHIZOPHRENICS DO NOT HAVE OTHER PERSONALITIES. Schizophrenia is not caused by trauma, and does not involve amnesia and flashbacks.

How common is MPD? Although the data is not all in, the best estimate of the prevalence of

MPD is that it approximates that of about 1% of the population. This estimate would translate into at least 2,000,000 cases in the U.S. alone.

DISSOCIATIVE AMNESIA

What is Dissociative Amnesia?

The inability for an individual to recollect memories or events from their past.

The events or memories forgotten are commonly traumatic or stressful ones.

In more severe cases, people suffering from the disorder may even forget important personal information about themselves such as where they live, what they do for a living, etc.

Brains way of dealing with the stress or trauma.

Symptoms

Common symptoms associated with this disorder are: the forgetting of past events, the inability to remember personal information, unexplained, persistent confusion, anxiety, and a depressed mood.

Facts about Dissociative Disorder More common in women then in men In a group of women, approximately 3-6 per 1000

had this disorder. The amount per 1000 men was lower.

Most cases begin before adulthood. It is rare for cases to begin after adulthood.

Studies are being conducted to find out whether genetics may make you more susceptible to the disorder but there is insufficient evidence to prove so.

Unclear what percentage of the population suffers.

DISSOCIATIVE FUGUE

Dissociative Fugue

Dissociative Fugue like Dissociative Amnesia is caused by very traumatic events or stress. Also Alcohol and drugs and induce a Dissociative Fugue like state.

Diagnosis can be difficult since they make a new identity people may not be able to tell anything is wrong.

Symptoms Losing your identity Suddenly leaving home Identity confusion creating a new identity Distress ability to function

It is not a Fugue state if you do not lose your identity and assume a new one and leave home.

Treatment Treatment Like in the Dissociative Amnesia is just to deal

with the emotional problems. Or to prevent further episodes.

Many recovery their memory by themselves at some point, but the way psychologists help with the underlying problems are.

Psychotherapy Creative therapies (art therapy, music therapy) Family therapy Medication Cognitive therapy Clinical hypnosis

DEPERSONALIZATION DISORDER

Depersonalization disorder Everyone experiences this to a certain extent. If

you have ever had a out-of-body experience, day dreamed, or felt like you were living a dream. For people with this disorder it is a constant feeling.

Like the other Dissociative disorders it is believed to be caused by some trauma or stress.

1%-2% of the general populace are believed to have this disorder

Symptoms The symptoms are subjective in nature so it is

difficult to pin down but the basic themes are.

Depersonalization (Feeling disconnected from your own body)

Feeling disconnected from your mind Derealization (Sense of things being unreal) Some have hallucinations Feeling like you are living outside the present

Treatment

The treatments are to deal with the emotional problems of everything feeling unreal like depression or anxiety.

Psychotherapy Creative therapies (art therapy, music

therapy) Medication (for depression or anxiety) Cognitive therapy

Conclusion Dissociative Disorders seem to all stem from some kind of

extreme stress or trauma.

Dissociative Disorders deal with some kind of challenge to ones identity

Diagnosis is difficult because amnesia is associated with all of them, but Depersonalization Disorder. Coupled with the loss of identity the person often does not realize anything is wrong.

There is no medical “cure all” medicine is utilized to just treat symptoms like depression or anxiety stemming from the Dissociative Disorder.