Dissociative Experiences: A Case Study

Introduction:The act of disassociating is undoubtedly common in our society today; especially in people who have endured a strikingly traumatic experience. Dissociation can most definitely change a person's outlook on life,sometimes leading to Dissociative Identity Disorder. Even though Dissociative Identity Disorder has a place in The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the legitimacy of the psychiatric disorder is still very much a controversial issue . In these two articles, “Multiple Personality -- Is It Mental Disorder, Myth, or Metaphor?” published in the Huffington Post website by Frances(2014) and Dimensions of “Multiple Personality Disorder” by Murray(1994) published by the Proquest Central, they show two different

Dissociative disorder like any other mental disorder is not a perspector of person. It may affect an individual of any age, socioeconmomic, racial, and ethic backgrounds. Dissociative disorder affects approximately two percent of the population each year and approximately half of the population experience at least one episode of dissociation in their lifetime, yet do not meet the criteria for a diagnosis (National Alliance on Mental Illness, 2017). Dissociative disorders and their symptoms many times may be linked to traumatic experience. Dissociative disorders are generally characterized by a “disruption of and/or discontinuity in the normal integration of consciousness, memory, identity, emotion, perception, body representation,

People are exposed to struggles in life on a daily basis, although some individuals’ experiences are more traumatic than others’. The way people react to their challenges differs with trauma as well. In Daniel Gilbert’s Immune to Reality, Gilbert describes the psychological immune system, which is a defense mechanism of the mind. The psychological immune system is recognized as a way for the brain to find ways to deal with the harsh realities of life. Contrastingly, Martha Stout in When I Woke Up Tuesday Morning, It Was Friday focuses on dissociation, which is common in people who have experienced trauma. It is similar to Gilbert’s psychological immune system, as they are both mental systems of defense, but instead of helping an individual cope with hard times, dissociation causes complete separation of the mind from the body as an escape from reality. Dissociation from non-traumatic events is harmful to people’s psychological well-being because it makes

A dissociative disorder is the breakdown of one's perception of his/her surroundings, memory, identity, or consciousness.

Dissociation can be incredibly damaging when it occurs due to non- traumatic events. Most people have experienced dissociation to a certain extent,

Mental disorders are common in many people, all over the world, and affect all ages. It is characterized as “psychological symptoms or behavioral patterns that reflect an underlying psychobiological dysfunction, are associated with distress or disability, and are not merely an expectable response to common stressors or losses.” (Sue et al., 2014). Mental illness becomes prevalent because of many factors and interactions within the individual. Looking into one specific group of disorders, dissociative disorders, a person has a separation of their consciousness, memory, or identity. One particular dissociative disorder, dissociation identity disorder, will be discussed in this paper. There will be a general overview of dissociation identity disorder,

Histories of trauma, child abuse, and victimization are common, Some individuals with dissociative amnesia report dissociative flashbacks (i.e., behavioral reexperiencing of traumatic events). Many have a history of self-mutilation, suicide attempts, and other high-risk behaviors. Depressive and functional neurological symptoms are common, as are depersonalization, auto-hypnotic symptoms, and high hypnotizability. Sexual dysfunctions are common. Mild traumatic brain injury may precede dissociative amnesia” (p.

Dissociative identity disorder (previously known as multiple personality disorder) is thought to be a complex mental condition that is likely brought on by numerous variables, including serious injury amid early adolescence generally compelling, repetitive physical, sexual, or psychological mistreatment. The greater part of us have encountered mild dissociation, which resemble wandering off in fantasy land or losing all sense of direction at the time while taking a shot at an undertaking. In any case, dissociative personality issue is an extreme type of separation, a mental procedure which delivers an absence of association in a man 's musings, recollections, emotions, activities, or feeling of character. Dissociative character issue is thought to originate from a blend of components that may incorporate injury experienced by the individual with the confusion. The dissociative viewpoint is thought to be a method for dealing with stress - the individual actually separates himself from a circumstance or experience that is excessively brutal, traumatic, or difficult to absorb with his cognizant self.

Dissociative disorders used to be under characterized under hysterical neurosis but this category is no longer used since it is not accurate. Hysterical neurosis implied a specific, but unproven cause for a disorder. Dissociative disorder is currently defined as a disorder in which individuals feel detached from themselves or their surroundings and feelings reality, experience, and identity may disintegrate. Dissociative disorders are not well understood, but have intrigued medical professionals for centuries. Two types of experiences occur in individuals with dissociative disorder. Derealization episodes alters one’s perception so that the sense of reality of the external world is lost (Barlow & Durand, 2016). There are currently three types

Dissociative disorders embrace a diversity of symptoms related to alterations in consciousness which vary from amnesia regarding autobiographical events to distortions in identity and the experience of reality (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th ed. [DSM-V]; American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013). The nature of dissociative symptoms such as depersonalization, derealization and absorption has been studied by researchers in a systematic manner during the past decades. Besides that mild forms of dissociative symptoms are found quite often in general population (Gershuny & Thayer, 1999), yet they are especially prominent in groups of patients suffering from borderline personality disorders, posttraumatic stress disorder,

When a person experiences being in a dissociative state, they separate themselves from all surroundings. Some dissociative states can lead people into having memory lapses, anxiety, and having a hard time working and interacting with others. When it becomes that severe, it can be known as a dissociative disorder (Libal 2014). When dissociative disorder is present in a person, mental processes do not work together anymore. The main causes of dissociative disorder are trauma and severe stress. It is most common in children and young adults, and is also more likely to be seen in women from low socioeconomic statuses and rural areas (Sharma 2016). Libal states that there are four main types of

Psychotherapy can help a client by the communication between a client and a clinician, so the clinician can provide help and understanding of the client’s dissociative disorder (Schacter et al., 2017). In addition, cognitive therapy can be helpful when a client suffers through a dissociative disorder because it helps the brain on how to normatively think (Schacter et al., 2017). Since dissociative disorders affect the brain, a clinician talking with the client and supporting them would be beneficial for the client to understand their disorder and to work on their brain processing. This can be applied to a Korean Drama called Kill Me, Heal Me where the main character, Cha Do-hyun, suffers dissociative identity

Sometimes when people experience a traumatic event in their life they will psychologically remove themselves from the event or dissociate themselves from it by forgetting that it occurred. In the article, “Dissociative Amnesia: A Case with Management Challenges” written by Priti Singh the author’s goal is to better understand the psychopathology of the disorder. Singh explains that, “Dissociation is a neurotic defense reaction which temporarily but drastically modifies a person’s character or sense of personal identity to avoid emotional distress.” When a person goes through something traumatic such as a war experience or childhood sexual abuse they may dissociate themselves from the event as a coping mechanism. Singh goes on

The International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation (2011) defines the term dissociative identity disorder as a mental disorder whereby a patient possesses at least

Dissociation is a state of being disconnected from one’s self or the outer world. Dissociation can often be linked with multiple personality disorders and sometimes depression. Recently, researchers discovered that the ability to measure dissociation is on par with the ability to measure depression and anxiety (Putnam, 2009). Putnam’s research indicates that “the strongest predictor of a high dissociation score” is a history of trauma such as childhood trauma with dissociation being currently seen as an important correlate and potential mediator for a variety of trauma (2009). Dissociation can also potentially serve as a good measure for a range of mental disorders and it is relatively easy and cost efficient to test.