Dissociative Disorders

Who remembers the classic movie entitled 'Sybil' back in the last century. This is the story of a women who has many multiple personalities otherwise known as Dissociative Disorders. There was also a daytime drama 'One Life To Live' where a staple female character had DID due to being sexually abused as a child. This diagnosis is one that is very rare in the mileau of Dissociative Disorders where consciousness is altered along with memory. This also involves broad to specific memories for those who are diagnosed. By the way this is also one of my favorites of learning about mental disorders.

There are four types of DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder) and they are dissociative amnesia, dissociative fugue, depersonalization disorder, dissociative identity disorder. What is dissociation? This is a separation of a part of a person's consciousness of their identity or a memory. It can range from being totally 'zoned out' to 'driving' to not being able to read or write depending on the type of dissociation.

Types of Dissociation

There is 'Dissociation amnesia' that can be partial or total loss of important information that is personal to them, and it occurs suddenly after a traumatic event. It is very extensive and frightening. Here are a few more that are most common and localized and involves the memory. The loss is due to a specific short period of time and it is also occurs after a very disturbing event after the first few hours after the event. There is also 'Selective amnesia' that entails memory loss of certain details of events. The person forgets the most traumatizing part of the accident or the tragic event, for example a friend dies. There is also one diagnosed as 'Generalized dissociative amnesia that is rate, but you can remember various aspects but there is no recollection of your past life and asks the question "Who are you?" This is all time related. Still another is 'Systematized amnesia' is when memory loss is only for selected types of information as in person and family. It seems to be continuous and for a specific period of time from the past to the present. Can't hold things in memory and functioning disappears as suddenly as it comes on. Recovery is complete with minimal reoccurrence. Information is not permanently lost and with this one time lasts but varies from a couple of hours to several years. There is difficulties with explicit memories. There is also a term called 'conscious recall' in dealing with the implicit unconscious memory and one have to distinguish between the organic and the psychogenic. Organic is caused by a brain trauma/injury or disease caused by surgery, drugs or an accident. There is one called 'antrograde amnesia' where the person is unable to remember new information. 'Psychogenic amnesia' is the loss of psychological factors. Then there is 'retrograde amnesia' which is the loss of past events and the loss of personal information not general information that you know. This follows a traumatic event.

What is repression? This usually motivating someone to forget something and occurs unconsciously. This is more to do with cognitive ideas like encoding difficulties with poor storage of information and overly aroused. The treatment is to help the person to remember and accept the traumatic events that happened.

To be continued More on Dissociative Identity Disorders

( If you like this article please like, comment and tip for this would be greatly appreciated. Always remember that these articles are written by a student from his notes and the basics are here but in this field theories and ideas will change ideas.)