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Dissociative Disorder AbnormalPsychology
Dissociative Disorder AbnormalPsychology
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Dissociative Disorders are dysfunctions that cause a disruption in a person’s memory, perception, identity, awareness, etc. These disorders are also referred to as derealization, a change that was made in the DSM-5. Also, another change for Dissociative Disorders in the DSM-5 is now dissociative amnesia and dissociative fugue are not considered separate in diagnosing, but dissociative fugue is a characteristic of dissociative amnesia. Dissociative Amnesia is the inability to recall important personal information (Barlow and Durand 2009). Dissociative Fugue is the unexpected travel away from home or one’s customary workplace (Barlow & Durand, 2011). Thesis Statement: Dissociative Disorders come in many forms but the focus will be on Dissociative Identity Disorder and Shirley Ardell Mason (also known as Sybil), highlighting her sixteen personalities.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, “Dissociative disorders are mental illnesses that involve disruptions or breakdowns of memory, awareness, identity and/or perception. When one or more of these functions is disrupted, symptoms can result. These symptoms can interfere with a person’s general functioning, including social activities, work functions, and relationships.” This disorder is also known as Multiple Personality Disorder, but this title suggested that someone could be more than one person, which is different than having several personalities. Also, traits of dissociation occurred in a person diagnosed with Multiple Personality Disorder, so the name change was necessary. These other identities that are referred to as sub personalities or “alters” (Barlow & Durand, 2011), makes a switch with the original personality (the personality of the patient). The original personality is, in...
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Shirley Mason’s treatment was therapy with her psychoanalysts. One of her personalities attempted suicide, and as a result her doctor prescribed her sodium pentothal for her anxiety. In the end, four of Shirley’s personalities fused and formed a new and cured Shirley, and the other ones either became extinct, or integrated themselves with Shirley. Eventually, she was one identity with the traits of her old sub personalities, and she was able to finally live a normal life.
DID is a serious disorder, because the extremities and lack of control that can be experienced. Although the etiology is not completely agreed upon, it is safe to assume that this disorder stems from some traumatic experience. It is not guaranteed that a person will ever fully recover, but it is optimistic to understand that there is a possibility of full integration.
According to DSM-5 and class notes, Dissociative Amnesia is confusion and failure to recall information or events related to a person’s own identity. Steven Kazmierczak always seemed to know who he was and what he was doing, depressed and anxious as he may be. He did not seem confused about his personal identity, and he did not struggle to recall any information at any time. He was a disturbed man, but he did not show any signs of Dissociative
3. Walker is battling with dissociative identity disorder (module 12). This disorder presents two or more distinct personalities. These personalities can take over your cognitive awareness and create voices and opinions in your head. Some symptoms that are common are: anxiety, mood swings, amnesia, depression, self harm, etc. Dissociative identity disorder is very serious illness that disrupt daily activity and progression. Behavioral psychologist (module 1) research the learning and behaviors of individuals according to environmental influences. Behavioral psychologist can identify common symptoms of DID, which can help Walker become more aware of his disorder. Dissociative identity disorder has commonly been correlated from traumatic events from the past. Discovering these events can be beneficial to the source of this disorder. Memories of these events will be embedded in Walker's temporal lobe (module 2). In the temporal lobe, which is located above ears, it is the primary organization of sensory input. The temporal lobe is important for long term memory. Research has proven that a
If DTD is left untreated, an individual’s developmental path may be significantly altered throughout life. Areas of concern for those struggling with DTD include, rejection of the self and others, acting out, impulsivity, lack of trust in others, sleep troubles and night terrors, poorly developed emotional and physical health, depression, and substance use disorders (Van der Kolk & d’Andrea, 2010).
Dissociative Identity Disorder, also known as Multiple Personality Disorder is a psychological disorder that can be caused by many things, but the most common cause is severe childhood trauma which is usually extreme, repetitive physical, sexual, or emotional abuse. A lot of people experience mild dissociation which includes daydreaming or getting momentarilly distracted while completing everyday tasks. Dissociative identity disorder is a severe form of dissociation. Seveer Dissociation causes a lack of connection in a person's thoughts, memories, feelings, actions, or sense of identity. Dissociative identity disorder is thought to stem from a combination of factors that may include trauma experienced by the person with the disorder. When a
People often think that D.I.D. (Dissociative Identity Disorder) is something made up, something that a person is just inventing in order to get attention; that statement couldn’t be more Incorrect. Dissociative Identity Disorder, formally known at Multiple Personality Disorder, is a dissociative disorder, not a personality disorder or a psychosis. D.I.D. is a severe form of dissociation, a mental process which produces a lack of connection in a person’s thoughts, memories, emotion, behavior, or sense of identity. D.I.D. is thought to stem from trauma experienced by the person with the disorder. The dissociative aspect is thought to be a coping mechanism; the person literally dissociates himself or herself from a situation or experience that is too violent, traumatic, or painful to assimilate with his or her conscious self.
Dissociative identity disorder, a condition that has plagued and altered the minds of those who were diagnosed for many years, represents the condition in which an individual displays multiple personalities that overpower his or her behavior around others and even alone. Such personalities or identities can have staggering differences between them even being characterized by a disparate gender, race, or age. One of the sides of them can even be animal-like and display feral qualities. Also, the disorder severs the connection between the victim’s sense of identity, emotions, actions, and even memories from their own consciousness. The cause for this is known to be a very traumatic experience that the person had gone through previously and fails to cope with it, thus they dissociate themselves from the memory in order to keep their mental state in one piece. All these results from the disorder do not begin to tell of the rest of the horrors that gnaw away at the affected human.
Dissociative disorders can affect someone’s memory and make someone forget some of the important things in his or her life suck as their own identity. “When a dissociative identity disorder comes in to a person life it normally can make that person seem very distant and never aware of the other people in their lives.” (Diseases; 1) Which means that this person has absolutely no socials life. This person, when having a traumatic childhood, he or she can establish two or more different sets of personality. As an adult, this person may see an object that triggers the other personalities to come out; meanwhile, attempt to take control over the body.1a. SV; conj. adv, SV.) This other personality can be a different gender and he or she will most likely go by a different name. When this personality is in play the person’s original personality will have no memory of what the other being inside of him or her may have done.
There are no proven causes for DID, yet it is thought to most likely occur as a reaction to traumatic events such as childhood upset. This process would firstly see the child initially traumatised by a caretaker and then later in life having reoccurring memories of these events that come in the form of different personalities. It is even thought that DID is like a shortcut to remembering and facing terrible...
The alternate identities present in an individual who suffers from DID are forms of coping mechanisms for the individual.
Many people may wonder what specifically defines Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). This disorder is a mental illness that involves the sufferer experiencing two or more clear identities or personalities, also called alters, each of which has their own way of seeing and connecting themselves to the world (1). This disorder was formally known as Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD), and is frequently called split personality disorder (1). The actions of victims with DID are determined by the personality that is dominant at a specific time (7). “In the category of Dissociative Disorder there are four main disorders: depersonalization, derelization, dissociative fugue and dissociative identity disorder (8). Furthermore, “DID is a severe form of dissociation, a mental process, which produces a lack of connection in a person's thoughts, memories, feelings, actions, or sense of identity” (www.webmd.com). Having a thorough understanding of the meaning of DID is exceedingly significant for the doctors that diagnose and treat patients.
First, you must know about what DID is. DID is a mental disorder, in which two or more distinctive personality states (alters) alternately take the conscious behavior of the individual (host/core). The history all started in 1791, when a german women started showing signs of the disorder. The following years, DID became more known to people because of famous cases on the disorder. For example, Sybil, it is a book and a movie based on a girl who suffered from this disorder with 16 personality states (alters). Sybil often used these personality state (alters) to deal with her childhood traumas her mother caused. DID is a rare disorder and it affects women more than men.
In the book Sybil, written by Flora Rheta Schreiber discuss the life story of Sybil Isabel Dorsett, who has developed 16 distinct personalities because of her childhood abuse. Sybil story became one of the most severe cases ever recorded with multiple personalities. Which is currently called Dissociative Identity Disorder in the current DSM-V. “Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is a severe condition in which two or more distinct identities, or personality states, are present in—and alternately take control of—an individual. The person also experiences memory loss that is too extensive to be explained by ordinary forgetfulness” (Psychology Today, 2008, para 1). Sybil’s distinct sense of selves helped protect her from the trauma she experienced as a child.
My topic of choice for this research paper is Dissociative Identity Disorder or DID. This appellation is rather new; therefore, most are more familiar with the disorder's older, less technical name: Multiple Personality Disorder or MPD. When first presented with the task of selecting a topic on which to center this paper, I immediately dismissed Dissociative Identity Disorder (which for the sake of brevity will be referred to as DID for the remainder of this paper) as a viable topic due to the sheer scope of the disorder. However after an exhaustive examination of other prospective topics, I found myself back at my original choice. There are several reasons why I chose DID. The foremost of which is the widespread fascination of this disorder by many different types of people; most of whom otherwise have no interest in psychology or its associated fields. One would be hard pressed to find someone who hasn’t been captivated at one time or another by the extraordinary, all too well known symptoms of this disorder. This fascination… dare I say ‘allure’ to this disorder is exemplified by the myriad of motion pictures that have been produced based on cases, real or fictitious, of DID. Another reason for my choice is what I feel is the insufficiency of effective treatments for DID. Despite what is known about this disorder, (which is relatively a lot) there are only two chief treatments for DID; the first and most prevalent is psychotherapy; also known as ”talk therapy”, the second is medication. The third and final reason for my choice is my own enchantment with DID. I must admit that ever since I read about Sue Tinker, a woman who was diagnosed with over 200 different personalities. In writing this paper I hope to discover more about this disorder and perhaps be able to identify a few areas that I feel might require more research on the part of psychologists specializing in DID.
Learning about Louis’ life history could be beneficial when trying to diagnose her. Many research studies have shown that there are traumatic or terrible instances that a person experiences. This can be physical or sexual abuse, and often times is incest. These traumatic events can cause dissociative disorder. The reasoning behind this, is when a person is being abused or they may be locked up in the basement, or some other case, their mind tries to flee the person from that experience. Therefore, the person may transition into their ‘fantasy’ world, which causes the multiple personalities to occur. The social worker needs to make sure that there aren’t any medications that Lois is on that could be causing her to act this way. A neurological examination will also need to be completed. This will help to rule out others factors that may contribute to the person’s dissociative disorders. The social worker should also be aware of how Lois acted and what she said when she first entered the emergency room. When she first entered, she stated many of the symptoms of dissociative disorder. She was confused, she claimed to live in
According to Barlow, Durand & Stewart (2012), Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is one of several dissociative disorders in which a person experiences involve detachment or depersonalization. They go on to explain that people with DID ha...