Dissociative Disorder Awareness
Dissociative disorder does not stem from one or several traumatic events. It is the result of prolonged trauma to the mind over a long period of time and is commonly associated with childhood abuse, however, it has since come to light that it can also be the result of adult abuse and/or trauma and some of the symptoms show similarities to that of PTSD. They are in fact both very different, such as PTSD on its own does not come accompanied with multiple personalities and PTSD can be the result of one traumatic event, such as, bereavment or witnessing a terrorist attack which is not the case with dissociative disorder.
Dissociative disorder commonly effects your sleep and so does PTSD, but in different ways. Both can significantly affect your memory, such as, flashbacks that are present with PTSD resemble that of a patchy memory that is associated with dissociative disorder, however, they both have significant differences and are different to one another.
The symptoms of dissociative disorder tend to become present anywhere from around 10-15 years later when it is triggered by something that reminds the person of their past, e.g. a memory of the abuse/trauma. It usually takes years before someone with dissociative disorder is diagnosed.
PTSD, depression and dissociative disorder can all result in substance abuse as a means of coping, along with many other disorders, which highlights one reason out of many, why it is so important that people seek help and obtain the support that they need. Men appear to struggle more than women when it comes to asking for help. Anyone that is struggling with their mental health should not be made to feel uncomfortable about going forward for help. Unfortunately one of the reasons why people do not seek help is because of stigma, along with the fact that they think it makes them appear weak, asking for help does not make you a weak person.
If someone is using drugs or alcohol as a coping mechanism it can make the symptoms of the dissociative disorder harder to recognise and vice versa, someone may not be under the influence of alcohol or drugs but it might look like they are to others due to the identity/personality changes, resulting in their behaviour changing. In this case the disorder might get pushed aside and they might be wrongly accused of drinking alcohol or taking drugs.
Dissociative Amnesia
A person with memory loss due to dissociative disorder usually does not know they have lost their memory until it starts to come back. Their memory quite often will not return until they feel safe and secure and comfortable in the surroundings that they are in, or the person they are with.
There are different types of Dissociative Amnesia and it is possible for someone with dissociative disorder to experience all the different types at different stages.
Different therapies can help to a certain degree with the amnesia, and you can learn how to best manage it. Quite often people suffering with dissociative amnesia experience multiple symptoms every day. Having random conversations with people can bring back memories from the past.
You can be in the middle of a conversation with someone and something they say suddenly takes you back to a past event and you can recall the event as if it was yesterday. Going to different places may also remind someone of something from the past and the same thing happens. Quite often however, the memories that come back are not pleasant memories and often the memory of it disappears again, perhaps because the memory is seen to be too traumatic for the mind. This can also, through therapy, be managed and different strategies can be learnt so the person can live a manageable day to day life.
Identity Alteration & Identity Confusion
Identity alteration is when a person switches from one identity to another and is often not within the persons control. With the use of therapies, I can help people manage when they switch and to which identity they switch to. There are also certain techniques and strategies that can be used so as the person knows which identify they are in, which minimises the confusion part of it and helps to keep the person in control.
People with dissociative disorder sometimes say that they have a child identity and an identity that protects them in potentially threatening situations. It could almost be described as a child trapped in an adults body, but is the identity that protects the person, protecting that person or could the identity also be protecting the trapped child. Inner child healing therapy can help free the child so as they are no longer trapped and are free to come and go.
Dissociative identity disorder (DID) occurs when there are 2 or more known identities, how many different identities people can have varies from one person to another. Generally, all the identities can in fact be completely different to one another, meaning they all think and behave differently. Imagine how many different thought's go through a person's (with dissociative disorder) head every day, e.g. someone that has 6 identities that all think differently have many more times the amount of thought's going through their heads than the average person. With the use of my therapies the different Identities can be trained to behave in a way that the person wants them to.
Dissociative Fugue
Dissociative fugue also known as psychogenic fugue is a means of escaping (within the mind) and disconnecting from one’s thoughts, feelings, memories, and sense of identity. It usually occurs when the person is in a certain uncomfortable, fearful, situation that is occurring at that time. Whatever the present situation is that is occurring is thought of as a potential threat. A dissociative fugue trance can last for minutes, days, weeks, months and in rare cases can last for years. They can be very scary as you yourself are aware of what is going on but are not in control of what is going on, as a different identity/personality has taken over with the aim of protecting the person (original part of the mind). Depending on how long the person is in the trance, new identities can be formed. In some cases the person suddenly has no memory of their past. If the fugue trance has lasted for years, then it is possible that when they come out of it, they come out to a whole new life that is completely different to how it was before and have little recollection as to how it all came about. It could almost be described as waking up to a whole new life.
Depersonalisation and Derealisation
If someone is in a fugue trance they will be experiencing, both, derealisation and depersonalisation. Derealisation is when what is going on in your life does not feel real, especially so when you switch from one identity to another and what happened when you were in a different identity does not feel real. Although it does not feel real, what happens when you are in other identities is real and does actually happen. This can make it difficult for people with dissociative disorder to talk about what is going on.
The mind of someone that has dissociative disorder is quite often always overly active, even when sleeping. Depersonalisation can also occur in one’s sleep, as if you are watching yourself in a live movie (association) or sometimes you are watching yourself in the movie from the outside (dissociation). Either way it is not a pleasant experience and different to a dream. You open your eyes to try and get away from it, but as soon as you close your eyes, you're back to the exact point you originally were at. With the help of therapy this can be minimised and managed. When a similar thing happens when you are awake it is as if you are floating out of your body, this is called depersonalisation. It feels like you have tunnel vision, only focused on what you are doing at that time and things can appear as if in slow motion.
When this happens it usually implies that the current situation that the person is in is seen as a huge overwhelming threat, and their stress levels are probably sky high. By learning to manage your stress and learning what your triggers are this can then also be managed by the person. A common symptom associated with dissociative disorder is that the person's eyes may appear glazed.
Certain triggers can be dealt with and overcome but some may not be overcome, making it more advisable for the person to perhaps avoid these triggers because of the negative, harmful effects, that it could have on that person’s health, sometimes this can be difficult if the trigger happens to be a person.
Quite often people suffering with depersonalisation only gets a few hours sleep at night. Depending on what is currently going on in that person’s life and how high their stress levels are determines how the person sleeps, which shows just how important it is for people with dissociative disorder to learn different ways of managing their stress levels. Diet has also shown to be a common factor and can influence their sleeping pattern.
Because I suffer with it on a day-to-day basis it makes it easier for me to relate to someone else that experiences it, and perhaps, also easier for the person suffering with the dissociative disorder to talk about it to me.