Define dissociative disorders and describe the differences between depersonalization disorder and dissociative identity disorder. Discuss the controversy surrounding the diagnosis of dissociative identity disorder.

Question

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Answer 1

Dissociative disorders are produced when people experience traumatic or stressful situations and unintentionally try to "escape" psychologically. They escape by separating from reality through memories, consciousness, perception, and identity. One type of dissociation disorder is depersonalization disorder, in which people experience persistent or recurrent feelings of being detached from their own experiences. This takes the form of an out-of-body experience-feeling as if they are in a dream or as if they are an automaton or robot. Abuse early in life is one of the largest predictors of depersonalization. Dissociative identity disorder is diagnosed when a person's consciousness becomes divided into two or more distinct people, or personalities. It appears to be triggered by the need to escape from psychologically traumatic events. Each personality may have its own memories, characteristics, physiology, and personal history. One core personality may exist, but the others, the alters, periodically take control of consciousness and behavior. When an alter is present, the core person is blacked out, resulting in periods of memory loss. To be diagnosed with this disorder, the person must have at least two distinct personalities. Scientists do not agree on whether this disorder actually exists, and if it does exist, what causes it. One of the biggest controversies concerning dissociative identity disorder is the sudden, dramatic increase in reported cases, which some researchers believe is due to therapists unintentionally planting the suggestion of multiple identities in people who are already highly suggestible.