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In my last post, I talked a little bit about how bipolar disorder and multiple personality disorder aren’t the same thing so today, I want to dig a little bit deeper into this illness that is commonly confused with bipolar disorder as well as other dissociative disorders. Dissociative disorders are defined by The National Alliance on Mental Illness as, “…an involuntary escape from reality characterized by a disconnection between thoughts, identity, consciousness, and memory.” Although dissociative disorders are commonly confused with bipolar disorder, they are two very different illnesses with different symptoms and treatments.
There are three different types of dissociative disorders: dissociative amnesia, depersonalization disorder, and dissociative identity disorder. (formerly known as multiple personality disorder. Dissociative disorders are usually caused by some form of trauma. It is particularly common in people who suffered long term emotional, sexual, or physical abuse as a child. It can also be quite common in the military, after someone has been exposed to war. Post-traumatic stress disorder and other trauma associated conditions can also occur along with dissociative disorders.
Dissociative Identity Disorder
The most controversial of the three types of dissociative disorders is dissociative identity disorder. Many medical professionals believe that it is just an offshoot of other psychiatric problems. It is heavily misunderstood because people who don’t have the illness or don’t know anyone who has the illness are unable to comprehend what it would be like to have two different personalities.
One of the most interesting cases of dissociative identity disorder that I read about is Kim Noble, a middle aged woman who has had 20 personalities for over four decades. In fact, Kim Noble is no longer her dominant personality. She explained to the press that she will respond to the name Kim Noble, but her mind has been shattered into multiple personalities since she was young. In Kim’s condition, her personalities are all independent to one another which has made it very difficult for doctors and therapists to figure out exactly what caused her to slip into this state. Several of Kim’s various personalities are linked to experiences she has had throughout her life. Dawn is looking for her baby – an almost direct link to when Kim’s daughter was taken away by social services. Ria, a young girl paints disturbing pictures of children being abused. Ria could be the link to what started Kim’s illness in the first place.
Depersonalization disorder
Carol W. Berman, assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at the NYU medical center, defines depersonalization disorder as, “A persistent or recurrent experience of feeling detached from, and as if one is an outside observer of, one’s mental processes or body.” It causes the patient to be in a somewhat permanent dreamlike state.
I found the article “Out of His Body: A Case of Depersonalization Disorder” from the Huffington post particularly interesting. It tells the story of Tony, who suffers from both depersonalization disorder and derealization. He was being treated by a doctor but refused to take an antidepressant because he was afraid to try anything new due to his derealization. Because of this, he never completed treatment and still suffers from his illness. I liked this article because it ties into the bigger picture that I am researching which is why some mental patients don’t want to take drugs that will help them.
Dissociative Amnesia
Web MD states that, “Dissociative amnesia occurs when a person blocks out certain information, usually associated with a stressful or traumatic event, leaving him or her unable to remember important personal information. Dissociative amnesia is linked to stress from abuse, accidents, or even war. People don’t want to remember the worst moments of their lives and people with dissociative amnesia subconsciously choose to forget about things they don’t want to remember.
Dissociative amnesia causes big chunks of memory loss and the patient often forgets important events or personal information relating to the traumatic event. When someone has dissociative amnesia, they may also suffer from other mental illnesses such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, or depression.
Dissociative mental illnesses are not something to be taken lightly and are a very serious problem in the lives of people who suffer from dissociative mental illnesses. Even with modern technology, treating these illnesses can be challenging and research needs to continue and find a way to improve the lives of people who suffer from dissociative mental illnesses.
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