Dissociative disorders are a form of mental health issue that causes patients to feel disconnected from their thoughts, feelings, memories, and even their surroundings. This condition can also impact someone’s sense of identity and their conception of time. Dissociative disorders will often vary over time, getting worse and improving. This condition can also be linked to other mental health challenges that impact someone’s ability to perceive reality.
The symptoms of dissociative disorders can vary in severity from patient to patient. There are some common symptoms that all dissociative patients experience:
This mental health condition has a variety of causes. The most common cause of this mental health condition is trauma. The trauma might be an event that frightened a patient or caused them to think that they were going to die. Dissociative disorder might also be triggered by trauma that is related to sexual assault, childhood abuse, or combat. Often referred to as peritraumatic dissociation. Some types of dissociation can resolve on their own over time, while other patients will suffer for years with unresolved symptoms.
The risk factors for experiencing dissociative disorders are:
Drug use can also lead to this mental health condition, and some people experience these symptoms after undergoing hypnosis.
Impulse Control & Addiction Disorders
Impulse Control & Addiction Disorder Medications
Personality Disorder Treatment
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) Treatment
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Treatment
A physical exam is always a good starting point for those looking to be diagnosed with dissociative disorders. A family history will be taken, and your doctor will inquire about drug use and past experiences that might have caused trauma. A patient will typically then be referred to a psychologist, a psychiatrist, or even a psychiatric social worker. There are various mental health tests that can be provided to rank a patient’s dissociative condition on the Dissociative Experience Scale or DES.
Treatment of this condition is often multi-faceted. You might need the support of psychotherapy, cognitive behavioural therapy, or even hypnotherapy. Family treatment can also be helpful, as can phasic trauma treatment. Medications can be used to support serotonin levels and other symptoms associated with this condition.
If you have complications such as another mental health condition, you might need to work with a team of care providers to create a management protocol to help you feel better and be able to engage in daily activities again.
This condition cannot typically be prevented. Dissociative disorders often take place after traumatic experiences, which usually cannot be avoided. While some people might never experience symptoms like these after a trauma, many others will experience some version of an ongoing dissociative condition related to this type of negative experience.