Dissociative Identity Disorder

Hi Angel,

You might be interested is this thread, which is a discussion about experiencing a dissociative state. My understanding is that that disassociation occurs along a continuum, with states on the lower end, and severe chronic experience at the opposite end.

This info from ARAFMI says that it can be caused by several things, a traumatic event, being one of them.

CB

Hi Neb,

I guess I am still havig trouble understanding it to be honest and really what is the difference in this and having schizophrenic episodes. I can appreciate when you say you don't know you do it but others realise. Although saying that I have been told that at times I converse almost normally when I have dissociated so it is sometimes very hard for people to even know that I have. That is unless of course I completely shut down.

Angel

I'm diagnosed with BPD and I've had, i think, some experience with psychosis and dissociation, although I think I'm probably on the mild end of the spectrum mentioned.

Not being an expert, but i'll venture an opionion: I think (for me at least) it's related to like freezing with fright, in a survival situation an prey animal's mind can just shut down in intense panic. So it seems to me like my experience of dissociation has been emotion driven.

What I've experienced most commonly is feelings of not being there, not being present, or being invisible, as if nobody else can see me. I've found that reconnecting with my senses by smelling things (flowers, tomatoes, perfume) can help!

I've also experienced feelings of everything being unreal, or of impending doom, and free floating anxiety and fear that doesn't have any obvious attachment (but often siezes on one). I think these feelings and ideas can be related to dissociation, but dissociation (for me) can be like the psychosis/anxiety (or unreality) attaches to my sense of self rather than to external things.

I can defiinitely understand why people might seek out pain as a way of confirming their reality and sense of self! And if the feelings of impending doom and trapped despair go on long enough you can get to wishing it would just like, get on with it...

Those are my feelings, anyway!

Hi Angel,

It is my understanding that "dissociation" is a self defence- a coping mechanisim if you will. So its not exclusivly attached to any one MI diagnosis, if your brain cant cope with a situation, extreme traumatic memories are triggered, very emotionally distressed ect. then it is quite common to dissociate.

From what i have read and experianced there are four main types of dissociation; emotional detachment, amnesia, different/split personallities or personas and identity confusion.

You can recover by learning how to identify when you are begining to dissociate and comming up with different coping mechanisims to "snap" you out of that state.

I hope this helps,

Jynxme.

I ... disappear .. alot. I find it hard to explain the feeling. But its like im just far away from what it happening. I can't cope with emotions and feelings, i just numb out and then disappear. Most of the time I just feel far away and if im talking it sounds kind of echoey to me but at other times i just disappear completely. Its hard in my psychology appts because i cant deal with any of the hard stuff. and it makes things a lot slower. Thats just my experience of dissociation but not sure about the dissociative identity disorder.

LJ

Hi Angel.....it's a human ability to dissociate so everyone is capable of 'doing it' but the actual psychiatric condition is said to establish itself in intelligent children under school age, when something extremely traumatic occurs. When such a young child cannot comprehend and absorb what has occurred in order to continue living the life they know, the psyche actually splits into two....the part that experienced whatever happened and the 'front' person dealing with day to day reality......if continued trauma keeps happening further splits in the personality or psyche can eventuate.

it's a fascinating insight into how the human mind actually works and assistance and knowledge in unveiling and reuniting the hidden aspects (to the self) is really in it's early stages.....Joanne Woodward starred as one such personality in 1957 "The Three Faces of Eve" based on a true story....yet on seeing the cause of her split I wondered about the truth of the facts!

Another movie is based on a Mary Higgins Clark book "All Around Town" and it entails (as stories do) an all round beginning and end to a DID personality.

I was about to start a post on discussing these two movies as a means of conversing on the subject and other's input.....for me personally the way to go!......hope my post helped......DID:)