Our network of groups, services and advice lines are on hand to get you the support you need. Use your postcode to search your area. Need more information? Become a campaigner. This section gives information about dissociation and dissociative disorders. It explains the different dissociative disorders, their symptoms and treatments.
This section is for anyone with dissociation and dissociative disorder and their carers, friends or relatives. Many people will experience dissociation at some point in their lives. Lots of different things can cause you to dissociate.
For example, you might dissociate when you are very stressed, or after something traumatic has happened to you. You might also have symptoms of dissociation as part of another mental illness like anxiety. You might have these symptoms for as long as the event that triggered them, or for a short time afterwards.
This is called an episode. For some people these symptoms can last for much longer. If you have a dissociative disorder you might experience these symptoms for long episodes or even constantly. There are different types of dissociative disorder. There is more information on each of these below. There is also a lot of disagreement among professionals over dissociative disorders. If you have dissociative amnesia you might not remember things that have happened to you.
With dissociative amnesia you might still engage with other people, such as holding conversations. You might also still remember other things and live a normal life. But you might also have flashbacks, unpleasant thoughts or nightmares about the things you struggle to remember. You may have dissociative amnesia with dissociative fugue. You may or may not have travelled on purpose.
But we have called it DID on this page. These identities might take control at different times. You might find that your behaviour changes depending on which identity has control. You might also have some difficulty remembering things that have happened as you switch between identities. Some people with DID are aware of their different identities, while others are not. We think of someone with DID as having different identities. They suggest that DID is caused by experiencing severe trauma over a long time in childhood.
By experiencing trauma in childhood, you take on different identities and behaviours to protect yourself. As you grow up these behaviours become more fully formed until it looks like you have different identities. With this diagnosis you might regularly have the symptoms of dissociation but not fit into any of the types. This diagnosis is used where you dissociate but do not fit into a specific dissociative disorder.
Psychiatrists also use this diagnosis when they choose not to specify the reasons why you do not fit into a specific disorder. For example, after a first assessment in accident and emergency. Dissociative seizures are hard to get diagnosed.
They are regularly wrongly diagnosed as epilepsy. It can be hard to tell the difference between a dissociative and epileptic seizure.
An EEG is a test that detects electrical activity in your brain using small, metal discs attached to your scalp. The feelings of depersonalisation and derealisation can be a symptom of other conditions.
It has also been found among people with frontal lobe epilepsy and migraines. But it can also be a disorder by itself. There is some disagreement among professionals whether DPDR should be listed with the other dissociative disorders at all. DPDR has some differences to other dissociative disorders. In DPDR you might not question your identity or have different identities at all.
You may still be able to tell the difference between things around you. And there may be no symptoms of amnesia. Instead, with DPDR you might feel emotionally numb and questions what it feels like to live. We have explained this in more detail below. You might have these feelings constantly rather than in episodes. Many people think that this disorder might be more common than previously thought.
This might be because of:. You may feel emotionally numb to memories and the things happening around you. It may feel like you are watching yourself live.
The experience of depersonalisation can be very difficult to put into words. Derealisation If you have derealisation you might feel cut off from the world around you. Or they might seem foggy or lifeless. Jane started feeling the symptoms of depersonalisation after smoking cannabis. She felt like her eyes were fixed on parts of the room and that she was not connected to everything around her.
It took Jane a long time to be diagnosed. To recover, she was helped to distract herself from the DPDR symptoms for long stretches with engaging activities. This then expanded into periods of time when she felt connected to the things around her again. Cognitivebehavioural therapy and mindfulness taught her to manage her anxiety and the distressing symptoms of DPDR.
Dissociation can be treated in lots of different ways. The type of treatment you get might depend on which type of disorder you have. At the moment, there are no medications for dissociative disorders themselves, although you may take medication for some symptoms. If you have episodes of dissociation you might also have a condition such as depression or anxiety.
Some medications could help with this. For example, antidepressants could be used for depressive symptoms and benzodiazepines for anxiety. Benzodiazepines can be addictive and should be prescribed for a short period only. Benzodiazepines can make Dissociation worse. Apply market research to generate audience insights.
Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. It's often described as an "out of body" experience.
Dissociation exists on a spectrum that ranges from mild everyday experiences to disorders that interfere with daily functioning. Nearly everyone experiences mild dissociation from time to time. In fact, daydreaming is a prime and common example of mild dissociation. However, long or persistent dissociative episodes can be a symptom of a larger mental health problem such as a dissociative disorder. For some people, these symptoms can last days or weeks.
If you have a dissociative disorder, you might experience these symptoms for months, even years. You can have symptoms of dissociation without having a dissociative disorder. You can also have symptoms of dissociation as part of another mental illness like anxiety. Some people experience long-lasting or recurring bouts of disconnect. When this happens, it might signal a dissociative disorder. Dissociation is more than just a symptom of dissociative disorders.
The exact cause of dissociation is unclear, but it is often a direct reaction to significant trauma. It's important to note, however, that not everyone who experiences these traumas will dissociate.
Most researchers view dissociation as a protective response after trauma. Some substances, such as alcohol and cannabis, can trigger temporary episodes of dissociation. People with dissociative identity disorder may feel that they have suddenly become observers of their own speech and actions, or their bodies may feel different e.
It is important to keep in mind that although these alternate states may feel or appear to be very different, they are all manifestations of a single, whole person. For people with dissociative identity disorder, the extent of problems functioning can vary widely, from minimal to significant problems. People often try to minimize the impact of their symptoms. People who have experienced physical and sexual abuse in childhood are at increased risk of dissociative identity disorder.
The vast majority of people who develop dissociative disorders have experienced repetitive, overwhelming trauma in childhood. Among people with dissociative identity disorder in the United States, Canada and Europe, about 90 percent had been the victims of childhood abuse and neglect.
Suicide attempts and other self-injurious behavior are common among people with dissociative identity disorder. More than 70 percent of outpatients with dissociative identity disorder have attempted suicide.
With appropriate treatment, many people are successful in addressing the major symptoms of dissociative identity disorder and improving their ability to function and live a productive, fulfilling life. Treatment typically involves psychotherapy.
Therapy can help people gain control over the dissociative process and symptoms. The goal of therapy is to help integrate the different elements of identity. It affects people of all ages and from all backgrounds, and is the most common eating disorder in Australia. You can recover from binge eating disorder with the right help and commitment. Content on this website is provided for information purposes only. Information about a therapy, service, product or treatment does not in any way endorse or support such therapy, service, product or treatment and is not intended to replace advice from your doctor or other registered health professional.
The information and materials contained on this website are not intended to constitute a comprehensive guide concerning all aspects of the therapy, product or treatment described on the website. All users are urged to always seek advice from a registered health care professional for diagnosis and answers to their medical questions and to ascertain whether the particular therapy, service, product or treatment described on the website is suitable in their circumstances.
The State of Victoria and the Department of Health shall not bear any liability for reliance by any user on the materials contained on this website. Skip to main content. Mental illness. Home Mental illness. Dissociation and dissociative disorders. Actions for this page Listen Print. Summary Read the full fact sheet. On this page.
Symptoms A range of dissociative disorders Dissociative amnesia Dissociative fugue Depersonalisation disorder Dissociative identity disorder Causes Complications Diagnosis Treatment Where to get help Things to remember. A range of dissociative disorders Mental health professionals recognise four main types of dissociative disorder, including: Dissociative amnesia Dissociative fugue Depersonalisation disorder Dissociative identity disorder.
The four categories of dissociative amnesia include: Localised amnesia — for a time, the person has no memory of the traumatic event at all. For example, following an assault, a person with localised amnesia may not recall any details for a few days. Selective amnesia — the person has patchy or incomplete memories of the traumatic event. Generalised amnesia — the person has trouble remembering the details of their entire life.
Systematised amnesia — the person may have a very particular and specific memory loss; for example, they may have no recollection of one relative. Dissociative fugue Dissociative fugue is also known as psychogenic fugue. Dissociative identity disorder Dissociative identity disorder DID is the most controversial of the dissociative disorders and is disputed and debated among mental health professionals.
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