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Home › Resources › Dissociation FAQs
Dissociation FAQs
1. What is dissociation? –
Dissociation is a word that is used to describe the
disconnection or lack of connection between
things usually associated with each other.
Dissociated experiences are not integrated into the
usual sense of self, resulting in discontinuities in
conscious awareness (Anderson & Alexander,
1996; Frey, 2001; International Society for the
Study of Dissociation, 2002; Maldonado, Butler, &
Spiegel, 2002; Pascuzzi & Weber, 1997;
Rauschenberger & Lynn, 1995; Simeon et al., 2001;
Spiegel & Cardeña, 1991; Steinberg et al., 1990,
1993). In severe forms of dissociation,
disconnection occurs in the usually integrated
functions of consciousness, memory, identity, or
perception. For example, someone may think
about an event that was tremendously upsetting
yet have no feelings about it. Clinically, this is
termed emotional numbing, one of the hallmarks
of post-traumatic stress disorder. Dissociation is a
psychological process commonly found in persons
seeking mental health treatment (Maldonado et al.,
2002).
Dissociation may affect a person subjectively in
the form of “made” thoughts, feelings, and actions.
These are thoughts or emotions seemingly coming
out of nowhere, or Bnding oneself carrying out an
action as if it were controlled by a force other than
oneself (Dell, 2001). Typically, a person feels
“taken over” by an emotion that does not seem to
makes sense at the time. Feeling suddenly,
unbearably sad, without an apparent reason, and
then having the sadness leave in much the same
manner as it came, is an example. Or someone
may Bnd himself or herself doing something that
they would not normally do but unable to stop
themselves, almost as if they are being compelled
to do it. This is sometimes described as the
experience of being a “passenger” in one’s body,
rather than the driver.
There are Bve main ways in which the dissociation
of psychological processes changes the way a
person experiences living: depersonalization,
derealization, amnesia, identity confusion, and
identity alteration. These are the main areas of
investigation in the Structured Clinical Interview for
Dissociative Disorders (SCID-D) (Steinberg, 1994a;
Steinberg, Rounsaville, & Cicchetti, 1990). A
dissociative disorder is suggested by the robust
presence of any of the Bve features.
2. What is
–
depersonalization?
Depersonalization is the sense of being detached
from, or “not in” one’s body. This is what is often
referred to as an “out-of-body” experience.
However, some people report rather profound
alienation from their bodies, a sense that they do
not recognize themselves in the mirror, recognize
their face, or simply feel not “connected” to their
bodies in ways which are challenging to articulate
(Frey, 2001; Guralnik, Schmeidler, & Simeon, 2000;
Maldonado et al., 2002; Simeon et al., 2001;
Spiegel & Cardeña; Steinberg, 1995).
3. What is derealization? –
Derealization is the sense of the world not being
real. Some people say the world looks phony,
foggy, far away, or as if seen through a veil. Some
people describe seeing the world as if they are
detached, or as if they were watching a movie
(Steinberg, 1995).
4. What is dissociative
–
amnesia?
Amnesia refers to the inability to recall important
personal information that is so extensive that it is
not due to ordinary forgetfulness. Most of the
amnesias typical of dissociative disorders are not
of the classic fugue variety, where people travel
long distances, and suddenly become alert,
disoriented as to where they are and how they got
there. Rather, the amnesias are often an important
event that is forgotten, such as abuse, a troubling
incident, or a block of time, from minutes to years.
More typically, there are micro-amnesias where the
discussion engaged in is not remembered, or the
content of a conversation is forgotten from one
moment to the next. Some people report that
these kinds of experiences often leave them
scrambling to Bgure out what was being
discussed. Meanwhile, they try not to let the
person with whom they are talking realize they
haven’t a clue as to what was just said (Maldonado
et al., 2002; Steinberg et al., 1993; Steinberg, 1995)
5. What are identity
confusion and identity +
alteration?
6. What is the cause of
dissociation and +
dissociative disorders?
7. How does affect
dysregulation in=uence +
dissociation?
8. How is dissociation
+
different from hypnosis?
9. What are the different
types of dissociative +
disorders?
10. What is the prevalence of
+
dissociative disorders?
11. Treatment SpeciBc to
Type of Dissociative +
Disorder:
12. How do I know if I have
+
DID?
13. References +
About ISSTD
The International Society for the Study of Trauma and
Dissociation is an international non-proBt, professional
association organized to develop and promote comprehensive,
clinically-effective and empirically-based resources and
responses to trauma and dissociation and to address its
relevance to other theoretical constructs.
READ MORE
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Dissociation
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