Dissociative disorders
Introduction
A dissociative disorder is a mental health condition thatalters a person's sense of reality.
Someone with adissociative disorder may have memory loss or may feel:
- that their body or the world around them is unreal
- uncertain about who they are
- that they have many different identities
Most people affected by this disorder will have experienced a traumatic event during childhood. They 'dissociate', or switch off from reality, to cope with it (the box on this page explains what 'dissociation' means).
This feeling of being disconnected from yourself or from the world can be extremely distressing, significantly affecting work and personal life.
It can affect people at any age and is nothing to do with a head injury or underlying health condition it's the result of the brain adapting to a difficult early life.
If you have been diagnosed with a dissociative disorder, or a friend or family member has, read on. This page explains three main types of dissociative disorders:
- Dissociative disorders
- depersonalisation-derealisation disorder
- dissociative identity disorder
It then explains what we know about the cause of dissociative disorders, other conditions commonly associated with dissociative disorders , and how dissociative disorders are treated .
Medically Reviewed by a doctor on 4 Jan 2017
Introduction
A dissociative disorder is a mental health condition that alters a person's sense of reality
What is dissociative amnesia?
Someone with dissociative amnesia will repeatedly have periods where they cannot remember information about themselves or about events in their past life. They may also forget a learnt talent or skill
What is depersonalisation-derealisation disorder?
'Depersonalisation' means feeling detached from yourself, observing yourself and your feelings and thoughts as if they belong to someone else you are watching in a movie. Some of the typical symptoms
What is dissociative identity disorder?
Dissociative identity disorder, or 'multiple personality disorder', is the most extreme of the three types. If you've been diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder, you may feel uncertain about
What's the cause?
Many people with a dissociative disorder will have experienced a traumatic event in the past. Often, this traumatic event will have been physical, sexual or emotional abuse suffered during childhood,
What are the some of the associated conditions?
Someone with adissociative disorder may also suffer from: post-traumatic stress disorder depression mood swings anxiety and panic attacks suicidal tendencies and/or self-harm headaches
How are dissociative disorders treated?
If you have been diagnosed with a dissociative disorder, a mental health specialist will want to ask you more questions about how you are feeling and find out whether you suffered any trauma in the pa
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