You dissociate regularly and have done for a long time.The reasons they give include the following. With this diagnosis you might regularly have the symptoms of dissociation but not fit into any of the types.Ī psychiatrist uses this diagnosis when they think the reason you dissociate is important. What is other specified dissociative disorder? When in fact the different parts of your identity don’t work together properly. As you grow up these behaviours become more fully formed until it looks like you have different identities. By experiencing trauma in childhood, you take on different identities and behaviours to protect yourself. They suggest that DID is caused by experiencing severe trauma over a long time in childhood. But some researchers think that that these are actually different parts of one identity which aren’t working together properly. We think of someone with DID as having different identities. There is a lot of disagreement between researchers over the notion of DID. Some people with DID are aware of their different identities, while others are not. You might also have some difficulty remembering things that have happened as you switch between identities. You might find that your behaviour changes depending on which identity has control.

These identities might take control at different times. If you have DID you might seem to have 2 or more different identities, called ‘alternate identities. What is dissociative identity disorder (DID)?ĭissociative identity disorder (DID) is sometimes called ‘Multiple Personality Disorder. You may or may not have travelled on purpose. This is where someone with dissociative amnesia travels or wanders somewhere else, related to the things they can’t remember. You may have dissociative amnesia with dissociative fugue. But you might also have flashbacks, unpleasant thoughts or nightmares about the things you struggle to remember. You might also still remember other things and live a normal life. With dissociative amnesia you might still engage with other people, such as holding conversations. This means you can’t access the memory at that time, but they are also not permanently lost. This isn’t the same as simply forgetting something.

how you felt at the time of the trauma.

In severe cases you might struggle to remember: This may relate to a stressful or traumatic event, but doesn’t have to. If you have dissociative amnesia you might not remember things that have happened to you. There is also a lot of disagreement among professionals over dissociative disorders. It‘s important to remember that you could have the symptoms of dissociation without a dissociative disorder. There is more information on each of these below. There are different types of dissociative disorder. Types What are the different types of dissociative disorder? If you have a dissociative disorder you might experience these symptoms for long episodes or even constantly. This is called an episode.įor some people these symptoms can last for much longer. You might have these symptoms for as long as the event that triggered them, or for a short time afterwards.

You may feel little or no physical pain.

You may have clear multiple identities.

You might not have a sense of who you are.

Feeling disconnected from the world around you.

Feeling disconnected from your own body.

You may forget about certain time periods, events and personal information.

Some of the symptoms of dissociation include the following.

You might also have symptoms of dissociation as part of another mental illness like anxiety. For example, you might dissociate when you are very stressed, or after something traumatic has happened to you. Lots of different things can cause you to dissociate. Many people will experience dissociation at some point in their lives.

Dissociative amnesia treatment