Dissociative Disorders

Dissociative Amnesia 1) Inability to recall important personal information 2) that is traumatic or stressful 3) reversible 4) Not due to other disorders (e.g., Post-traumatic stress) 5) Causes distress or impairment

1) Sudden unexpected travel from home with inability to recall one’s past 2) Identity confusion or new or partial identity 3) Not due to drugs or Dissociative Identity Disorder 4) Causes distress or impairment When one’s identity returns there is no memory of fugue state Dissociative Fugue

 1) Two or more distinct identities -- each has its own patterns of perceiving, thinking & relating  2) Inability to recall personal information (not explained by ordinary forgetfulness. Dissociative Identity Disorder

Dissociative Identity Disorder continued:  Loss of childhood memories  Stress can trigger identity switches  Half of cases have 10 or fewer identities  Patients score high on measures of hypnotizability  Several times more likely in adult females than males

Dissociative Identity Disorder continued:  Hostile, controlling, or protective personalities have more complete memories than passive identities  Identities can differ in visual acuity, pain tolerance, allergy symptoms, insulin response