Understanding Dissociative Disorders

Dissociative disorders are a group of mental health conditions that involve a disconnection between a person's thoughts, memories, identity, or sense of reality. This disconnection can manifest in a variety of ways, including memory loss, identity disturbance, and perceptual disturbances. Dissociative disorders can be caused by a variety of factors, including trauma, genetics, and brain chemistry.

The Concept of Dissociation

The concept of dissociation was first promoted over a century ago by the French neurologist Pierre Janet. Dissociation can be defined as “a disruption of and/or discontinuity in the normal, subjective integration of one or more aspects of psychological functioning, including—but not limited to—memory, identity, consciousness, perception and motor control (Hooley et al, 2019).

Dissociation is a normal mental process that everyone experiences from time to time. However, dissociation can become a mental health condition when it is disruptive, causes memory loss, or results in a loss of sense of self.

Unconscious Mental Processes

A lot of our thoughts and feelings happen without us even realizing it. This is called unconscious mental processing. For example, you might remember something that you didn't even know you remembered, or you might react to something without even knowing why. Unconscious mental processing can also play a role in things like learning, memory, and decision-making.

The idea of unconscious mental processing has been around for a long time, but it's only recently that scientists have been able to study it in depth. There are a number of experimental techniques that can be used to investigate unconscious mental processing, and the study of this topic is a growing field of research.

Dissociative Disorders

 People with these disorders have difficulty integrating information and experiences into their conscious awareness. This can lead to symptoms such as amnesia, identity disturbance, and perceptual disturbances.

 It is theorized that dissociative disorders may be a way of avoiding anxiety and stress, or of managing life problems that have overwhelmed the person's usual coping resources. Dissociative disorders can also be a way of denying personal responsibility for unacceptable wishes or behavior.

 This paragraph summarizes the key points of the passage. It is important to note that dissociative disorders are complex conditions, and there is no single explanation for why they develop. However, the passage provides some insights into the possible causes and symptoms of these disorders.

Conclusion

Dissociative disorders are a group of conditions involving disruptions in a person’s normally integrated functions of consciousness, memory, identity, or perception. While mild dissociation is a normal part of everyday life, pathological dissociation can result in significant disruptions to an individual’s sense of self and ability to function.

References

 Hooley, J. M., Nock, M. K., & Butcher, J. N. (2019). Abnormal Psychology (18th ed.). Pearson Education (US). https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/books/9780135191033