Dissociative disorders

The main symptoms of a dissociative disorder include feeling disconnected from yourself and the world around you, and memory gaps.

Depending on your symptoms, treatment for dissociative disorders can include talking therapies and medicines like antidepressants.

There are many possible causes of dissociative disorders. They may be linked to a traumatic event or stressful situation, particularly from childhood.

To diagnose a dissociative disorder, a GP may examine you and do some tests to check if another illness might be the cause of your symptoms.

Symptoms of dissociative disorder can vary but may include:

• feeling disconnected from yourself and the world around you
• forgetting about certain time periods, events and personal information
• feeling uncertain about who you are
• having multiple distinct identities
• feeling little or no physical pain

Some people with dissociative disorders have seizures. These can vary from fainting to something more like an epileptic seizure.

Dissociation is a way the mind copes with too much stress.

Periods of dissociation can last for a relatively short time (hours or days) or for much longer (weeks or months).

Many people with a dissociative disorder have had a traumatic event during childhood. Dissociation can happen as a way of coping with it.

There are many possible causes of dissociative disorders, including previous traumatic experience.

Someone with a dissociative disorder may have experienced physical, sexual or emotional abuse during childhood.

Some people dissociate after experiencing war, kidnapping or even an invasive medical procedure.

Switching off from reality is a normal defence mechanism that helps the person cope during a traumatic time.

It's a form of denial, as if "this is not happening to me".

It becomes a problem when the environment is no longer traumatic but the person still acts and lives as if it is, and has not dealt with or processed the event.

A GP may examine you and do some tests to check if another illness might be the cause of your symptoms.

They may also refer you to a mental health specialist for a full assessment.

Assessment

The specialist who carries out your assessment should have a good understanding of dissociative disorders.

The assessment may include questions about your thoughts, feelings, behaviour and your symptoms.

It's important to be honest about your symptoms and not to feel ashamed or embarrassed, so you can receive the help and support you need.

Many people with a dissociative disorder make a full recovery with treatment and support.

Talking therapies

Talking therapies are often recommended for dissociative disorders.

The aim of talking therapies such as counselling or psychotherapy is to help you cope with the underlying cause of your symptoms, and to learn and practise techniques to manage the periods of feeling disconnected.

Eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR)

Eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR) is a psychological treatment that can help reduce the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). It is sometimes used to treat dissociative disorders.

Medicines

There's no specific medicine to treat dissociation, but medicines like antidepressants may be prescribed to treat associated conditions like depression, anxiety and panic attacks.