Question

Explain various forms of dissociation. 

Discuss various forms of dissociation.

Answer 1

Various forms of dissociation are as follows:

1. Dissociative amnesia: It is characterised by extensive but selective memory loss that has no known organic cause (e.g. head injury). Some people cannot remember anything about their past. Others can no longer recall specific events, people, places, or objects, while their memory for other events remains intact. This disorder is often associated with an overwhelming stress.
2. Dissociative fugue: It has, as its essential feature, an unexpected travel away from home and workplace, the assumption of a new identity, and the inability to recall the previous identity. The fugue usually ends when the person suddenly ‘wakes up’ with no memory of the events that occurred during the fugue.
3. Dissociative identity disorder: It often referred to as multiple personality, is the most dramatic of the dissociative disorders. It is often associated with traumatic experiences in childhood. In this disorder, the person assumes alternate personalities that may or may not be aware of each other.
4. Depersonalisation: It involves a dreamlike state in which the person has a sense of being separated both from self and from reality. In depersonalisation, there is a change of self-perception, and the person’s sense of reality is temporarily lost or changed.